Friday, July 7, 2006 - Bryce Canyon, Utah

After breakfast, we packed the backpack and drove into the park. We had decided to take a hike in Bryce Canyon. We stopped at the visitors' center and purchased a hiking map. We decided to take the Queen's Garden Trail. The trailhead is on the rim at Sunrise Point. We took lots of water, raincoats and some snacks. The hike was about two miles out and back and descended three hundred feet. The path was sand with some small rocks. We used the hiking sticks and enjoyed a leisure pace. There were some switchbacks and several tunnels that the path passed through. At the end of the "out" portion, we saw Queen Victoria sitting on her throne atop a large vertical rock. We took many pictures of the hoodoos, cliffs and rock formations. The rock colors at Bryce vary, but are predominately a red/pink shade. The hike lasted several hours and we returned to the campground and worked.