We slept like babies last night. Their are no freight trains in National Forests. Lol
The temperature dropped during evening and we opened the windows to the cool night air. It was such a refreshing evening and a beautiful morning.
We cooked up a nice breakfast and headed out to our reserved campground to check in. Our plan was to check in, get the rig hooked up and then head to Bryce Canyon NP for the day.
The campground was decent but, they had an electrical issue at our campsite. We decided to just let it be because we were only spending one night here and all we really needed was a safe place to park, water and sewer hook up. The solar panels on the roof are awesome and they would keep our batteries topped off while we hit the National Park.
Bryce Canyon was incredible. We hiked a 3.5 mile loop that started on the Rim trail, turned to the Queens Garden trail and ended with The Wall trail. The trail drops gradually, over 700 feet, into the canyon and then comes back up quickly at the end. Hence the name WALL TRAIL. We ascended 700 feet with a series of switchbacks held together by brick walls and staircases. It was an intense climb that took us somewhat by surpise.
Caitlin loved the hike and led our group the entire way to the top. Jenn kept telling everyone that she was training for the Olympics as she raced her way to the top.
We had no idea that we were in for such a steep climb and I had to carry Sydney for a portion of the trail as her legs and energy ran out. It was a bit too much for her so, I got to be her rockstar for a little while. A fathers work is never done. Lol.
We finshed the day with a trip to Rainbow Point which we drove to. Our legs were feeling like rubber after climbing The Wall and I couldn’t have talked them into walking to a steak dinner at this point. So, we drove to Rainbow Point which is the highest point in the park at 9,115 ft. It provided an incredible view of the entire park.
On the way out of the park we stopped at the visitors center to get Caitlin and Sydney their junior ranger badges. We picked up the junior ranger workbooks when we entered the park and Sydney and Caitlin were working on the books all day with a lot of help from Jenn. There was no way we could leave without those badges.
We headed home for dinner with a head full of great memories, a magnet for our fridge, a stuffed animal chipmunk named Bryce, some postcards (for our friends) and last but, certainly not least, junior ranger badges.
Tomorrow we are off to the Grand Canyon North Rim.
Luke's Journey Across The USA 