hoodoos - RVing with Rex

Bryce Canyon National Park Turns 100

Celebrating a century of natural wonders, preservation, and exploration

Six weeks after we settled at the ranch, Claude Sudweeks, a rancher from Tropic, stopped by for a neighborly chat. He asked us if we had seen Bryce. I said ‘No, what is it?’ Claude replied, “oh, just a hole in the ground, but you should see it.’ ….What a surprise the hole turned out to be! We thought everyone should see it, so from that time on we took our friends there and we told everyone we met about Bryce.

—Ruby Syrett

Bryce Canyon is a small national park with a huge wow factor. The moment you step up to the rim and gaze across the hundreds of hoodoos, spires, and rock formations, it will take your breath away.

Bryce Canyon National Park *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

Bryce Canyon National Park is a fantasyland of hoodoos, sandstone pillars, and bizarre looking rock formations. It is an extraordinary place to visit and its unique landscape sets it apart from other national parks.

Bryce Canyon is small and easy to visit. Take in the views from the rim, hike a trail or two, or fill your camera’s memory card with beautiful photos.

The thousands of hoodoos in Bryce are what attract so many visitors every year. Hoodoo can be defined as a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin. Geologically, hoodoos are found all around the world but they occur in the most abundance in Bryce Canyon. Here, hoodoos are the main ingredient of this unique landscape.

June 8, 2023 marks the centennial celebration of Bryce Canyon National Park. Over the past 100 years things have definitely changed and the number of visitors to this park is one of those things. Visitors numbering in the thousands visited Bryce Canyon in 1923; that number surpassed two million visitors by 2022.

A lot has happened here in the last 100 years: the rim of the Bryce Amphitheater has retreated an average of 22 inches, 18,000 freeze and thaw cycles have shaped and toppled countless hoodoos, the sun has risen 36,889 times over Thor’s Hammer (not to mention innumerable stars every night), a beloved national park was created, and perhaps you got to see it for the very first time. Rangers like to call a person’s first view their Bryce Moment when the forested plateau rim suddenly gives way to a vast, sublime, and chromatic expanse. Some have described it as a cave without a ceiling, others a forest of stone or red painted faces. What do you see in this landscape? What words could ever do it justice?

With descriptive phrases such as a cave without a ceiling, red rocks standing like men, and nature’s most delicate jewel, the Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah is definitely one of wonder. The park is filled with ponderosa forests and limestone hoodoos. And nightly pitch-black dark skies have been viewed by citizens around the world.

A brief history

Bryce Canyon National Monument was originally established by President Harding on June 8, 1923 and administered by the U.S. Forest Service to preserve the “unusual scenic beauty, scientific interest, and importance.” On June 7, 1924, Congress would establish Utah National Park with the stipulation that all state and private land within its boundaries must first belong to the United States. On February 25, 1928 “Utah National Park” was changed to “Bryce Canyon National Park”. Conditions of the 1924 congressional bill were met later that year and Bryce Canyon National Park was officially established on September 15, 1928.

“Bryce Canyon’s centennial year is an opportunity to celebrate not only the rich past but also the present and future of this national park,” said Superintendent Jim Ireland. “2023 will be a year of celebration and yet we also want it to be a year of connection between the park and its local communities, affiliated tribes, partners, visitors, and staff.”

A variety of virtual and in-person activities and events will occur in Bryce Canyon National Park throughout 2023. Browse the list of events below, follow on social media, and use #BRYCE100 to share your centennial experiences. Events and details will be added and updated throughout the year, so check back often!

Events planned for the centennial year include:

Historic Photo Exhibit: April 1- October 30 at Bryce Lodge
Utah Prairie Dog Day: May 11
Centennial Ceremony and Concert featuring The Piano Guys: June 8
Astronomy Festival: June 14-17
Bryce Canyon Butterfly Count: July 8
Geology Festival: July 14-15
All Employee Reunion: August 24-26
Plein Air “Paint Out” in participation with with Escalante Canyons Art Festival: September 18
Bryce Canyon Heritage Days Festival: September 28-30
Annular Eclipse: October 14
Christmas Bird Count: December 16

Ways to explore Bryce Canyon National Park

Explore the wonder and beauty of this national park any day of the week and explore all the components. Take a scenic drive to see the Bryce Amphitheater. The first three miles of the drive provide unobstructed views of the largest group of hoodoos on Earth. This is the main park road and it stretches for 18 miles. Throughout this section, there are nine scenic overlooks that display more beauty of the Bryce Canyon.

Bike paths, day hiking trails, horseback riding, and the visitor center museum are all possibilities for enjoying the national park.

Humble beginnings of Bryce Canyon National Park

The Syrett family was not only advocates for the location but they actually become hosts. In 1919, Ruby and his family obtained the state’s permission to build a lodge near the brink of the canyon; Tourist Rest was open for travelers to stay on the property for four years.

By 1923, the canyon became a national monument causing Ruby to move the Tourist Rest to his ranch. With a new location came a new name, Ruby’s Inn. As more visitors flocked to Bryce Canyon, the national monument was upgraded to national park status. Ruby’s Inn upgraded as well growing into a successful business.

Over the past 100 years, Ruby’s Inn has transformed from tent houses and a place for meals to today’s modern facilities that provide everything a traveling family will need. Ruby’s hospitality has been passed down through generations to his son Carl. He has furthered the tradition by passing it on to his children and grandchildren. They continue to offer the same quality service and hospitality as Ruby did keeping the legacy alive for four generations.

Ruby’s Inn RV Park and Campground

Many RVers camp at Ruby’s Inn RV Park and campground and have provided some high-praising reviews of the location. According to RV Life Campgrounds, the campground has a solid 4/5 star review based on over 450 reviews. Good Sam has rated it 9/9*/9.5.

Today’s guests staying at the pet-friendly Ruby’s Inn are appreciative of the oversized campsites. They can also take advantage of the shuttle to the park and the country music dinner show. Other amenities include a pool, restrooms with showers, and pull-through sites. Campers have direct access to off-roading trails and nearby destinations such as Red Canyon, Escalante, Utah Scenic Byway 12, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Zion National Park. And the sunrises that give a pleasant glow to the rock formations are a great start to every day.

Plan your visit

Worth Pondering…

When lighted by the morning sun the gorgeous chasm is an immense bowl of lace and filigree work in stone, colored with the white of frost and the pinks of glowing embers. To those who have not forgotten the story books of childhood it suggests a playground for fairies. In another aspect it seems a smoldering inferno where goblins and demons might dwell among flames and embers.

—The Union Pacific System, 1929

Bryce Canyon National Park: “A Hell of a Place to Lose a Cow”

At Bryce Canyon, hoodoos range in size from that of a human to heights exceeding a 10-story building

The Bryce Canyon landscape is unique—entirely different than nearby Zion as well as other Utah national parks—partly attributed to its high elevation location ranging from 8,000-9,000 feet. The air is thinner up here, the environment colder, and the wind much, much stronger—elements that come together to create an otherworld on the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.

Stepping onto any lookout, you are challenged to connect with a most amazing example of the forces of nature affecting this planet and at the same time, you will almost certainly feel as though you are stepping foot onto the edge of another world.

For this article, I want to highlight a few different ideas that will deliver a diverse experience in Bryce—where to drive, stay, hug some trees, and go for the big adventure—with the caveat that at this one-of-a-kind national park, there is nothing more spectacular than the red rock nation that sprawls across Utah’s high desert on the Colorado Plateau.

Where to Drive

Hitting the scenic auto-trails in the national parks is often the best place to start gaining an understanding of the lay of the land. Many of the park roads were developed and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the early days of the park service to provide access to the most interesting and marketable features nearby.

A scenic tour along the 38-mile (round trip) Bryce Canyon National Park Rim Road provides access to 13 viewpoints that peer over the amphitheaters. It is a perfect first outing to get acquainted with the park.

More on Bryce Canyon National Park: Bryce Canyon National Park: 5 Things to Know Before Visiting

Where to Stay

There are three options located inside of the park: the North Campground (open year-round), Sunset Campground (high season), and the recently renovated 114-room Bryce Canyon Lodge which was built from local timber and stone in 1924-25. Any non-park-related activity—sleeping, eating, shopping, fueling up, or learning about the local history—will almost surely bring you to Ruby’s legendary roadhouse.

Iconic Site in the Park

There is no view in this park more classic than a sunset view from Sunset Point. It is located just one mile beyond the National Park Visitor Center and access to the overlook is just footsteps from the parking lot. If you look just below and to the left, you will find another iconic landmark: Thor’s Hammer—famed for its unique balanced rock and isolationist position among the larger network of hoodoos that surround it. This area is also stellar for birdwatching (shout out to our bird-ninja friends)! Swallows, Clark’s Nutcrackers, Stellar Jays, hawks, and Ravens all soar in the skies catching air from the thermal cliff sides.

Where to Hug Some Trees

The forested areas surrounding the national park cross three “life zones” that change with variant elevation gains. In the lower regions, you will find dwarf forests (juniper, pinyon pine, manzanita, aspen, willow, and birch) growing along streams. In the mid-elevations, Ponderosa pine, spruce, and Douglas fir forests thrive. On the high plateau, spruce, aspen, Douglas and white fir continue. At Rainbow Point located at the end of the scenic drive, you can spot the toughest tree on Earth: the ancient Great Basin bristlecone pine, a species categorized among the oldest living organisms on the planet.

Accessible Adventure

Wandering the Rim Trail from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point travels across one 1-mile of flat trail hugging the amphitheater where gorgeous, sprawling views abound! With a large parking lot, restroom facilities, and a paved pathway leading to and fro, this is a great spot for people of all ages and with all levels of overall health to enjoy the storied views of Bryce Canyon. The Rim Trail extends 5.5-miles from Bryce Point to Fairyland with occasional steep elevation changes.

More on Bryce Canyon National Park: Make Bryce Canyon National Park Your Next RV Trip

Big Adventure

Hiking through the hoodoos along the Navajo Loop Trail to the Queens Garden Trail allows hikers to choose their adventure along intersecting networks that weave throughout more challenging sections of the inner canyons but with easy access to trailheads at both Sunset and Inspiration Points. This is a moderate outing at just under 3 miles.

For those looking to go longer, the Peekaboo Trail (5.5 miles) and Under-The-Rim Trail near Rainbow Point (22 miles) lead trekkers farther into the backcountry. As always, get backcountry guidance at the National Park Visitor Center.

More on Bryce Canyon National Park: The Ultimate Guide to Bryce Canyon National Park

Before you go, check Bryce Canyon’s official website for park alerts. As always, be safe, have fun, and enjoy!

Worth Pondering…

It’s a hell of a place to lose a cow.

—Ebenezer Bryce, early homesteader at Bryce Canyon

Make Bryce Canyon National Park Your Next RV Trip

Bryce Canyon is a must-see national park and I’ve highlighted the best viewpoints, hikes, and places to camp

Bryce Canyon is home to the largest collection of hoodoos on Earth. It is not a canyon at all, actually, but a 6-square-mile field of intricately carved statues that were crafted over the course of millions of years by the forces of erosion. Facing east and south, vast mazes of high promontories, deep canyons, jagged spires of balancing rocks, and other mysterious formations are adorned by bold colors of red, coral, pink, and white.

The landscape at Bryce Canyon is totally unique—entirely different than nearby Zion as well as other Utah national parks—partly attributed to its high elevation location ranging from 8,000-9,000 feet. The air is thinner, the environment colder, and the wind much stronger. These elements come together to create an otherworld on the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Stepping onto any lookout you will almost certainly feel as though you are stepping foot onto the edge of another world.

Bryce Canyon National Park is a world-famous park with hundreds of sights to see. Hiking trails, swimming holes, hidden caves, rocky crags, and a plethora of natural wonders dot the landscape and invite visitors to explore and discover the natural beauty of Utah. The park encompasses thousands of acres meaning every time you visit there’s a chance to see new things and find new vistas to lay your eyes on.

Scenic Tour

Hitting the scenic auto trails in the national parks is often the best place to start to gain an understanding of the lay of the land. Many of the park roads were developed and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the early days of the park service in an effort to provide access to the most interesting features. A scenic tour along the 38-mile (round trip) Bryce Canyon National Park Rim Road provides access to 13 viewpoints that peer over the amphitheaters. It is a perfect first outing to get acquainted with the park.

Hiking Trails

A 1-mile walk between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point offers panoramic views of the amphitheater and is suitable for anyone. Each overlook is situated at a trailhead where you can descend into the hoodoos to explore deeper.

Sunset Point is usually the first stop on everyone’s list and is a top spot to capture shots of a golden forest of stone. There is no shortage of onlookers capturing selfies and panoramic shots of the amphitheater but you’ll likely find yourself distracted only by the geologic wonder. This area is called the Claron Formation and is made up of deposits from the Claron lakebed comprised of 50-million-year-old limestone that shows rich and vibrant color created by its iron oxide mineral compounds. Whether you are intrigued by geologic processes or just want to marvel at the area’s undeniable beauty, all visitors stop in their tracks at this famed overlook particularly when the sun falls onto the canyon spires.

The Rim Trail

There are multiple trails to try for your first time visiting this iconic national park with the most well-known and well-traveled being the Rim Trail. The Rim Trail allows visitors to gaze into the park’s natural amphitheater and shouldn’t prove too difficult for the less-exercised members of your hiking party. It’s rated easy and while long, there aren’t too many elevation changes. The most famous piece of imagery in the park, Thor’s Hammer” is viewable in its most iconic state from this trail.

This trail is about 10.7 miles long and features opportunities to view wildlife in its natural state. Utah wildlife you might encounter includes rocky mountain elk, pronghorns, migratory hummingbirds, and even nesting peregrine falcon (the world’s fastest bird).

The Rim Trail is located closest to the Sunset Campground in Bryce Canyon National Park which has hundreds of sites suitable for an RV. The Sunset Campground doesn’t have as many amenities as the North Campground but it is much more conveniently located to all of the most popular hiking trails.

Navajo Loop Trail

Standing inside of the amphitheater allows you to become a part of the landscape. The Navajo Loop trail is the park’s most popular hiking trail because of its accessibility and amazing beauty. Descending first into the Wall Street section you are thrust upon an iconic scene in the park, a 700-year-old Douglas fir tree that arises in the midst of a slot canyon searching for sunlight in the sky (see photo below). Hiking farther, you will find a vast network of trails leading into the hoodoos where you can chart your own course.

Peekaboo Loop Trail

Despite its child-friendly name, this trail may not be as fun for younger members of your party. With a medium rating, this 5.2-mile trail has elevation changes and rough terrain alike and might not be the best option for a fun family hike. However, that doesn’t mean there still isn’t plenty going for it. Utah’s natural rock formations and wildlife are able to be seen in all their glory easily.

Horseback riding is an option on this trail for party members who might have some experience riding on rocky and uneven terrain. Trotting over the red rock and gravelly paths makes for a unique experience. With a river running aside this trail which can flood in the spring and fall wildlife naturally gathers along this trail and virtually pose for photo ops.

This trail is located close to the Sunset Campground which has multiple campsites which can house RVs. That means the walk from your campsite to the beginning of the trail won’t make you tired before you even start out exploring.

Fairyland Loop

Fairyland Loop is a trail that sees fewer hikers due to its sheer difficulty. With 8.2 miles of trail running over steep and difficult terrain, the Fairyland Loop is no joke. Be prepared for limestone hoodoos in all their glory as well as nesting falcons and other sites of natural beauty to absorb. This trail is definitely difficult but that means more open air for you. Plus, it is pet-friendly so suit up Fido and bring him along.

The Fairyland Loop connects with other trails in the park meaning you can branch out and explore instead of taking the same route that others have done before at one point or another. The Fairyland leads to a lesser-known overlook of the park’s canyon and “Thor’s Hammer” in all their majestic beauty.

Since the Fairyland Loop is located closer to Sunset campground I recommend camping there if you’re planning on doing the entire Fairyland Loop in one day—it’s a tough trail and you’re going to need all the energy you can muster.

Where to Camp in Your RV

Bryce Canyon has two campgrounds: North Campground and Sunset Campground. Both campgrounds contain hundreds of sites with different amenities and rules and permissions. The fee varies from site to site but typically it doesn’t go higher than $25-$35.

Amenities that are included at the campsites include laundry, power hookups, swimming pools, showering facilities, electricity, Wi-Fi, animal care, freshwater, and even food! If you’re looking for a comprehensive hiking experience but still want to get everything you like at a moment’s notice, both campgrounds should do it for you.

While the North Campground is further away from hiking trails, it’s also the campground with more modern amenities. If this is of note to you, then you’ll do well to remember it. The Sunset Campground is more stripped-down but it offers prime access to hiking trails around the park as it’s much closer to trailheads. It’s basically up to you: do you want more amenities or do you prefer to be closer to the trailheads?

Fact Box

Size: 35,835 acres

Date Established: September 15, 1928 (dedicated a National Monument in 1923)

Location: Southwestern Utah

Recreational visits in 2020: 1,464,655

How the park got its name: The national park was named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Scottish immigrant who homesteaded there in 1874. He was sent by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) who first scouted the area during the 1850s to determine its viability for settlement and development. Ebenezer Bryce considered to be the first true pioneer of the region lived at the foot of a canyon and herded cows; after a herding mishap he once famously declared that the area is “a hell of a place to lose a cow.”

Did you know?

The Bryce Amphitheater is 12 miles long, 3 miles in width, and 800 feet deep.

As always, be safe, have fun, and enjoy!

Worth Pondering…

It’s a hell of a place to lose a cow.

—Ebenezer Bryce, early homesteader at Bryce Canyon

6 Unique Rock Formations

These amazing rock formations remind us that nature is still the best artist of the universe

Geology may sound boring on the surface but when you gaze your eyes on these incredible rock formations, you will find them anything but dull. Passionate rock lovers from around the world plan vacations to see some of the country’s strangest landscapes.

Many of the most spectacular formations are in the West where the mountains and canyons are younger and haven’t been softened by erosion and age. These craggy profiles and volcanic monoliths have intrigued humans for millennia.

Rock on with these six unusual rock formations below from Arches National Park to the Texas Hill Country.

Monument Valley *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

Monument Valley in Arizona and Utah

Providing a dramatic craggy backdrop for many a cinematic Western movie, Monument Valley runs along the border of Utah and Arizona within the 26,000-square miles of the Navajo Tribal Park. U.S. Highway 163 scenic byway barrels through red rock buttes and spires.

The names of the formations offer lots of Wild West flavor: Grey Whiskers, the Totem Pole, the Sentinel, and the matching Left and Right Mitten Buttes which the Navajo believe represent the hands of the Creator. Director John Ford shot seven westerns here most starring John Wayne including The Searchers (1956) with the landscape playing a featured role. There’s even has a spot in the valley named after him: John Ford’s Point.

Sedona *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

Red Rocks of Sedona

You’ll find spectacular red rock buttes like those surrounding Sedona scattered throughout the Southwest but these particular rocks have something that sets them apart: mystical vortexes. Even if you’re not an adherent of the New Age movement, plan on visiting at least one of Sedona’s famous vortexes. They’re at some of the most gorgeous spots around town.

Vortexes are thought to be swirling centers of energy that are conducive to spiritual healing, meditation, and self-exploration. Believers identify four primary vortexes: Boynton Canyon, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Airport Mesa.

El Morro *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

El Morro in New Mexico

Rising 200 feet above the valley floor, this massive sandstone bluff was a welcome landmark for weary travelers. A reliable year-round source of drinking water at its base made El Morro a popular campsite in this otherwise rather arid and desolate country.

At the base of the bluff—often called Inscription Rock—on sheltered smooth slabs of stone are seven centuries of inscriptions covering human interaction with this spot. This massive mesa point forms a striking landmark. In fact, El Morro means “the headland.”

Enchanted Rock *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

Enchanted Rock in Texas

Round as a giant Easter egg, Enchanted Rock sits half-buried in the hills north of Fredericksburg. It’s a half-mile hike to the top but an unforgettable experience. The massive pink granite dome rises 425 feet above the base elevation of the park. Its high point is 1,825 feet above sea level and the entire dome covers 640 acres. Climbing the Rock is like climbing the stairs of a 30- to 40-story building.

One billion years ago, this granite was part of a large pool of magma or hot liquid rock, perhaps seven miles below the earth’s surface. It pushed up into the rock above in places, then cooled and hardened very slowly turning into granite. Over time, the surface rock and soil wore away. Those pushed-up areas are the domes you see in the park. The domes are a small and visible part of a huge underground area of granite, called a batholith. The Enchanted Rock Batholith stretches 62 square miles; most of it is underground.

Bryce Canyon *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

The Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, Utah

These knobby, colorful columns of red rock are just as weird as their name: hoodoos. The word hoodoo means to bewitch which is what Bryce Canyon’s rock formations surely do.

The hoodoos we are talking about are tall skinny shafts of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins. Hoodoos are most commonly found in the High Plateaus region of the Colorado Plateau and in the Badlands regions of the Northern Great Plains. While hoodoos are scattered throughout these areas, nowhere in the world are they as abundant as in the northern section of Bryce Canyon National Park. At Bryce Canyon, hoodoos range in size from that of a human, to heights exceeding a 10-story building.

Landscape Arch *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

Landscape Arch of Arches National Park

The largest arch on the planet, Landscape is rightfully famous. It is amazingly thin, delicate-looking, and photogenic. Landscape is an awesome sight; the amazing width of the stone arch, held in place by such a delicate, slender center. Only a few years ago, a short spur trail passed directly underneath the arch. Because of recent rock falls from the underside of the arch, visitors are no longer allowed to travel underneath the fragile-looking rock span.

Landscape Arch is located near the end of the Devils Garden Trail. There is more to see within the Devils Garden then just the impressive Landscape Arch. Private Arch, Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, Wall Arch, Double O Arch, and the Dark Angel pinnacle are all within this rocky playground.

Worth Pondering…

Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.

—Neil Armstrong

The Ultimate Guide to Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon is home to the largest collection of hoodoos on Earth

Like many of America’s national parks, Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park has many cool pockets to explore. Nothing compares, though, to the feeling you get when standing before the hoodoos that make up the Bryce Amphitheater. It’s essentially a gigantic bowl-shaped valley filled with weird, orange rock spires. These hoodoos are formed by wind and the expanding ice that cracks and weathers the entire canyon resulting in this mysterious and distinctive rock formation.

For this article, I want to highlight a few different ideas that will deliver a diverse experience in Bryce—where to drive, hike, stay, and wander—with the caveat that at this one-of-a-kind national park there is nothing more spectacular than the red rock nation that sprawls across Utah’s high desert on the Colorado Plateau.

Where to Drive

Hitting the scenic auto-trails in the national parks is often the best place to gain an understanding of the lay of the land. Many of the park roads were developed and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the early days of the park service in an effort to provide access to the most interesting and marketable features nearby. A scenic tour along the 38-mile (round trip) Bryce Canyon National Park Rim Road provides access to 13 viewpoints that peer over the amphitheaters. It is a perfect first outing to get acquainted with the park.

Where to Hike

Standing inside the amphitheater—even to walk just a short distance into the hoodoos—allows you to become a part of the landscape. The Navajo Loop trail is the park’s most popular hiking trail because of its accessibility and its beauty. Descending first into the Wall Street section, you are thrust upon an iconic scene in the park, a 700-year-old Douglas fir tree that rises in the midst of a slot canyon to search for sunlight in the sky. Traveling farther, you will find a vast network of trails leading into the hoodoos where you can chart your own course.

Where to Stay

There are three options located inside the park: the North Campground (open year-round), Sunset Campground (high season), and the recently renovated 114-room Bryce Canyon Lodge which was built from local timber and stone in 1924-25. Any non-park related activity—sleeping, eating, shopping, fueling up, or learning about the local history—will almost surely bring you to Ruby’s legendary roadhouse.

The lodge was built in 1919 by Reuben C. (Ruby) Syrett who was so spellbound by the scene at Bryce that he decided to start up a “tourist rest” where he and his family could host visitors to the area. As the park became more popular, so did Ruby’s—it is an absolute can’t miss in the area (you couldn’t miss it even if you tried!)

Everything you need to fuel a park adventure is available there. The operation is still family run—by Ruby’s son Carl and two generations that follow him.

Where to Wander

A 1-mile walk between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point offers panoramic views of the amphitheater and is suitable for the entire family. Each overlook is situated at a trailhead where you can descend into the hoodoos if you want to explore deeper.

Before you go, check Bryce Canyon’s official website for park alerts. As always, be safe, have fun, and enjoy!

Did you know?

The youngest geologic formations found on the Colorado Plateau dating back just 65 million years are found in Bryce Canyon
Hoodoos are jagged pillars of rock that have withstood centuries of erosion caused by water, ice, and gravity
Hoodoos can be found on every continent though Bryce Canyon has the largest concentration of them of any place in the world

At a glimpse

Total acres: 35,835

Date established: September 15, 1928 (dedicated a National Monument in 1923)

Main attraction: Largest concentration of hoodoo formations in the world

Designation: International Dark Sky Park

Elevation: 8,000-9,000 feet

Highest peak: Yovimpa and Rainbow Point at 9,105 feet (at the end of the 18-mile scenic park drive)

Number of maintained hiking trails: 8

Cost: Entry $30 per vehicle

Worth Pondering…

It’s a hell of a place to lose a cow.

—Ebenezer Bryce, early homesteader at Bryce Canyon

Paradise on the Mountain: Cedar Break National Monument

Like standing on the crest of a breaking wave, Cedar Breaks National Monument rests at the end of the Markagunt Plateau, its amphitheater stretching below with multicolored cliffs, spires, and pinnacles

“The Mighty Five”—Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches—are the five spectacular national parks found in Utah. All are on the Colorado Plateau, a premier location to see, marvel, and enjoy the creations of earth’s geological history.

Cedar Breaks National Monument *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

The National Park Service oversees a total of 32 parks, national monuments, recreational areas, and historic sites that are located on the Colorado Plateau, many rivaling the geological beauty of Utah’s Mighty Five. Cedar Breaks National Monument is one such geological paradise of the Colorado Plateau and well worth a summertime visit.

Cedar Breaks is a 6,155 acre preserve of high desert landscapes. The park ranges in elevation from 10,662 feet in the northern region to 8,100 feet near Ashdown Creek on the western boundary. Cedar Breaks is the crown jewel of the Markagunt Plateau and marks the top of the “Grand Staircase” of the Colorado Plateau.

Cedar Breaks Scenic Byway at Brian Head *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

Even for this modern world, Cedar Breaks National Monument is located in a remote area. There are no park dining or lodging accommodations. The closest town is Brian Head, best known for its winter ski resorts and cool summer rentals.

Due to the high elevation, Cedar Breaks National Monuments and the roads that connect it to the outside world are usually closed from mid-November to late May. During the summer months the monument offers a 28-site campground with grills, restrooms, showers, and fresh water. An overnight stay at the monument allows visitors to experience the region’s world famous dark skies. Warm clothing and sunscreen are a must even during the days of summer.

The land encompassing Cedar Breaks was described in 1868 by early Mormon settlers as “a paradise on the mountain”. A colorful palette of weathered pinnacles and cliffs, Cedar Breaks National Monument is home to some of the most dramatic desert erosion features on this planet. The multi-colored geological amphitheater found at Cedar Breaks is 2,500 feet deep and 3 miles wide with the highest point of the amphitheater’s rim standing at 11,000 feet.

Weathering and erosion sculptured the multicolored cliffs, spires, pinnacles, and other unique features at Cedar Breaks. Without such processes, Cedar Breaks would be just another of the many alpine plateaus so common in the American West. The landscape has been under construction for nearly 100 million years and those slow moving forces of nature continue to shape and reshape the landscape today.

Archeologists believe that the Southern Paiute people have lived in the Cedar Breaks region since at least 1100 BC. They called the giant amphitheater “u-map-wich” which when translated to English means “place where the rocks are sliding down.”

Earliest American settlers called the area “the badlands” or “breaks” in reference to common cliff like edges that they came upon while traveling across the relatively flat plateaus. Utah juniper trees were the common vegetation of the area and early settlers incorrectly called these trees “cedars” thus soon giving rise to the name Cedar Breaks.

An incredible dark sky is one of the attractions for visitors to Cedar Breaks. In January 2018 the monument was designated a Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. Cedar Breaks is the 16th of the 417 National Park Service units to be so designated. In fact, the State of Utah now has seven designated IDA Dark Sky Parks.

Wildflowers bloom in profusion during the summer months with the national monument holding an annual Cedar Breaks Wildflower Festival each July. Utah juniper, Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, and Limber pine make up a diverse and dense forested region. At the highest of elevations, the ancient Bristlecone pine is found. The oldest Bristlecone pine found in Cedar Breaks is believed to be about 1,700 years old.

The first tourists to arrive by car to Cedar Breaks occurred in 1919. Between 1920 and 1923 a rustic road was carved from Zion National Park to Cedar Breaks allowing more tourists to discover the splendid landscape. A late 1930s road advertisement proclaimed that Cedar Breaks National Monument had “countless grotesque and magnificent geological forms, caused by water erosion, anointed with all colors of the rainbow.” That description still stands today.

Near “The Mighty Five” national parks of Utah and just a few hundred miles north of Arizona’s Grand Canyon, Cedar Breaks is all too often passed by. But for those wanting to view nature at its finest, geology’s creative beauty, and dark skies seldom seen today, a trip to Cedar Breaks National Monument is certainly a journey worth traveling.

Worth Pondering…

Look! Nature is overflowing with the grandeur of God!

—John Muir

The Sixth Wonder of Alberta

A wide green valley, steep sandstone cliffs, strange rock formations called hoodoos, and rock art—all of these things make Writing-on-Stone a special place

You’re driving through the prairie and suddenly it drops away into a beautiful river valley. Alberta has many beautiful places to explore during the summer but there’s only one place that has rock paintings from the local indigenous population that can be dated back 2,000 years ago.

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

That very special place is the Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi Provincial Park and is located near the U.S. border in southeastern Alberta. It is a place of extreme cultural importance to the Blackfoot people and has the greatest concentration of Indigenous rock art anywhere on the plains. The rock art was likely created by the Blackfoot tribe whose territory traditionally includes the area. At least some of the art was likely being made by the Shoshone tribe which passed through the region.

In a dramatic landscape of steep-sided canyons and coulees, sandstone cliffs, and eroded sandstone formations called hoodoos, Indigenous peoples have created rock art for millennia. Thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs at more than 138 rock art sites graphically represent the powers of the spirit world that resonate in this sacred landscape and chronicle critical phases of human history in North America including when Indigenous peoples first came into contact with Europeans. In fact, the arrival of horses, trade items, and even the first automobile in the region are creatively recorded.

With a combination of culturally significant landforms, rock art, archaeological heritage, and dramatic views, Áísínai’pi (“it is pictured/written”) is a sacred place for the Blackfoot people. In Blackfoot traditions, Sacred Beings dwell among the cliffs and hoodoos, and the voices of the ancestors can be heard among the canyons and cliffs. To this day the Blackfoot feel the energy of the Sacred Beings at Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi and their oral histories and ongoing ceremonial use attest to the living traditions of the Blackfoot people.

Following more than a decade of advocacy by Indigenous groups and the provincial government, Writing-on Stone was recently (July 6) declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The nomination was prepared by the provincial government in partnership with the Blackfoot Confederacy and with ongoing support from the Government of Canada.

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is home to more petroglyphs (rock carvings) and pictographs (rock paintings) than any other place on the Great Plains in North America.

“Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi is the site of many natural wonders and a testament to the remarkable ingenuity and creativity of the Blackfoot people,” Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks, said in a news release. “It’s easy to see why the site is seen by many as an expression of the confluence of the spirit and human worlds. I hope all Albertans will take the time to explore this extraordinary part of the province and all it has to offer.”

“The designation of Writing-on-Stone/Áísínai’pi as a UNESCO World Heritage Site provides the Blackfoot Confederacy a basis for its future generations as to the strength and truth of our continuing relationship to this land and to our traditions, ceremonies, and cultural practices,” Martin Heavy Head, an elder with the Mookaakin Cultural and Heritage Society, said in a news release.

Writing-on-Stone is about 4,400 acres and offers unique hiking and birding opportunities, plus a modestly-sized campground. The province estimates about 60,000 people visit the site each year.

The 1.3-mile Hoodoo Trail winds through various landscapes—hoodoos, sandstone cliffs, and rock art, upland prairie grasslands, the Milk River valley, and coulees. Most rock art sites are only accessible by guided tour. Park interpreters lead tours into the Archeological Preserve daily from mid-May to early September. Tour schedules and ticket prices are available by contacting the park’s visitor center.

Writing-on-Stone is Alberta’s sixth world heritage site. The other five are Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (1981), Dinosaur Provincial Park (1979), Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (1995), The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (1984, 1990), and the Wood Buffalo National Park (1983).

So if you’re a fan of exploration these are the six must see sites within Alberta.

Worth Pondering…

Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries.

—René Descartes

Do You Hoodoo?

“A hell of a place to lose a cow”

These tall, irregular spires of rock created through erosion usually protrude upward from dry bottomland, and Bryce Canyon National Park offers the most abundant concentration of them in the U.S. Hoodoos range in stature from 6 feet to as tall as a 10-story building, but Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos are being slowly worn away by the same forces of erosion that formed them.

Mormon pioneer Ebenezer Bryce who ranched in the area described the canyon that bears his name as “a hell of a place to lose a cow”. But the rest of the world knows the canyon as a vast wonderland of brilliant-colored spires, rising like sentinels into the clear sky above.

Bryce Canyon isn’t really a canyon. Rather it is a “break” or series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern slope of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah.

Erosion has shaped colorful Claron limestones, sandstones, and mudstones into thousands of nature-chiseled spires, fins, pinnacles, and mazes. Collectively called “hoodoos”, these unique formations are whimsically arranged and tinted with colors too numerous and subtle to name.

Bryce Canyon’s warm days and cold nights result in more than 200 days a year in which accumulated rainwater completes a freeze-thaw cycle. During the day, water seeps into cracks in the rocks, and then at night, it freezes and expands. As this process repeats, it breaks apart weak rock, and over time, chisels the unusual formations.

The rim of the canyon is between 8,000 to 9,100 feet above sea level. In summer, daytime temperatures are in the 80s but fall to the 40s by night.

If you’re traveling through southern Utah, you’ll want to visit this land of the hoodoos. The only access to Bryce Canyon is via Scenic Byway 12 (an All-American Road), which is a winding road that climbs to high elevations in spots. The entire highway is paved, well maintained, and kept open year-round.

The best place to begin a tour of the park is at the visitor center. Located just 1.5 miles inside the park, the visitor center provides maps and directions, plus information regarding weather, ranger activities, and the Junior Ranger program. There’s also a 20-minute orientation film and a museum with exhibits that display facets of the park’s geology, flora, fauna, and history.

Bryce is a compact park—just 56 square miles—which makes it easier to explore than many national parks in the West.

Hiking is the best way to experience the stunning mazes. The park has over 50 miles of hiking trails with a range of distances and elevation change. Most of the park’s trails range from half a mile to 11 miles and take less than a day to complete. Most trails descend into the canyon and wind around the oddly shaped formations. In just a few hours on the trail, you can experience Bryce Canyon’s spectacular scenery.

But a word of caution: Many trails that descend to the bottom are moderate to steep, making the return part of the hike—which is uphill—the most strenuous. Bryce’s high elevation requires extra exertion, so assess your ability and know your limits. Wear hiking boots with good tread and ankle support and carry plenty of drinking water to avoid dehydration.

A prime viewpoint, Bryce Amphitheater is one of the most spectacular viewing areas in the national park system. Bryce Amphitheater is the park’s largest amphitheater and can be viewed from several points—Bryce, Inspiration, Sunset, and Sunrise points.

Sunset Point begins the trailhead for the popular 1.3-mile Navajo Loop which descends through Wall Street. There, hikers travel between the narrow 200-foot canyon cliffs, and along the way pass by a miracle of nature—two 500- to 700-year-old Douglas firs that have managed to grow from the narrow slot canyon floor to reach the sliver of sunlight at the top.

But if hiking isn’t your thing, you can still enjoy the landscape from the overlooks on the main park road, which heads 18 miles along a winding corridor through forests and meadows to the park’s southern end.

Worth Pondering…

…a strange world of colossal shafts and buttes of rock, magnificently sculptured, standing isolated and aloof, dark, weird, lonely.

—Zane Grey