We didn’t have high expectations for Bryce. I guess we were getting a bid jaded—“more red rock”. Were we wrong.

Bryce bought out true awe and imagination in me. It made me want to sprout wings so that I can fly over my kingdom of spires, nobles mansions, castle gardens and outer walls. It was nothing less of spectacular. This is our favorite stop so far.

We arrived late and so went directly to our campsite on Saturday. Our first view of Bryce was by sunrise on Sunday, I made Phil get up at 6am and we watched the sun peak over the mesa and make the spires glow in orange and yellows. Inspiration Point at sunrise (16Mb video)

The signature feature of Bryce is the “hoodoo”. The etymology is a bit vauge, some say Mormon, some say variant of voodoo, but I do know that what it represents is nothing short of majestic. A “hoodoo is a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.”

In addition to the hoodoos, Bryce is at 9,000 feet of elevation (2700 meters) and coupled with the some of the cleanest air around, has the one of the best views of the night sky in the world. To quote from the guide: “Bryce’s sky is almost as dark as the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea and other… astronomical observatories. By comparision, a moonless night in most rural settings… where 2500 individual stars [can be seen]… but here at Bryce, 7500 are visible to the naked eye.” Not too shabby. Alas, on our second night, when I was going to take night shots, it was overcast. So no photos for you.

All in all, if you have only one national park to visit, make it Bryce.