Bryce Canyon National Park

Looks like I'm just being cool and wearing my Chacos at the visitor center because I totally brought my hiking boots so of course I'll just change when we get to the trail. Right?

Yeah, not so much. Apparently today's the day I forgot my boots. Wes might have forgotten his Chacos, too, but considering there was snow on the ground and a bunch of MUD everywhere I think I win the prize for the oops today.

But actually, it turned out fine. We received some extreme words of wisdom from the ranger at the visitors center in terms of hiking direction, so we climbed UP the steeper and slippier leg of the trail (most people seemed to start down that one, and you could tell when you met them in the base of the ampitheater because their bodies (or maybe just their butts?) we're covered in mud. A lot of slipping on the way down.

But I am getting ahead of myself. We started the day with 2nd breakfasts at Sweet Sage Coffee Co. in Colorado City, Arizona, which is an hour time difference from both out TinyHouse in Utah and our eventual destination of Bryce Canyon (also in Utah) so we're just all kinds of confused on time here. Also I apparently missed it, but a real cowboy (spurs on boots? real boots? chaps? hat?) stopped by for a latte while we were hanging. This stop was also strategic b/c there was Wifi and AJ was finishing up something for their Physics class since the mod was ending and they missed some school due to an unfortunate and ill-timed bout of norovirus. But as is often the case, I digress....

We wound our way through some extreme NOTHING in Arizona and then back to Utah, this time Kanab which was cute. We stopped for some lunch things at a grocery store - the prepared/take it away sandwiches and salads and sushi etc has been pretty impressive in these little towns, presumably we're not the first hikers to think of this plan. We eventually made our way to Bryce (this was the longest drive of the trip, more or less, save the Vegas of it all) where we at our lunch overlooking the ampitheater and the snowcapped hoodoos. We did the requiste hike down into the canyon - AJ will tell you, since they worked on the Bryce Jr Ranger badge, that it's not really a canyon because a canyon has a river flowing through it, and Bryce does not! - explored a bit and hiked back up and out, and then along the rim trail a ways. It was somewhere between 4 and 5 miles (but who's counting) and definitely enough to give us a feel for the park.

There were some theatrics with trying to get the mud off of our boots (or ya know, Chacos) but we did our best and piled into the car for thr 2 hour ride back to the TinyHouse. AJ promptly fell asleep, of course, and since we didn't realy have a dinner plan we stopped in Kanab at the Rocking V Cafe which turned out to be eclectically excellent. Reccomend it for sure if you find yourself in Kanab. A lovely dinner and some yummy dessert was had by all, and we made our way back to the TinyHouse and fell promptly into bed.