index Album 12b) Monday 27 July 2009

Bryce Canyon City, BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK, UT

a) Monday 27-July, ScenicByway 12 From Torrey To Bryce Canyon City, With Stops In Boulder+Escalante (See Previous Album).jpg
b) (INTERNET-PIC) Bryce Canyon City~In Record Time We Carried+Dropped Off Our Stuff In HotelRoom At Rubys Inn.jpg
c) An Hour Later Orso, At 5.38 PM, Arrival At The Entrance Sign Of Bryce Canyon National Park.JPG
d) Best Western Rubys Inn (Btw, A Very Large+Full Hotel !!) Is Situated Near Bryce Canyon National Park.jpg
e) Wheeling Through The Years .... Post-War Service Station.JPG
f) A Testament To The Past And The Ever-Changing Future.JPG
g) Union Pacific RailRoad, Followed By Automobile Travel ....JPG
h) ... As In the Present And Future ... The Bus Shuttle System! (Next Time We Might Take The Bus ;-).JPG
i) A Quick Visit At the VisitorCenter, And 20 Minutes Later ...Wow!! (Arrival At The Rim Of Bryce Canyon).JPG
j) ...Somewhere Over the Rainbow ... Hoodoos!!.JPG
k) Catch That! ;-).JPG
l) Hoodoo ~ A Pillar of Rock, Usually Of Fantastic Shape, Left By Erosion.JPG
m) At Bryce Canyon National Park Erosion Forms An Array of Fantastic Shapes We Know As Hoodoos.JPG
n) Surrounded By the Beauty of Southern Utah, Hoodoos Cast Their Spell On All Who Visit ;-).JPG
o) Take That! ;-).JPG
p) Btw, We Are At The Rim Of Sunset Point - Bryce Amphitheater.jpg
q) Bryce Amphitheater, The Heart of Bryce Canyon National Park.JPG
r) Sunset Point.JPG
s) Geologists Say That 10 Million Yrs Ago Forces Within The Earth Created ....JPG
t) ... And Then Moved The Massive Blocks, We Know As The Table Cliffs+Paunsaugunt Plateaus.JPG
u) RockLayers On The Table Cliffs Now Tower 2000 Ft Above Their Corresponding Layers On the Paunsaugunt.JPG
v) Ancient Rivers Carved The Tops+Exposed The Edges Of These Blocks, ....JPG
w) ... Removing Some Layers And Sculpting Formations In Others.JPG
x) The Paria Valley Was Created And Later Widened Between The Plateaus.JPG
y) The Paria River+Its Tributaries Still Carve The Plateau Edges.JPG
z) Carrying Dirt+Gravel, Rushing Waters Gully The Edges+Steep Slopes of the Paunsaugunt Plateau On Which Lies The Park.JPG
za) With Time, Tall+Thin Ridges (Called Fins) Emerge ~ Fins Then Erode Into Pinnacles+Spires Called ... Hoodoos !!!.JPG
zb) Hoodoos, Weakening And Fallling, Add Their Bright Colors To The Hills Below.JPG
zc) The Magic of the Colorful Hoodoos Is Found In Melting And Freezing Of Snow+Ice For About 200 Days Out of The Year.JPG
zd) Okay, That All Explained In A Nutshell .. Lets Do Some Hiking!.JPG
ze) Just Remember~Sedimentation, Uplift And Erosion ... We Get Deeper Into Its Geological Story A Little Later.JPG
zf) Hiking The Park ~ Navajo Loop At Sunset Point.JPG
zg) Navajo (We Didnt Realize It Was A Loop), Wall Street+Queens Garden Trail (HalfWay) ~Then Returned Same Route Back.jpg
zh) Descending The Navajo Trail At 6.30 PM.JPG
zi) A Moderate Hike, Steep Grades With Down+Back Elevation Change of 580 Ft (177 M).JPG
zj) An Awesome, Surreal and Good Fun Hike Experience !! ;-).JPG
zk) Descending Navajo Switchback.JPG
zl) Descending Navajo Switchback.JPG
zm) Descending Navajo Switchback.JPG
zn) Descending Navajo Switchback.JPG
zo) Descending Navajo Switchback.JPG
zp) Descending Navajo Switchback.JPG
zq) Descending Navajo Switchback (Looking Up).JPG
zr) Descending Navajo Switchback.JPG
zs) Ok, Back To Geology Class! ;-) Rockformations At Bryce Began To Develop During Cretaceous Period (144-65 Mill Yrs Ago).JPG
zt) Sedimentation, Ancient Waters ~ Cretaceous SeaWay And Tertiary Lakes, Streams+Rivers.jpg
zu) Cretaceous Seaway (144-65 Million Years Ago) Creating Brown+Gray Rocks Of Marine Origin.jpg
zv) Tertairy Lakes,Rivers+Streams (65-40 Milll Yrs Ago) Creating Reddish-Pink Rocks (ClaronFormation-Carving Of Hoodoos).JPG
zw) Then Came The Deformation (Horizontal Compression)+An(other) Uplift !! Forming The High Plateaus of Utah.JPG
zx) About 10 Mill Yrs Ago The Earth Pulled Apart (Again), Moving+Tilting Great Blocks Along Fault Lines ...jpg
zy) In Utah The Southern Edges of High Plateaus Eroded Into the Cliffs Of The Grand Staircase (Bryce Canyon Equals North).jpg
zz) High Plateaus Of Utah ~ SubProvince Of Colorado Plateau (Uplifted Beginning About 20 Mill Yrs Ago, Miocene Epoch).jpg
zza) After The Great Uplift, Last But Not Least ... The Art Of (Differential) Erosion !!.JPG
zzb) Differential Erosion ~ Water Erodes Rock Mechanically And Chemically.jpg
zzc) Along the Plateaus Rim, Conditions Are Optimal For Erosion ~ Creating Gullies, Fins And Vertical Hoodoos.jpg
zzd) Meanwhile ... Still Descending Navajo Switchback, Heading Towards Narrow Gorge.JPG
zze) Descending Navajo Switchback, Heading Towards Narrow Gorge.JPG
zzf) Narrow Gorge (On The Bottom Of Navajo Switchback).JPG
zzg) Narrow Gorge (Navajo Trail)..JPG
zzh) Narrow Gorge (Navajo Trail)..JPG
zzi) Narrow Gorge (Navajo Trail).JPG
zzj) Wall Street At the End Of Narrow Gorge (Navajo Trail).JPG
zzk) Wall Street At the End Of Narrow Gorge (Navajo Trail).JPG
zzl) Wall Street At the End Of Narrow Gorge (Navajo Trail).JPG
zzm) Wall Street (Two Douglas Firs) At the End Of Narrow Gorge (Navajo Trail).JPG
zzn) Wall Street (Two Douglas Firs) At the End Of Narrow Gorge (Navajo Trail).JPG
zzo) Passed Wall Street.JPG
zzp) Right ... Which Way To Go Now (Probably To The Left Navajo Trails Continues Into A Loop).JPG
zzq) We Didnt Know ;-) Too Enamored With Impressions, We Followed Some Other People.JPG
zzr) Understand That This Is Interconnected With The Queens Garden Trail.JPG
zzs) Queens Garden Trail It Is ;-).JPG
zzt) Queens Garden Trail.JPG
zzu) Queens Garden Trail.JPG
zzv) Queens Garden Trail.JPG
zzw) Queens Garden Trail, An Easy To Moderate Hike.JPG
zzx) Queens Garden Trail, With Gentle Grades+Minimal Elevation Change.JPG
zzy) Queens Garden Trail, Elevation Change Of 320 Ft (98 M).JPG
zzz) The Point of Return, We Realized That This Canyon Trail Takes Us All The Way To Sunrise Point.JPG
zzza) Its Passed 7 PM, We Dont Want To Miss Out On The Sunset Happening!.JPG
zzzb) Queens Garden, Back To Navajo Trail.JPG
zzzc) Queens Garden (Nearby Wall Street), Back To Navajo Trail.JPG
zzzd) Climbing Navajo Switchback.JPG
zzze) Climbing Navajo Switchback.JPG
zzzf) Climbing Navajo Switchback.JPG
zzzg) Climbing Navajo Switchback.JPG
zzzh) Climbing Navajo Switchback.JPG
zzzi) That Was Fun!!! Back Where We Started Our Hike An Hour Ago ~ Sunset Point Rim.JPG
zzzj) View Of Sunset At Sunset Point.JPG
zzzk) Navajo Loop (The Path We Would Have Climbed Back If We Had Taken The Loop).JPG
zzzl) Instead We Descended+Climbed Back Same Route Of Navajo Switchback (With Part of Queens Garden Trail In Between).JPG
zzzm) Sunset Point Rim.JPG
zzzn) Next Driving Down To Bryce Point (Southern Point Of Amphitheater).JPG
zzzo) 15 Minutes Later, Arrival At Bryce Point (7.50 PM) ~ Elevation 8300 Ft.JPG
zzzp) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzq) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzr) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzs) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzt) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzu) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzv) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzw) Sunset At Bryce Point ~ Grottos.JPG
zzzx) Look For A Pattern To The Cliff Formations ~ Recurring Features Based On The Type Of Rock+Erosion Conditions.JPG
zzzy) Grottos, The Arch ~ Harder CapRock Prevents The Arch From Collapsing (For the Moment ....).JPG
zzzz) Rain+Melting Snow Trickle Down Through Cracks To A Bed Of Permeable Sandstone And Follow It To The Cliff Face ...JPG
zzzza) ... There The Moisture Begins To Dissolve The Layers Calcium-Carbonate Cement ...JPG
zzzzb) ... Grain By Grain The Rock Crumbles To Sand, And The Recess Deepens ...JPG
zzzzc) ... Tongues Of Sand Are Visible Below The Grottos.JPG
zzzzd) Rain+Melting Snow On Same Layer Of Pale Sandstone Equals Grottos.JPG
zzzze) Sunset At Bryce Point ~ 7.58 PM.JPG
zzzzf) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzzg) Sunset At Bryce Point.JPG
zzzzh) Sunset At Bryce Point ~ 7.59 PM.JPG
zzzzi) Lets Try To Catch Another ViewPoint To See The Sun Completely Set.JPG
zzzzj) Next Driving Up To Inspiration Point (Middle Point Of Amphitheater).JPG
zzzzk) 10 Minutes Later, Arrival At Inspiration Point (8.13 PM) ~ Elevation 8100 Ft.JPG
zzzzl) Fortunately No Lightning Storms Going On Now.JPG
zzzzm) Sunset At Inspiration Point.JPG
zzzzn) Sunset At Inspiration Point.JPG
zzzzo) Sunset At Inspiration Point.JPG
zzzzp) Sunset At Inspiration Point.JPG
zzzzq) Sunset At Inspiration Point.JPG
zzzzr) Sunset At Inspiration Point.JPG
zzzzs) Rain Divide ~ Think Of These Cliffs As A Huge Storm Drain Funneling Runoff Down Gullies.JPG
zzzzt) Rain+Snow Over Rim In Front Dragged Into Nearby Streams (Inclusive Bryce Creek) And Eventually Into Pacific.JPG
zzzzu) But Whatever Flows Or Falls Into The Vast Desert of The Great Basin DoesNOT Have An Outlet To the Sea.JPG
zzzzv) Inspiration Point Is Not Mentioned On This Display, However Just Behind Bryce Point ~ 2 Miles Apart.JPG
zzzzw) Sunset At Inspiration Point ~ 8.20 PM.JPG
zzzzx) Its Getting Rather Chilly Now ;-).JPG
zzzzy) Sunset At Inspiration Point (ParkingLot).JPG
zzzzz) We Have Got Company! ;-) Enjoying Sunset With A Lone Tree.JPG
zzzzza) Sunset At Inspiration Point ~ 8.23 PM.JPG
zzzzzb) Sunset At Inspiration Point.JPG
zzzzzc) Sunset At Inspiration Point.JPG
zzzzzd) Bryce Canyon Rocks!!!.JPG
zzzzze) Yep, We Certainly Be Back Here On Another Trip ~ Awesome Hiking Trails! ;-).JPG
zzzzzf) Sunset At Inspiration Point ~ 8.27 PM.JPG
zzzzzg) Dusk Settling In.JPG
zzzzzh) Sunset At Inspiration Point (8.29 PM) ~ 1 Hour+10 Minutes Later We Sat Down In A Restaurant Booth Of Our Hotel.JPG
zzzzzi) After Meal+Drinks At (Crowded, But Fortunately Kitchen Still Open) Cowboys Buffet ~ Back In HotelRoom at 11.15 PM~Night! ;-).JPG
 

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