Roadtrip 2014: Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon is a truly unique natural wonder.  The canyon is more of an amphitheater than a canyon, formed out of odd rock formations called "hoodoos".  The rock formations were formed by years of erosion, floods, and frozen winters.  

We hiked down into the canyon through a bunch of switchbacks into an area called Wall Street. There had been a thunderstorm the night before, so the canyon floor was a bit muddy.  It's hard to capture how large the hoodoos actually are, but hopefully you can get a sense of the scale of the individual parts as well as the canyon as a whole.

This last photo is a bonus from our drive through the Dixie National Forest.  Bryce Canyon can be seen in the background.  I was thoroughly impressed by the large number of cows in the forest (sorry I don't have a photo for you).

Next stop:  Moab, UT

Roadtrip 2014: Yellowstone

I'm going to start this blog off with some photos from my road trip with my sister this summer.  We went from Montana through the Southwest, and then up the coast back to Washington.  We stopped in some really beautiful National Parks along the way and got to see some places that I've always wanted to visit.

The first stop on the trip was Yellowstone National Park.  My sister and I had never been, so it was amazing to see in person.  Here are some photos from the park.

Lower geyser basin (I think)

This pool has a face! 

Steamboat Geyser. It really sounded like a steamboat.

The rocks remind me of a sea cucumber.

Mammoth Hot Springs 

Awesome bacteria formations

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Nature!

Or maybe this is Lower Geyser Basin...

Indian paint pots

Who knew bacteria could be so cool?

Old faithful

Grand Teton National Park

Next stop:  Bryce Canyon National Park