Hoodoos All Around Us - Part 2

Sunday, May 22nd – Kanab, Arizona/Utah to Bryce Canyon and back – Day 101 

We were told to hike the 2.2 km Navajo Loop trail that went down into the midst of it all. As soon as Charlotte saw the trail she said, “I want to hike that”. Gen said we can do a little bit and turn around but was soon enamoured with it as well. We went down switchback after switchback directly into the valley. We were soon surrounded by constantly changing rock formations highlighted by the double bridge formation. We found a second “Hike the hoodoo” marker and took a picture. The trail was incredibly fun and scenic and highlighted occasionally by warnings about falling rocks. 

John was good for the way down and half of the way up before he started slowing. After a while, I put him on my shoulders and smashed the series of switch backs which took you back to the rim. 

To finish the day, I wanted to take a picture of the final “Hike the Hoodoos” marker to earn our final badge. Technically, we could find three markers or walk three miles worth of trails. We were at 2.5 miles with 2 markers which for a 3-, 5- and 7-year-old is pretty good. We also walked a while around viewpoints, park trails and the rim trail. I think we earned the badge. I walked the rim trail from Sunset point to Sunrise point and couldn’t find the marker. Gen and I had a minor disagreement about who was supposed to meet who where. 

We finally left the park. At the edge of the park is the town of Bryce Canyon City. We stopped the Ruby’s Inn for dinner, a delicious buffet. We were all hungry and it was a fantastic meal. Taking an ice cream cone each with us, we left to do the 90-minute drive back. It was a long day, the kids feel asleep, and we carried them into bed.