BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK (Day 19 - part 5)

Now THAT'S the way to travel!

Looking back down the loooong trail I was climbing up

Wow! It looks like it could just slither away quickly at any moment!

This one was up on its tippytoes!

So why do the trees look like this? Limber Pines have the ability to live in extreme conditions, such as on this cliff edge. However, when people feel they have to leave the trail and walk right up to the brink of the cliff for a better view, their footsteps: compact the soil (making it difficult for rain to infiltrate); wear away the soil (which helps anchor the tree); and trample the exposed roots (which damages the protective bark). This weakens and eventually kills the tree... which is already struggling to survive very harsh conditions. Please consider things like this should you ever be tempted to stray from a trail.

Finally, I arrived... Sunrise Point. I then walked the Rim Trail to Sunset Point.

The view from Sunrise Point

The Rim Trail was amazing in that...

... to the left was a drastic red vastness...

... and to the right was dense green lushness.

The Sego or Mariposa Lily is the state flower of Utah.

A bumblebee makes a visit to some Locoweed. Also called Crazyweed, this plant produces a toxin that is harmful to livestock. But even worse, it can be addictive and some individual animals will seek it out, resulting in death by poisoning.

Robber flies (or assassin flies) are strong, bristly flies that aggressively prey and feed on other insects. I've personally seen one capture a butterfly in mid-flight, knocking it right out of the air.

Almost to Sunset Point, where I first started, and the Navajo Loop trail

Very cute!

Apparently this is a different world in winter!

It was around 2:30 pm when I got back to my car. I managed to escape the parking lot, which was now packed full with large tour busses and gigantic campers, and scurried to the visitor center.

I excitedly presented my rubbings and received my prize...

My hard work...

... and my reward, this free nifty postcard!

Wait a minute... what happened to my low 40's from the report earlier!? This is going to be another interesting night!

I then took a brief rest and watched the orientation film.

Feeling somewhat refreshed again, I decided to drive the 15 miles down the park's south end. En route, I passed by some Pronghorns, a mom and two youngsters.

The Pronghorn is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridaeis and is found nowhere else in the world. While often called the Pronghorn Antelope, it is not a true antelope. It is a unique animal with no close relatives.

It is the fastest land mammal in North America (up to 60 mph), and the second fastest in the world (second only to the cheetah). However, they are very poor jumpers and prefer to crawl under fences instead of going over them.

Baby pronghorn can walk in less than an hour after being born, and can outrun a human when four days old.

When I arrived in the parking lot, I noticed a raven on the sidewalk frantically pecking at a few piles of some very fine crumbs. Peck, peck, peck... but no use, the tip of his beak was just too big. Then suddenly, he turned his head to the side and was able to easily scoop up the crumbs. Ingenious!

Nope... isn't working...

... Ahhhh, much better!

Rainbow Point, is the highest part of the park at 9,105 feet. I opted for the easy 1-mile Bristlecone Loop Trail instead of the 8.8 mile trail that went down into the valley. This pleasant trail was said to meander through a dense forest of Douglas firs and spruces. Eventually I should see some bristlecone pines in the more weather-harsh locations out on the point. Sounds lovely!

There was a wide variety of informative signs.

Click for a larger view

So, in review once more with new and exciting images:

About 60 million years ago, this whole area was a freshwater lake. Over the course of millions of years, it slowly filled in with clays, silts and sands that became cemented together by calcium carbonate... forming the limestone layer (Claron Formation) of which the park is mostly made.

Then about 16 million years ago, a series of plateaus were uplifted some 8,000 feet along faults... including the Paunsaugant Plateau (which means 'beaver' in Paiute, and on which we are now). To the east, the Aquarius Plateau continued to move another 2,000 feet higher.

Even while they were still rising, erosion was beginning to wear them down. The Paira River (Paiute meaning 'muddy or elk water') began cutting northward into the landscape until it had carved out a broad valley between the two plateaus. Erosion still continues today... creating, sculpting and eventually destroying the thousands of rock pinnacles (hoodoos) in the valley.

The hoodoos are (briefly) protected from erosion by a harder caprock called dolomite (a limestone reinforced by magnesium). Their varied shapes are caused by hard and soft layers eroding at different rates.

Rocks erode out from under our retaining wall.

Here the dolomite caprock is very visible.

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