Bryce Canyon NP (4th of August 2013)

We and the Hoodoos

We arrived to Bryce Canyon in the morning. The air was still chilly but warming up.

We first stopped at the visitor center, where we checked out the museum and signed up for a guided tour to the southern part of the park for the afternoon. We visited the northern part of the park with the shuttle bus. The different vista points and trails were just breathtaking!!! 

The Hoodoos (or pinnacles)

The red-colored Hoodoos offered a unique and  wonderful experience. The major element in the formation of those pinnacles is freezing and melting of water. We were told that in Bryce Canyon water freezes and melts lots of times during winter, much more than in other places. 

The local Indian tribes used to tell that the Hoodoos once were people who were transformed into stone. This legend added a mystical touch to this natural beauty!!!

At one of the vista points

In the afternoon we took a guided tour to the southern part. Our tour guide was very friendly and told us a lot about the surrounding area, about the animals and plants living there. The Bristlecone pine, for example, which is found a lot in this area, is the oldest tree in the world. The Bristlecone is actually a really small tree, with a small trunk. Especially if compared to the Redwoods and the Giant Sequoia, which are the highest and the largest trees respectively, the Bristlecone doesn't look like he is the oldest tree on earth!!

Towards the end of the day we left this beautiful place in direction of another natural wonder, the Arches National Park, UT.

Bizarre lizard!!