Bryce Canyon National Park Weekend

I am a bit late in getting this post up. Last weekend I went to Bryce Canyon National Park and Escalante with my good friend Heidi. We left on the 5th and drove to Escalante where we stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast called The Slot Canyon Inn. I originally booked the room here in the beginning of May when I thought Sven was coming out. Every place inside the park was booked so I found this place, which is about 45 minutes outside of the park. It took us just under 5 hours to get there. We checked in around 3:30pm, packed our packs with food and water and headed out to Calf Creek Falls, a beautiful 6 mile hike with amazing scenery. Red rock cliffs with lush greenery along a river and an amazing fall as your payoff at the end. Here are some pictures from this hike.





















Sunday, the 6th, our plan was to spend the entire day hiking around Bryce. We had a great breakfast at the Inn, packed up food and supplies and headed out for adventure. However, this was not destined to be my day. We arrived at the park, pulled into the visitor center and decided on a longer hike, one that said it would take 4-5 hours, went back to the car and realized I left my pack (which contained all of our food supplies). I was so mad! We debated about going back, but that would set us back 2 hours! So I decided that I would splurge and buy a new pack and we would split the cost of more food. $95.00 later, we head to the trail head only to pull up and have it start pouring down rain!
Still determined to see Bryce, Heidi and I decide we will take the less adventurous approach and drive to all of the over looks. Only problem is that my camera is in my pack back in the room, so I do not have any pictures! After seeing the sights we stopped for lunch at the Bryce Canyon lodge, and decide we could both use a glass of wine. The waiter, bless his heart, spills my glass of wine all over me. At this point my bad luck is just funny to me. We had a good laugh about it and ended up getting dessert for free.
After lunch we decide that it might have cleared up enough to attempt a hike, but 30 minutes into the hike the imposing storm clouds, complete with lightening and thunder made us turn around which was a good thing because we ended up getting to the car right as the rain began to pour down.
We headed back to our hotel and decided that we needed a really nice dinner. A friend of mine told me about a place in Boulder that has and amazing restaurant so we called and got a reservation at Hells Backbone Grill. It was about 45 minutes away from where we were staying, but well worth the drive, which I should mention is so awe inspiring in itself. The food was fabulous and I want to go back and stay at the lodge there some time soon! Here is a picture of Heidi and I after we got all dolled up for dinner.

Monday morning we packed up, checked out of the hotel and headed back to Bryce. We decided we wanted to get a morning hike in before heading back to Salt Lake. We did the Navajo/Queens loop and it took us about 2 hours. It was amazing! I felt like I was on another planet, like I was walking around on Mars or something. There were large Hoodoos, red and white layers or rock, and pine trees...such an odd combination. It is hard to describe, I think it best to just put a bunch of pictures up instead.
















I loved this vacation! It was perfect for me. Right up my alley. I would recommend it to anyone. Bryce is a place that everyone should experience. Now I won't lie, it was a little hard being there (since I had originally planned this for Sven and I)but I do not regret going! Heidi and I had a blast and it is truly one of the most majestic places to visit in Utah.