Images of Bryce Canyon National Park – Southern Utah, taken in May 2018.

Bryce Canyon National Park is comprised of a ridge of amphitheaters filled with odd rock formations called Hoodoos; pillars of rock eroded over time to resemble towers. Harder rock, called cap rock, protects the softer materials below and prevents it from being eroded away by wind and rain. The amphitheaters, filled with these interesting formations, are incredible to see whether from the rim of the canyon or walking among them on the trails that weave their way into the canyon itself.

I’ve visited here in the past and on that trip hiked down into the canyon to walk at the base of the hoodoos. This time I would hike some of the trails along the rim. Instead of driving into the park I decided to use the free shuttle, however, I soon found out that unlike the shuttle at Zion National Park, these shuttles don’t go to all the park viewpoints; instead venturing only to the more popular Bryce Amphitheater area. No problem, I would have to develop a two pronged approach; visiting what I could reach by bus first and later driving back into the park by car to see some of the more far-flung areas.

I began my journey at Bryce Point which looks directly into the amphitheater. Originally the weather forecast for today was for sunny skies but as I drove to the park it had become progressively more partly-cloudy and now those clouds seemed to hang directly over the best part of this park. So I planted myself up against the viewpoint railing and waited. It became more of a show as the clouds moved through the area casting their shadows over various formations in the amphitheater. As a photographer I always think I want perfect clear skies but the truth is that puffy, billowing clouds make for some great landscape images and in this case the shadows of those clouds dancing over the many hoodoos made for some amazing viewing. Eventually I took off down the Rim Trail toward Sunset Point to get some slightly different viewing angles and ended up making a subsequent stop at Sunset Point to view the famous Thor’s Hammer Hoodoo before boarding the shuttle back to my car so I could explore the rest of the park.

I spent the rest of the day taking in the sights along the park road, the highlight of which was my hike along the Bristlecone Loop Trail from the highest point in the park at Rainbow Point (9,115 feet). It was there that I got my first look at the ancient Bristlecone Pines, the oldest one here being approximately 1600 years old.