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perched on the edge of utah's soaring
ponce again plateau and four hours
northeast of las vegas is bryce canyon
national park an ever-changing landscape
of soaring pinnacles bottomless chasms
lofty woodlands and forests of stone
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despite its name this wild panorama of
sand stone and sky is not a canyon
it is a collection of natural
amphitheaters forged by colossal
movements of the earth's crust
16 million years ago
ever since the unrelenting forces of
water
wind and frost have carved the fins
hollows and hoodoos that punctuate this
otherworldly wilderness
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the plateau has long sustained human
habitation
with many native american tribes hunting
and gathering here throughout millennia
most recently the southern payut
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the park's name comes from mormon
settler ebenezer bryce who began
ranching in the area in 1870
the geological labyrinth proved
problematic for the cattlemen and
ebonies are soon relocated famously
declaring that the amphitheater was a
hell of a place to lose a cow
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most travelers start their journey at
old bryce town to stock up on provisions
and feel the spirit of the old west
head into the heart of the park and stop
by the visitor center to get all your
information about bryce canyon from maps
and itinerary planners to road and
weather condition updates
from here
follow the bryce canyon scenic drive
which runs the length of the park
as most trailheads and overlooks are on
the road's eastern side many travelers
drive to the southernmost point first to
avoid crossing traffic at every stop on
the return journey
cruise along at your own pace by car or
climb aboard the regular shuttle bus
that runs throughout the summer season
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park your car at rainbow point and from
the lookout
cast your gaze north to the dramatic
landscape stretching out before you
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then be immersed in the fresh scent of
spruce and fur as you follow the
bristlecone loop to yovimpa point the
highest viewpoint in the park
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from here the grand staircase stretches
out before you continuing all the way to
the border of arizona and on clear days
to the edge of grand canyon national
park
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after beginning your return journey
north take in more spectacular views at
black birch canyon where the earth below
plummets into a narrow ravine bordered
by sandstone fins and eroded rock
pillars known as hoodoos
each viewpoint along the scenic drive
provides a new and spectacular
perspective of the park's ethereal
landscape
continue north to pondurosa and agua
canyons where even more gargantuan
statues sculpted by the hands of time
await
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according to southern paiute legend a
race of selfish disrespectful creatures
once lived in the canyon fed up the
trickster god coyote turned them all to
stone and their petrified bodies became
the eerie hoodoos that adorned these
amphitheaters
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the plateau is an ever-changing canvas
and mother nature's work is never
complete even the most monolithic
formations are vulnerable to her
unrelenting hands
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at natural bridge gaze down through the
arch once a solid wall of rock slowly
eroded away by the hands of time
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a further five minutes north at aptly
named far view point take in the soaring
panoramas of bryce canyon and grand
staircase national monument
then follow the short trail to piracy
point for even more sweeping vistas
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a little further north stand on the lip
of the park's namesake bryce canyon a
spectacular
six square mile amphitheater
there are multiple viewpoints along its
edge which are accessible by car and
shuttle or by hiking all or part of the
epic 11 mile rim trail
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at bryce point cast your gaze down at a
labyrinth of orange glowing drip castles
and west toward the canyon's wall of
windows
then follow the rim trail through
ancient bristlecone and ponderosa pines
before emerging at the sheer cliff face
of inspiration point
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continue along the rim trail or drive to
sunset point and stare off the edge into
a sea of jagged crimson spires
from sunset point the iconic and navajo
loop trail descends through towering
fins and pinnacles into the amphitheater
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weave your way down through the soaring
corridor of wall street
and then past an unstirring huddle of
hoodoos known as the silent city
if you've got the time extend your hike
on the queen's garden trail
wander through mystical passageways into
a cluster of hoodoos where formation
bearing an uncanny likeness to queen
victoria presides over her garden of
stone
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then
begin your ascent up to sunrise point on
the rim trail
if you choose not to hike down into the
amphitheater follow the paved stretch of
the rim trail from sunset point to
sunrise point
this section of trail is wheelchair and
stroller friendly and offers some of the
most awe-inspiring views of bryce canyon
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as you gaze out at this ever changing
canvas of sunset colored spires coral
fins and terracotta cliff faces you will
take in the work of hundreds of millions
of years in a single glance
this is a place where glorious scale
will make you feel small
and there is something truly humbling
and liberating about that
so come
walk beneath the shadows of giants and
stand upon the towering shoulders of
nature
at bryce canyon national park
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you