SUNDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2024

(St. George, UT – Bryce Canyon, UT)

Yesterday, I was wishing it was a bit cooler. Today was a reminder to be careful what you wish for…

But before that thought could cross my mind, we first had to get up, packed, showered and out of our hotel room, which we achieved by around 10am. After breakfast at Denny’s again, we returned to I-15 northbound, the highway we’ve been on since Los Angeles. The route provided distant views of Zion Canyon mountains, and mostly green trees, until we came off at Cedar City. We’ve not been though the town before, but it seemed pleasant, and we were soon heading east up into the mountains themselves. 

As we climbed, the leaves turned yellow, until the trees had no leaves at all. And then I noticed snow in the shaded corners alongside the road…

The air temperature was dropping, and by the time we arrived at Cedar Breaks visitor centre it was down to 10 degrees. I felt a little under dressed in shorts, t-shirt and sandals. Luckily, we have a large car and easily accessible suitcases, so I pulled some extra layers out of the case and we soon looked a bit more suited to the cooler air. The visitor centre was closed for the season but we had a short wander to the viewpoint. Along the way we passed a marker pole showing how much snow they usually get during winter. A lot, apparently. There was already some snow on the ground, and so off course I had to go and stand in it and throw a snowball. I hadn’t anticipated snow when I was wishing it to be a little cooler!

After we’d enjoyed the view, we drove on to the Chessman Ridge Overlook, where we decided to walk the Alpine Loop Trail. With hindsight, our trekking poles would have been useful, as a lot of the walk turned out to be either slippy snow, ice, or clarty, slippy mud. Given the elevation of around 10,500 feet combined with the difficult trail conditions, it is no wonder that it felt like hard effort. It was well worth it though, for the views, scenery, the scent of the pine trees and warm, dusty air, the snow, and the birds flitting amongst the trees. Wonderful.

[Editor’s note: The video is saved here https://vimeo.com/1023823393.]

We left Cedar Breaks and drove via Panguitch to Bryce Canyon. The road offered more views, and crosses old lava flows. 

Once at Bryce, we checked in and out of things in the room, and then drove to Sunrise Point. We chose to have a sunset stroll along a section of the rim trail, heading towards Fairyland Point. This is an unpaved section, and much quieter than other parts of the trail. It was pleasantly quiet and relaxing, and although there wouldn’t be any sunset colours tonight, the grey clouds added a drama of their own.

After walking we drove straight to dinner, hoping it would not be too busy. It was steadily busy but we were seated straight away. Andrew had beer batted shrimp  to start, followed by steak, which was very good apparently. I enjoyed a salad and a mushroom sandwich, which was tastier than that might sound! As we left we passed a very long queue waiting to be seated, so we’re glad we chose to go straight there.

After that, it was back to the room, where we relaxed and watched Red Bull Rampage Mountain Biking from just down the road near Zion (they are both fearless and crazy), followed by the Mexican Grand Prix. A very satisfying day.