The Sites We See: Colossal Canyons

Life in the desert has been quite good to us so far! After leaving Vegas we headed for the Grand Canyon!

---------------------- Arizona ----------------------

We arrived in the late afternoon to the southern rim of the canyon. We decided it would be a perfect opportunity to stay and watch the sunset. The colors of the rocks were truly breathtaking, especially since they seemed to change as the sun sunk below the canyon rim. The executive decision was made to stay into the nighttime in order to see the stars and to take some cool night shots and we also agreed to cook dinner on the cliffside. It was an unreal experience.

Once we were finished eating, we packed up our things and headed back to the van. Our plan was to sleep in Kaibab National Forest right outside Grand Canyon National Park boundaries, but when we arrived we found that the forest was on fire and that camping was temporarily banned due to the hazards caused by the wildfire. Instead of sleeping close by, we chose to drive 2 hours north and make way towards our next stop, Bryce Canyon. We slept for the night in a Walmart parking lot (as there is NOTHING else in the area for miles and miles) before continuing on to Bryce the next day.

---------------------- Utah ----------------------

Bryce Canyon National park is quite remarkable. The hoodoo formations are like something from another planet! Driving into the park felt like we were driving the mars rover far out on the red planet. The colors are so vibrant and the patterns in the rocks are super intricate. Seeing the canyon from above was great and all, but as soon as we saw the hiking paths down amongst the formations we HAD to get down there. We did a small hike down into the canyon and around a ridge where we navigated the labyrinth of hoodoos and cracks in the canyon. One of the things that stood out to me the most was the trees that grew out of the canyon. The green lively plants really popped in the midst of the sharp orange canyon walls. We spent the night in the park at one of the campgrounds so we could take our time exploring and didn't have to travel far back to camp.