The Peru Gazette

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

By Jean & John Ryan

Bryce Canyon National Park includes some very colorful rocks which have been sculpted by erosion into pillars called “hoodoos.” Iron oxides give red, yellow and brown tints to this canyon’s limestone. The name native Americans gave to this area translates as “red rocks standing like man in a bowl-shaped canyon.” We were able to enjoy Bryce Canyon’s unique beauty at sunset after a rare desert rainstorm. (Click here for photos of Bryce Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon Dam, The Grand Canyon National Park and Zion National Park)

Traveling from Bryce Canyon to Grand Canyon, we observed the “Grand Staircase.” This has been designated a national monument and includes a series of sandstone mesas which staircase and extend from Bryce, to Zion, to the Grand Canyon. We visited the Glen Canyon Dam, a dam built to generate hydroelectric power that is distributed to cities and industries throughout the West. With the construction of Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell was formed.

One of the seven natural wonders of the world is the Grand Canyon, our seventh national park on our tour. This spectacular mile deep canyon was carved by the Colorado River. As we looked down upon the canyon and walked along the rim at Desert View Point and Mather Point, we were amazed by the beautiful layered canyon walls and one superb vista after another. As we walked along the rim before sunrise the next morning, we saw elk munching on the luscious grass in Grand Canyon Village. It was a memorable experience to see the canyon come to life as the sunlight gradually rose above the horizon.

The last national park on our tour was Zion, a spectacular gorge carved through colored sandstone and shale by the Virgin River. The Emerald Pools Trail allowed us to see waterfalls and pools along a dazzling canyon walk. Weeping Rocks Trail led to a large rock wall where water seeps down from above onto hanging gardens. The Temple of Sinawava Trail follows the Virgin River and leads past hanging gardens, pools, brooklets and towering cliffs.

Click here: Click here for Part II photos. Click here for Part I photos.