‘Nature is the art of God.’ – Dante Alighieri

After my morning at Cedar Breaks National Monument, I headed to Bryce Canyon National Park, my second ‘Mighty Five.’ Actually, I picked up SR-12 which starts just before Bryce but all of that will be in my next post (and trust me when I say there is a reason it is said to be the most beautiful road in the United States). You enter through Red Canyon it’s an excellent taste of what’s to come!

I went to Bryce mid-day and the entrance wasn’t too bad but the visitor’s center was packed, as were a couple of the overlooks. Be sure you bring a lot of water and your own food as there is not much in the park (this is a good rule of thumb always). There is a Subway near the park that I ate at on the way out but that’s your only real option.

Bryce is a driving park but there are a lot of lookouts so you hop in and out of your car a lot! There are some hiking trails but as I had hiked a lot at Zion and had a packed day, I focused on the overlooks. If you are planning on doing a lot of the hiking, the park rangers in front of the Visitor’s Center are full of information. There is one main road and a couple off shoots and is very easy to navigate. Parking is limited in a lot of areas, so patience is key! Most have restrooms, which is nice as I drink a lot of water! I ended up running into the ladies from Cedar Breaks and they were kind enough to snap a photo. While I have learned to embrace the selfie, it’s nice to have your head not appear gigantic!

The views of the hoodoos are incredible. That nature or god or the spirits created something so beautiful, there are just no words. The scale as well…Cedar Breaks is very similar but Bryce is massive! The road is, something like, 16 miles long and every outlook is a new view. Each is unique. That essentially wind did it all…well, I really should moisturize more, ha!

My favorite part, though, was the ravens that were everywhere! Much like Norman, I befriended one that enjoyed getting photographed-I named him Fred. He just sat there and vogued, lol. I was able to get incredibly close. While there was another raven I snapped with a view of the canyon, he was no Fred. And I swear to God, he was sad to see me go. He stayed on the rail until I headed to my car and then he followed me! He sat in the parking spot next to mine until I drove away. I even waved and felt a tad bad about leaving. I will return, Fred, I promise!

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I did have a moment of clarity driving the winding road. A song came on, Elliot Park’s ‘The Soldier and the Oak,’ and I got a tad ready thinking about where I was last year (in San Francisco with the hopes of something new that wasn’t) and that you never know where the road may take you. I shared this on my Instagram after I had dabbed my tears, so be sure to follow.

I highly recommend Bryce Canyon, it truly is incredible! Be sure to take the road all the way down. The park is also known for stargazing and getting galaxy shots from here and Canyonlands are my new bucket list items!

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