Bryce Canyon

Our first stop was Bryce Canyon - named after my third-great grandfather, Ebenezer Bryce.  I've been wanting to explore Bryce for years, but it never worked out until now...

We drove down late Thursday night, slept on the side of the road in Panguitch and then went to Jared's dad's cousin's house in the morning.  He worked for the Fish & Game Dept. and gave us the inside scoop on the area..... 

Our campsite in Bryce - sure it doesn't look like much here, but it was a short walk to some serious beauty

Red Canyon - Jared, Mandy, Cousin Normon

 After setting up camp at Bryce, we met up with Normon to take his ATV's through Red Canyon. It was amazing!  The weather was perfect and the views were unreal!

Jared's sister, Heidi, drove down Friday night with her family and stayed with us for the weekend.

Isaac, Owen & Evelyn

 We took a hike in the morning that overlooked Bryce Canyon and then drove down to Tropic to see Ebenezer's homestead.  We're still not sure we found the right house - people in town didn't seem to really know for sure which house it was and the visitor's center was closed for Memorial Day weekend.  It was a little disappointing, but maybe we saw the real one... I'm sure I can just google it.

Hiking with the Lee's

Isaac in the hoodoo window

Mandy at Bryce Point overlooking Bryce Amphitheater with a sign about Ebenezer & Mary Bryce

Mandy & Jared at Bryce Point

I don't think the pictures really do it justice - if you haven't been to Bryce Canyon, it's a must.  It really is amazing and unlike anything else we've seen.  The temperatures were colder than I expected and although everyone said it was unusually cool, it's also 8000 ft at the canyon rim.

This mountain made me wish I would've paid more attention in Geology (Beka and I just had too much to discuss during class).  But isn't this amazing?!? The mountain literally changes from red to black.

 One other place you really should check out if you go to Bryce is the Bryce Wildlife Museum.  They have over 900 animals (stuffed) from all over the world.  Normon took us there; Jared & I were both more than impressed and really enjoyed it.  Also, you can check out Normon's photography in the gift shop here or at Ruby's Inn.