Road Trip USA 2022

Der Bryce Canyon

Today we're heading to a region of the USA where national parks seem to be lined up one after the other. This begins with Arches National Park and continues with Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park. And don't forget Zion National Park. But more on that tomorrow...

But we still have 220 mi (350 km) (3.5 hours) to go until then. The weather is so-so. It rains every now and then and the temperatures are such that you don't know whether you should wear long or short pants. At Bryce Canyon we are greeted by a wonderful panoramic view of the canyon. The rock formations with their orange shades are simply unique and although I was in Bryce Canyon 12 years ago, it is just as fascinating as the first time.

Unfortunately, it looks like rain and we are not sure whether we should dare to hike into the canyon. Luckily we decide to do it and although it was very strenuous, especially on the way back, it was a great experience and beautiful. Oh yes, it didn't rain either, or rather it only started when we were almost back at the car. By the way, we hiked the Navajo Loop Trail and it took us a leisurely 1.5 hours.

We drive on to Rainbow Point and stop briefly at the Bryce Natural Bridge. This is a natural stone bridge in Bryce Canyon. It is only a photo stop because the rain is now accompanied by wind and it is getting noticeably colder. A little later it becomes clear why this point is called Rainbow Point because we see a small rainbow over the canyon. So the weather also had its good sides.

At Rainbow Point itself you have another fantastic view over the valley lying in a basin and get another impression of the endless expanse of the country.

It is now 5 p.m. and we are making our way to our accommodation in Duck Creek Village. We will spend two nights here. On the way we are again amazed by the constantly changing landscape. The mix of sun and clouds underlines this.

Once we arrived, we had to choose a restaurant. This was easy because there was only one. But it was within walking distance. We found it a bit funny that our waitress wasn't allowed to bring us beer. At first we didn't understand why, but it was cleared up later. She wasn't even 21, so she wasn't even allowed to serve beer. We enjoyed our burgers and beer and were already looking forward to tomorrow. We'll see our friends again in Zion National Park, just like we did in Yellowstone. And they've got reinforcements. Julia's sister Anne is now with us too.