Bryce

I left right on time today (so another late start ;) and headed from Torrey down to Bryce. It's a straight shot down Hwy12, about 112 miles. The stretch between Torrey and Escalante is one of the best roads I've ever driven.... very twisty, lots of elevation change (9400 ft summit) and serious drop-offs. At one point the road stretches right across the top of a peak with steep drops on both sides of the road. Good times :) I managed to make the trip at a 60mph average which is a bit higher than mapquest had predicted. I grabbed lunch right outside the park and then headed for the visitor center.
Danielle had recommended the Navajo Loop as a pretty short hike with good views but it's been closed since May 23 last year due to a rockslide. You can hike about 1/4 mile of the trail down to the canyon floor which did give much better views of the rocks than just shooting down on them. The trail back up is a pretty good climb and by the top I was pretty much done with hiking for the day. Hiking at 8k ft, the heat and being tired from yesterday had wiped me out so I stuck with drives to the scenic overlooks and short walks down trails for better views but no long hikes. Bryce is a busy park though and is setup for driving tours so the overlooks are actually pretty good. I need to head back at some point when I have more energy to do some of the longer trails, I'd love to hike down to the canyon floor.
I spent about 4hrs in the park before heading off Hwy14 for Cedar City. This was another entertaining drive but more traffic and not quite as twisty as 12. Still it was a pretty short drive into town and I made it in early enough to get a real sit down meal at Crapplebees. Tomorrow I'm off to Zion for a couple days of hiking and relaxation :)

pics from Bryce