BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK (Day 20 - part 2)
I collected another marker! Admittedly it felt like somewhat of a addiction, but a healthy one.
Known as Rock Spiraea, Small-leaved Creambush, Oceanspray and also Ironwood (because of its strong wood and bark traditionally used for making digging sticks, spears, arrows, bows and even nails), this beautiful shrub is in the rose family.
The Common Evening Primrose (also Evening Star, Sun Drop, or King’s Cure-all) flowers only at night, with the blooms being closed by noon. The plant is biennial, meaning it takes two years to complete its life cycle, with the basal leaves becoming established the first year, and flowering occurring during the second.
Psssst... I have something to whisper to you!
A place for the horses to take a break...
... and one for me as well! Quite the view!
Adding the Wall of Windows marker, located appropriately at...
... the Wall of Windows!
I stopped for lunch at the base of the Wall of Windows, savoring both the view and the nutrition. The breeze had picked up and some clouds had begun to move in, so while it was still warm, it wasn't unbearable.
The view
A Turkey Vulture circles lazily overhead. It gets its name from its resemblance to a male wild turkey (with bald red head and dark plumage). The word 'vulture' comes from a Latin word meaning "tearer," in reference to its feeding habits.
Interesting Turkey Vulture facts:
- As a scavenger, it eats mostly carrion. It finds its food by sight and smell, flying low enough to detect the gases produced by decaying dead animals.
- Like other birds of prey, it uses thermals to float easily and quietly through the air, flapping its wings infrequently.
- Lacking the vocal organ found in most other birds, its only sounds are grunts or low hisses.
- It is the most widespread of the New World vultures, ranging from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South America. New World vultures are not closely related to the Old World vultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia. The two groups merely strongly resemble each other because of convergent evolution.
Eventually it was time to move on.
Passing beneath the Wall of Windows
A glimpse back
Going forward
return • continue
