Bryce Canyon National Park

On our way to Bryce Canyon from Page, we stopped at the Grand Staircase / Escalante National Monument visitor center. It was a place with information about dinosaurs because it is near where they found bones and other dinosaur fossils. I earned another Junior Ranger badge.

We hiked the Toadstools. It was a short hike, just over 2 miles. They are mushroom shaped rocks. They are rocks with large rock shapes on top and thinner ones on the bottom. Around them, the rocks have eroded so they leave these funny shapes.

When we got to Bryce, we checked into the hotel and played in the pool. 

In the morning, we went to the visitor center to plan our trip and watched the movie about Bryce Canyon. It was called the Shadows of Time and taught us how hoodoos were formed and how other rocks there were formed. They were mostly formed by wind and water erosion of surrounding rocks.

Later, we went on a three hour horseback ride through 8 miles of the canyon. I was on a horse named Raspberry. I rode behind my sister in the front of the group. A couple of times, my horse threatened to kick my mom's horse because her horse kept throwing her head around a lot. My butt is still sore from the ride! The guide said that's what they call a "souvenir." It was still so much fun!

After that we drove to Rainbow Point and a lot of other points too. We also saw a group of pronghorn antelope. We started on a hike at the end of the drive, but my sister was so tired that she refused to walk. We just got to see the views from really high up, 9115 ft. I was really mad at Autumn because I really wanted to hike.

The next day my parents made us get up really early for sunrise at Inspiration Point. Autumn wouldn't walk the whole way up, but I did. I was really hungry though so I couldn't wait for it to be over. When we finally went to breakfast, I was so hungry that I got sick before our food arrived and ended up barely eating anything. 

After that we hiked through the canyon on the Queens Garden and the Navajo Loop. It was sunny and nice, and we did a long hike with a very steep hike to the top at the end. I love hiking.

We went back to the hotel and watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid because it has scenes from the places we are visiting now. It was a good movie, but I didn't like that they died at the end. 

After that we did another big hike through the canyon on the Fairyland trail to Tower Bridge. Our camelbak was leaking and we ran out of water on the way back, which made us all nervous and thirsty. My mom was so worried about getting back before it got too late and we got sick that she didn't pay attention when I showed her that something was hurting and itching on my back. Later that night she noticed the fang marks and a big red rash and knew that I got bit by something. The next morning, my dad brought me to a park ranger and they agreed that I did get bit and that I was healing fine. So, we were on our way to Zion for the next part of our adventure.