Bryce Canyon National Park

One of my favorite places in the world is Bryce Canyon. My family came to Bryce several times when my dad had a ranch in Utah. I used to think I would like to work at the Bryce Lodge. The college-age young adults used to wait tables, then sing to the tour buses as they would arrive or leave. They looked like they had so much fun. I never did get to work there because I needed to make more money for college by the time I was old enough. But I did get information now about how to apply to work or volunteer there. Not sure John was as interested as I was! We also looked into camp hosting. But it is still rather chilly. It snowed lightly one night so we were glad we had extra blankets.

We took several hikes along the rim, but didn't go down into the canyon this time like we did several years ago. It was threatening rain, and when the lightning and thunder came along, we were glad we were back in our trailer by then. Camping in National Parks is the way to go -- we get into the National Parks free with our Golden Age Pass, and camp for half-price. ($7.50 a night!) No hook-ups, but the natural setting is wonderful.

One of the surprises was meeting up with my cousin, Jack and Wilma Pickrell, at one of the scenic viewpoints. I had just commented that we hadn't seen anyone we knew unexpectedly on this trip, and there they were! What a surprise! We had a nice short visit!

We enjoyed the ranger talk on geology -- amazing stories about how the earth has been shaped in this part of the world. An evening program had beautiful photographs of various Utah landscapes -- the photographer went into out-of-the-way places, and yet still hasn't seen it all. Neither have we! We wish we could spend several months here visiting all of the national parks, staying much longer than we have been able to do! So much to see -- so little time!