bdokko.com

It's absolutely amazing how different these parks are, despite being relatively close to each other.  The Grand Canyon just appears, seemingly out of nowhere amidst forests of pine trees.  Bryce Canyon looks man-made and artificial, and Zion is magnificent in an entirely different way. 

The hoodoos at Bryce Canyon

Thor's Hammer, Bryce Canyon

Zion National Monument

The drive into Zion

That's it for this trip, but I'm heading back out to Yosemite next week.  I love summer...

It's also been a long while since I last went to the Grand Canyon, but seeing it again is just like seeing it for the first time.  My favorites are all the tourists and their exclamations.  My favorite...

 (with an air of the O.C.) "Wow, it's----so----big."

We camped, which was quite different than the luxurious Trump hotel, but more satisfying.  I love the city, I love the Internet, I love my iPhone, and I love Trader Joes, but there is something wholly fulfilling in being amidst trees and dirt and wild animals.  Being in nature, you exchange smog for the scent of pine, something we ought to enjoy more often. 

I took Vanessa for her first real hiking along the Kaibab Trail, out to Cedar Ridge and back.  It was only about 3 miles round trip, about 1,000 feet elevation each way, but was pretty strenuous for her. 

Looks like they're building a new bridge so Grand Canyon traffic can bypass the Hoover Dam

About 5pm, overcast, on our arrival.  Bad light = bad photo.

Hiking on the South Kaibab Trail

My cousin Dave surveying the Canyon

Cedar Ridge

The view from Ooh-Ahh Point

Vanessa at Lipan Point (7,390 ft)

Panorama from Lipan Point (170º composite photo)

Onto Bryce and Zion...