Breaking camp. Lower the tv antenna, unhook water & electric, close all storage bins. Good to go. Hey, what's that guy waiving about? Oops, left our portable propane tank (for the grill) on the ground behind the rig. Dumped tanks without drama and climbed East out of the canyon towards the rim and the pay-as-you-go tunnel. We ended up # 1 in line. Ranger checked our "escort fee" receipt and when the time came he just waived us on and said "steer down the middle." Hmmm.
Just like ship handling class at Navy OCS. So much for our "escort." We led the way and more or less kept the rig on the center line and passed through without a hitch. Neat tunnel. Has cut-out "windows" along the canyon side so every so often you get a view. Nice work by the CCC in the 1930's. More nice scenery along the way, no-traffic roads, tiny intersection towns, and beautiful high plateau views. First stop was Red Canyon, the start of the "hoodoos" that we would see more of at Bryce. On to Bryce and check-in at Ruby's RV Park, where I had made reservations by phone from Vegas. The
Bryce campground was full-up, this being Memorial Day weekend. The reso guy said we might have to move each night, as they were full as well, but that's not a big deal. We got checked in to a site between two Class A behemoths with all the bells and whistles. Open space across the gravel road supposedly for tents, but no one was there. Very peaceful. This was to change . . . .FRIDAY (click on a photo to enlarge)
The camp office had the weather forecast posted and warned us yesterday that temperatures could go below freezing last night, so we disconnected the water supply to avoid burst hoses, etc, and kept the heat strip (the only part of our AC unit that works) on all night. That proves to be a noisy option as it cycles the fan
on and off all night. We'll have to look into catalytic heaters or something in the future. Had breakfast with the peaceful view out back (da dum, da dum, dum da dum da . . ) and then hauled our sacks up to the laundry where we also found two pay-for-time internet terminals. Time to do some blogging. Not! Put in my $5 for 25 minutes and the fun(?) began. Every operation took minutes to load; every change of screen took minutes to accomplish. This appears to be a great way to make money. Gave up after reading only two emails in 18 minutes, complained, and got my money back. That's the screen of
death on the left. Lady next to me had no problems with hers, so mine must have virus-mania. No blogging today (or, as it turned out, at any time during the whole trip). The park is essentially one long road that leads south from our campground. The entrance is a couple of miles down. Actually, up, as the road gently rises as it goes south. Today is opening day for the park shuttle service, so we plan on taking the bikes on the shuttle about halfway down, and riding back. That's Loni waiting at the Ruby's stop. Of course, the first shuttle had no rack; the second came early while I was back
getting water, and the third took its time. Sigh. Loaded, boarded and off to Bryce Point for our first view. Wow. There's nothing like this anywhere else in the world. Rows of hoodoos. Amphitheatres of hoodoos. All colors of hoodoos. So, what's a hoodoo? Ahem: "A pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion. Debris, borne by water runoff, scours softer rock and creates gullies. harder rock is left behind as vertical fins. As gullies widen into canyons, fins become exposed to more erosion at vertical cracks. Freezing water expands within the cracks in winter, peeling off layers and carving out vertical pillars --- the hoodoos."End of today's lesson. Bryce Point is at 8,000+ feet, so we're happy
to coast down to the main road and . . . urk, climb uphill to the succeeding Inspiration, Sunset, and Sunrise Points. At least we can coast down from each. All have unique views and we don't want to miss any. Unfortunately, the main road here is open to cars, so we have to pay attention and hope that they are as well. Stopped at the Park Lodge, but wasn't impressed. Although done in the 30's by the CCC, it has no grandeur of space inside, nor any scenic view, being back a ways from the rim. Since we were to meet our friend, Paul, for dinner, we made reso's at the dining room for 8:15, the earliest we could get. Huffed and coasted our way back to camp to relax for a while. Yikes! What happened to the serenity? We've been invaded by dozens of ATV's of all shapes and sizes, seemingly using us as the encircled wagon while they go round and round like mechanized Indians. We are to endure this racket for the next three days whenever we're at the rig. This area is a big off-road draw as there are trails everywhere. Why aren't they out THERE instead of HERE? Memo to selves: avoid ATV areas on national holiday weekends. Connected with Paul by cell phone (this is one of the very few areas on our whole trip where we had any coverage at all), and he had just checked into a nearby motel. No rving for him! He picked us up and we had a nice enough dinner at the lodge, at least after I sent back my nuked pork chops and asked for some underdone ones. A bottle of 3 Blind Moose Merlot at 3X retail price took the edges off, and the replacement chops were perfect. They can do it right if you make them.SATURDAY: Hiking Day. ATV's still zipping about. I'd like to put
a knife in a few tires. Met up with Paul & drove in his car to Sunset Point to start the Navajo Loop-Queen's Garden combo trail. We first stopped to listen to a ranger talk about the geology of the area. Big mistake. He wanted to aim his talk at the kids and delivered a s-l-o-w monologue, sort of a cross between Mr. Rogers and the dummy in Spielberg's "Goonies" movie. Politeness trapped us for the duration, then we were off. This is a beautiful hike, dropping rapidly into the hoodoo amphitheatre, past the standout "Thor's Hammer" hoodoo and through a slot canyon. Couldn't view all of the Wall Street Canyon as
a rock slide closed it a couple of years ago.
We meandered through a wonderland of hoodoo shapes, culminated by the Queen Victoria hoodoo -- and damn, it really did look like the old bat. Four hours later 
we were done, and back for a rest. At least I rested; Loni set about getting ready for dinner as Paul was to come over with wine as our first dinner guest in Albatross. Loni baptized the oven with chicken Dijon and side dishes. No canned stew for us!
Paul, bless his soul, brought a styrofoam container with 3 very nice bottles that he had transported
from his home in San Luis Obispo. He's the local oenophile, and knows all the servers at the tasting rooms personally. We LIKE to visit Paul! We killed two, one white and one red, and saved the third for another time. Good thing Paul's motel was very close by. Even better thing: we didn't have to go anywhere except to bed. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
SUNDAY Ahhh, nature. We are wakened by the bucolic sounds of . . . ATV's. Bwaaaaat. . pop pop pop bwaaaaaaat. Can't people enjoy nature on their own two legs? I suppose tent campers look at us and say, "Can't people enjoy nature without . . ." Had breakfast and joined Paul in his car for a tour of all of the overlooks along the 14 miles of the south end of the park beyond Bryce Point. We stopped at Rainbow, Yovimpa, Black birch, Ponderosa, Agua Canyon, Natural Bridge, Piracy, and Swamp Canyon overlooks. Each had a unique view of the canyon and we never got bored at any stop. We
re-did our first day stops as Paul hadn't seen them yet this trip. All of these are around 8,800 feet, so moving around was a bit breathless as well as breathtaking. We have hundreds of pictures to cull. Back to our respective abodes for a little downtime and get ready for dinner out. Went off with Paul in search of Bryce Canyon Pines that appeared in his Fodor's guidebook. Found it west on the main road about four miles out. We're licking our chops at the sign that says "Famous For Our Soups and Pies." Well, folks, fame is a fleeting thing, doesn't travel far, etc. etc. Fairly decent broccoli soup, fairly
hideous pies of any description. Marie Calendar isn't sweating. Not up to even Mrs. Smith's frozen standard. Heck, even I can make a better pie (and have!). Bid
farewell to Paul as he is going to Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park, while we meander more through Utah. We hope to meet up again at Canyonlands/Arches near Moab.
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