It has been a busy summer at the Jones house. The summer is almost over, though and I go back to school next week. Josh has been going to school all summer and had some pretty challenging classes. His semester was finally finished on July 23, just as Charly and I were coming back from our trip to Sedona. When we got back, Josh said he really wanted to have a family vacation this summer because summer family vacation is something we have done every year since he was a very little boy. Because he didn't want to take time of work, and I go back to school soon, we decided to do a long weekend getaway somewhere close and easy to drive to. We decided to go to Bryce Canyon National Park, which is one of Five National Parks in Utah. Bryce is probably my favorite of the five, and it is only about two and half hours south east of where we live. There is a small town nearby, which isn't much, but has a few motels and restaurants, so we decided to stay there and visit Bryce and Cedar Breaks National Monument which is also nearby. Outdoor vacations are our favorite.
We left our home last Saturday about mid morning and made the drive to Panguitch, Utah where we checked into our motel. Panguitch is a small town about twenty miles from Bryce Canyon with a lot of little "mom and pop" motels like this one. I got a great weekend special on this one through Booking.com, which is usually where I go to find out accommodations when we travel (if we are not staying at our timeshare condo).
We stayed at the Color Country Motel which, as you can see, is right across the street from a Family Dollar Store, which was convenient because we always seem to forget something.
After we got checked in to the motel and had unpacked our stuff, we drove the 20 miles or so over to Bryce Canyon National Park. We have a little tradition of take our picture by the entrance sign. There was another couple there trying to take a selfie there, so I offered to take their picture and they took ours. I have found that National Park tourists are usually pretty nice.
We visited several of the most popular view areas on our first afternoon at Bryce. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from these rim view areas.
The next morning, we went back to Bryce Canyon early before the crowds hit. We drove to the viewpoint, Rainbow Point at the far end of the park. These are some of the amazing views we saw there.
We hiked the Bristlecone Loop trail. The trailhead to this hike is near Rainbow Point. This was a nice, short hike with great views. We enjoyed this hike.
After the Bristlecone Loop trail, we drove back to the visitor's center, stopping at almost every view area along the way. Such beauty.
We had one more stop on this weekend trip, which I will post about in the next day or two. Thanks for stopping by to share our end of summer adventure.
😊Deb💜
"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."
~ Rachel Carson
