Brilliance of Bryce

DSC_0492-1

Bryce Canyon, Utah, is one of those unforgettable places.

Before visiting Bryce Canyon National Park, I had never heard of a hoodoo, let alone lay eyes on one. Truth be told, I knew very little about it and did not know what to expect.

When we walked up a small hill a short distance away, from the car park, our minds were blown almost instantly. Not only by how bizarre the landscape before us was, but also the scale of it.

DSC_0528-1 DSC_0516-1
We didn’t come across any large mammals, but there were these incredibly adorable and nimble chipmunks bouncing around the rim of the hoodoo basin.

The view from the basin rim was spectacular! We had the weather on our side for most of the day, so that we were able to enjoy the hoodoos in all of their glory.
We watched a short documentary about the park at the visitor centre, and got to know a little about how these rocky spires were formed, and also that the processes have not stopped, old hoodoos are collapsing each year, and new ones are being born, through the process of erosion.

After admiring the hoodoos from above, we took a walking along the “best one-mile-hike in the world”, to the Queen’s Garden, along the bottom of the basin, amongst the towering hoodoos.

Bryce Canyon is a small National Park, and all of its most impressive features are concentrated in one area, it is an ideal destination for a day trip. If you are ever in Utah, this little gem is a must visit!

29 thoughts on “Brilliance of Bryce”

  1. Wow – Bryce Canyon is truly spectacular! I’ve seen hoodoos here in Alberta, but nothing that comes close to this.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Oh the hoodoos in Alberta looks very distinct too, according to google images. Think I just like hoodoos of all shapes and sizes!

      It was a very special place, and was not too busy either. The 1 mile hike was short but steep at places, might have put some people off. Glad we did it

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Yes the Alberta hoodoos down in the badlands are quote distinct, but I have seen like 3-4 together, not hundreds like in your pictures from Bryce canyon – that is quite amazing:)

        If you feel up for it I’ve invited you to take part in the 5 day B&W challenge I just completed myself. It as quite fun looking through pictures to evaluate which ones would potentially look good in black and white. Hope you will join in!
        https://girlgoneexpat.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/centre-street-bridge-in-bw/

        Like

      2. Hi Inger! Thank you for inviting me to do the photo challenge. I’d love to do it but it’s a matter of finding some time to do it, I will try to get around to it as soon as I can! 🙂

        Like

    1. It was quite hot on the way down! But on our way back up it started raining, so it was kinda of tolerable. After that we had some pretty delicious buffet just outside of the park while the rain fell, it was a good day 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. Oh my goodness! What an INCREDIBLE sight! That must have been a totally jaw-dropping moment when you saw that. Beautiful photos and I loved the Chipmunks. It seems you got quite close to them.
    Karen

    Like

    Reply

    1. Indeed it was Karen, those rock formations are out of this world, we were very impressed.
      I wasn’t terribly close to the chipmunks, had a big zoom lens and bright sunshine that helped things along.
      Hope you are well

      L

      Like

      Reply

      1. You are such a good photographer. I don’t know what happens to me when I go outside. I find it really hard to make a good shot when I can not tweak and alter the scene. It makes me sound like a control freak! Ha ha
        Karen

        Like

      2. What camera+lenses do you use when you go outside?
        Sometimes having a different lens helps with the composition a lot. A lot of the tweaking happens after the photo is taken as well, editing is a big part of digital photography, as was the darkroom in the film days. I’d love to try film at some point, looks fun! 🙂

        Like

      3. I have a Nikon 5200. The lenses I have are a Macro, an 18-55mm and a telephoto. I would give you more details about the telephoto but my cat Josef is on my lap and I cant get up!
        I do wonder if I am just more suited to close work, I get overwhelmed by the great outdoors and can not see that I can capture anything which a thousand others have not already done better than I could ever do. I feel that when I look at a scene that there is probably only a couple of good ways to shoot it and I would not be introducing anything different.
        I don’t know if I am making sense. I want to develop, but I keep on going close and putting colours together the way I did on my post today and it feels a bit like making a painting………I must find a way to do the outdoors and make it mine.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Ah that’s a very good little camera, I know it well. In fact, all of the Iceland photos on my blog were taken using a D5200. The combination of lenses you have plus a crop-sensored camera is well suited to macro and wildlife shots.
        Your photos are really well composed, the colours are vivid, and subjects very sharp, I think that many will be envious of your eye for the aesthetics of everyday life.
        I’m sure all digital photographers are on a similar learning curve, thousands of flat, bog-standard shots still fill my SD cards haha. It is exceedingly difficult to have original ideas when shooting iconic landscapes. I think it’s just a matter of taking what pleases you. Also I felt there is pleasure in learning how to, and being able to recreate shots that I liked, I enjoy learning about the techniques involved to achieve a certain look.
        I would say most of my shots are far from original, and if they did look that way, it was probably because of my startling lack of knowledge with regards to composition 😛

        Like

  7. Great hoodoos Le! Such a cool name for such special rock formations. I heard many Americans telling me they prefered Bryce Canyon to the Grand Canyon, what do you think about that?

    I love that little chipmunk btw, very cute 🙂

    Like

    Reply

      1. Nature with many people is no nature anymore… It may be selfish, but I don’t like to meet anyone on the trail when in the bush…

        Like

  8. Absolutely stunning shots ~ and Bryce is on my agenda for late summer this year. Enjoyed this introduction via your writing and of course great photography… Cheers!

    Like

    Reply

  10. I agree with you that Bryce Canyon is a must! We just got back from there as well and I am about to post about it. You got fabulous shots looking up at the hoodoos. I really am enjoying my visit over here!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment