2025-05: Bryce Canyon National Park

Milestones

• 29th time camping in 29 months (SHOW ON MAP)
• 6th time camping in a National Park (SEE THE 5th)
• 4th time crossing the “Old Spanish Trail” (SEE THE THIRD)
•  3rd time camping with my friend Tony (SEE THE SECOND).
•  2nd time camping in Utah (SEE THE FIRST).
• 1st time camping in snow/ice… not a lot, but it still counts.

Driving Up

This trip was planned a year ago when Tony and I were finishing our trip to Yosemite. We both were excited to spend some time riding bikes and viewing the gorgeous scenery. The campground is 500 miles from my house, so it was really nice to have someone to share the driving. We left at 9am Sunday, and planned on staying 2 nights. We chose to drive through the southwest corner of Zion National Park. I’m so glad we did. Along the way we drove through the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel which was completed in 1930. The highway and tunnel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Here’s some of the pictures I took coming up from the west end of the tunnel:

Do you see these clouds? I thought they were beautiful, but little did I know that these same clouds would pour their snowy wrath upon my helpless tent.

We had to wait before proceeding through the tunnel. Tony and I couldn’t figure out why, since there were 2-lanes. It turns out, that the tunnel’s restricted dimensions require that vehicles over 11.33 feet in height or 7.83 feet in width must give advance notice so that two-way traffic can be shut down in the tunnel, allowing oversize vehicles to proceed down the center of the tunnel. Once we got through, the views on the east end of the tunnel were strangely even more beautiful.

Eating a Bison

We agreed to stop somewhere along the way and eat dinner. That way we could just arrive and setup our tents without the extra hassle of cooking food in the dark. Tony suggested we eat at Zion Mountain Ranch and have Bison for dinner. The ranch was located in this fantastic meadow. As we drove up the highway, we saw at least 100 Bison grazing in that meadow.

Here’s the view from our table….. if you zoom in and squint carefully…. you can see 2 bison in the center, just above the fence line.

Here’s a closer picture….

As you can tell, I like my meat “medium rare”. It was tender and delicious.

Camping

We arrived at our campsite, and it was a complete surprise to us that we were at 7,943′ elevation in a pine forest. I didn’t do my homework very well.

I told Tony he walked like sasquatch…

Only 200 feet away from our campsite was a viewing area overlooking a canyon below us. Amazing…

Surviving the Weather

When the sun went down, it got cold fast. I started a fire on my Solo Stove. It provided a nice ambiance, and lasted for an hour. But, around 9:30pm… it started to SNOW, and it continued on and off all night.

We found out the next morning that it got down to 27F in temperature. Neither Tony nor I had a problem with the cold temp. I was pleased with how well my sleeping bag took care of me.

Biking Around… and Seeing the Views

The next morning, Tony and I set out for our bike ride. Our first stop was Sunset Point. The park ranger scolded me for riding my bike along the pathway, but Tony smoothed over her ruffled feathers. Good Ol’ Tony.

Don’t ask me how many rules I would be willing to break in order to see the following scenery…. (hint: it’s a big number).

Are you kidding me?????? …. this is some world-class geological beauty. These spires are called Hoodoos. A hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements. Hoodoo comes from a Southern Paiute word, “oo’doo“, which refers to a thing that is scary or inspires fear.

While hoodoos are scattered throughout the world, nowhere are they so abundant as in the northern section of Bryce Canyon National Park.

Our next stop was Inspiration Point. Once we got there, Tony was starting to feel the effects of high altitude, sleepless night, and cold temperature. It was all too much. He biked back to the car, and headed for the campsite to recuperate. I pushed forward.

After biking in 35F weather and 15mph winds, I was starting to not have so much fun. Don’t get me wrong…. I had a BLAST. I wouldn’t trade that experience for fame and money. …. Well, maybe for money… but it would take a boatload.

When I got back to the campsite, I told Tony that we could stay another night shivering… or we could go home. We both decided to cut and run. We packed everything up in 30 minutes and high-tailed it out of there.

While we drove out the north side of Bryce Canyon National Park (after entering from the south), I saw this sign. I had to stop and collect my trophy…. because this is the 4th time I have crossed the Old Spanish Trail during my biking/camping travels.