Bryce Canyon: Utah
6/02/06We arrived yesterday in the middle of a big cottonwood flurry. It was much less today but my nose is running like water and I've had a lot of exercise sneezing. It was another beautiful day. We drove to Bryce Canyon. It took about an hour and a half. The canyon is spectacular. Red rock formations that are fantastic to see. There are columns, grottos and tall formations called hoodoos. Beautiful. We saw antelope and mule deer some, captive elk and buffalo. Fred saw a prairie dog but I missed it. We saw a Rufus hummingbird at Bryce and, later, here at Zion near the Virgin River, about 4 more. They were swooping and darting over the water, catching insects, I think. They seemed to be having a great time. The river, which really looks more like a stream is really lovely. It runs near the road between Zion and Bryce and we enjoyed watching it. We thought we might see some trout fishermen but did not. We hiked one short trail along the rim. A fairly easy stretch, mostly down hill and I did okay for a flatland tourister. Some of the inclines are fairly steep and no fun. We stopped for lunch outside Bryce and came on back to our home on wheels and Jigger. We rested a bit then walked down to the river where we watched the hummingbirds and a family splashing in the water. Very pleasant. Jigger was calm and not too impressed with the scenery. She walked up the log stairs on her own. Another first. Tomorrow, we're off to Vegas. We haven't been there for years and I'm interested to see the newish theme casinos. Oh, the long dark tunnel is only 1.1 miles. It certainly is a lo-o-o-ng mile.