Thursday
October 3rd, 2002
Day 169 (page 2)

Start: Bicknell, UT
Finish: Bryce Canyon, UT

Miles Today: 166
Miles to Date: 16623
Trooper Mileage: 185544

Bryce Canyon is a place I've been wanting to get to for years. Finally, I'm getting there, as part of my Grand Finale. It is spectacular enough to keep my attention, and for a while at least, overcome that homing urge that I have been feeling for the last week or so, and that is growing stronger.

From the park entrance, there is a road that travels along a ridge for about 18 miles. I got there early enough in the afternoon to drive the whole length, and stop frequently to just enjoy.

The "canyon" part of the name is somewhat of a misnomer - it is not exactly a canyon, although there are canyon areas throughout the site. Its spectacular features are the result of s specific type of erosion, caused by repeated freezing cycles within cracks in the stone. The sculpted spires, walls and ledges are colored brilliant red, yellow and purple by the iron and manganese in the rock.

You may have heard this word before - "hoodoo" - that is the name of this type of formation. I had heard the word before, but always (mistakenly) associated it with some sort of Caribbean superstition.

The features are not as imposingly huge as those of, say, the Grand Canyon or Yosemite - but the intricate carving, the deep fluted fissures, the striking vertical relief, and the seemingly impossible needle-like shapes of some of the stone spires give the landscape a complexity that fulfills the senses. The deeply shadowed texture of the landscape is such that a change in light, by the passing of clouds or the progression of the sun, can create a slow kaleidoscopic transformation of solid stone.

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