Bryce Canyon NP

Our 3rd stop was Bryce Canyon.  It was nice and cool here, and the features of this NP were pretty incredible too! On our first night we went to a ranger program in which the ranger did a monologue from the point of view of a Bristle Cone Pine- which can live for over a thousand years! It was interesting, though you could definitely tell some of her religious and political views- but we learned some very interesting history of Bryce Canyon. We spent some time driving and doing a few short hikes. We were able to see a really neat thunderstorm come in at some of the view points. The current picture at the top of the blog is also from Bryce Canyon.
You can see all of the hoodoos or stacked rock formations in the background of many of the pictures. There is an old legend that about these formations... "An elderly Piute named Indian Dick describes how Bryce Canyon was formed: Before there were any Indians, the Legend People lived in this place. There were many kinds- birds, animals, lizards, and such things- but they had the power to make themselves look like people. For some reason the Legend People were bad, so Coyote turned them all into rocks. You can see them in that place now, all turned into rocks; some standing in rows, some sitting down, some holding onto others. You can see their faces with paint on them just as they were before they became rocks." (As seen on a display at BCNP).
The chipmunks, ravens, and other birds were abundant, and we were able to see Utah Prairie Dogs, Blue Grouse, and Pronghorns during our visit too. In one of the pictures above part of the rock formation looks as though there was a lizard on top- can you see it?  We saw hoodoos and arches (both in the rocks and in the clouds)  and many other formations. The colors were incredible! It was a fun stop- wish we could have been there a little longer and been able to do the hiking down in the amphitheater, but it was still a great visit.