Friday, September 4, 2015

Ancient Castles
We arrived yesterday to Bryce Canyon National Park. It is a geographic wonder whose main feature is hoodoos.  They are tall, skinny spires of rock that remain after the forces of erosion have stripped the earth from around them. For those who might like more info, you can google Bryce hoodoos and they pop right up.
The hoodoos exist both isolated and clustered and appear to me to be like decayed castles of old. The shapes are amazing. I look around and see the old castle of King Huey the 9th, the pompous fortress of Ludvig the 23rd and the 3rd century Temple of Emperor Wang Tang Foo.  It is quite remarkable.  We went this AM for sunrise to aptly named Sunrise Point.  This is a landscape of color. Whites, pinks, corals.  It was a thrill to watch that color erupt with the growing morning light, watch the hoodoo shadows develop then finally see the illumination as the sun cracked the horizon. We came back to Vilia, had breakfast, got ourselves ready for the day and took the drive over to The Grand Staircase, yet another geographic marvel of Utah. One of the great attractions of this area is the little visited Grosvenor Arch.  It is a double stone natural arch that rises about maybe, 300 yards above its base. It is accessible and Cathy and I walked up to it and both of us were put out of balance by its structure and setting. Also, we were totally alone. It is a 13 mile dirt road drive to get to it and we went fairly early. The isolation and the setting were powerful.
We finished our day with dinner out at The Stone Hearth Grille, in Tropic Utah, watching a near distant rain shower unfold a rainbow against the setting sun. This was a good day.

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