temperatures. We were right on both counts.Bryce is about a two hour drive from Springdale back through Zion Canyon and north on Utah 9. We got to Ruby’s Inn just in time to sample from the Cowboy’s Buffet and Steak Room. The buffet of chicken, ribs, corn, potatoes and gravy, rolls, and full salad and desert bar was yummy and a nice change of pace from eating out of the stash in the back of the car.
We parked the car at Ruby’s Inn and rode the free shuttle into the park. By the time that we got there, they had closed the park to cars because of a fire that they were managing in the south end. In mid-June, lightening struck in an area that hadn’t been cleaned by a controlled burn for some time. The forest rangers had been watching the resulting fire closely as it cleaned up the underbrush in the trees. Apparently, the wind had picked the fire up and sent it across the road a couple of days earlier forcing the park service to close the south end of the park to tourists entirely.
Fortunately, this did not include the area where we wanted to hike. We picked up our Junior Ranger materials at the visitor center and sat through the 20 minute orientation video. We did a quick run through the museum and then headed out to the park for a 2:00 p.m. ranger talk on geology (yawn).Ranger Kevin Poe was the geologist performing the 45 minute
presentation. I chose the word “performing” on purpose as this was one of the most unique ranger talks that I have seen yet. Ranger Kevin should go on Saturday Night Live – or at least get his own TV show. This guy is passionate about rocks. But, he also realizes that talking about rocks doesn’t really get too many other people jazzed. So, he combines his information with snippets of 1960s and 1970s rock and roll to explain the geology of the Grand Staircase, and Grand, Zion and Bryce canyons.
We laughed and learned about a variety of things from this guy as well as enjoyed his re-written renditions of “Hound Dog,” “Knights in White Satin,” songs from Foreigner, “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.” This guy “rocked.”From Ranger Kevin, we learned that Bryce Canyon isn’t a real canyon for one very important reason – there is no river running through the bottom of it.
There is a creek bed, but it is dry most of the time and only contains water when the snow melts each year. Instead, the geological formations – or hoodoos – of this canyon are formed by the continual freezing and thawing of snow and ice over time. Because of the elevation of this canyon, it receives quite a bit of snow from September to May – over 200 days of water freezing, thawing and reshaping the rocks as the years go by.
From Ranger Kevin we also learned that in Zion Canyon the rangers get to wear shorts – but the administration in Bryce still thinks that shorts are “unprofessional.” We learned that what he really wanted to be was an astronaut. As a result, he 
developed an unhealthy addiction to Tang. We learned that he is attempting to talk the Zion administration into having the Moody Blues write and record a new theme song during one of the band’s reunion trips to Vegas. We learned that when you are describing the holes carved into the rocks which eventually widen to form natural bridges, you have to very carefully pronounce the phrase “ice hole.” We learned that when people call their Congressmen after hearing an inarticulate “ice hole” pronunciation, the ranger saying the word gets in trouble and you are told to use the word “window” instead. And finally, Ranger Kevin demonstrated for us how a dinosaur fossil is created complete with a one person reenactment of a T-Rex eating a duck-bill dinosaur. Ranger Kevin was cool.After that standup routine, we headed out for the Queen’s
Garden/Navaho Loop combination 
trail straight down into the “big ditch.” This trail was fanciful with tunnels, unexpected trees, plants and hoodoos that captured the imagination. We meandered down into the depths on well maintained sandstone paths that gave us a feeling of walking in a huge sand pile. We saw the queen perched on her throne, smiling at the tourists as we toured her castle gardens. We followed the dry 
creek bed at the very bottom past a weird combination of shady pine trees and sunny desert views. We climbed up and down slot canyons with bridges and hidey-holes carved into the side of the rock. The 3 miles went by quickly. Suddenly, we were back on top.After that we caught the shuttle to Inspiration Point. Isaac’s legs
had given out on him, so he and Dad stopped at the middle observation area. Sam, feeling very adventurous, said that he wanted to go all the way to the top. So he and I did. Viewing the canyon (I’m going to go ahead and call it that just because it is easier) from the overlook was like looking at a huge relief map of the hoodoo area of the park. We could see the 
queen at Queen’s garden trail. We could see pieces of the trail that meandered along the dry creek. We could see other trails split off and trace where they led. This place put our 3 mile hike firmly into perspective for Sam’s. “Wow Mom, we really walked a long way.”From Inspiration Point, we rode a packed shuttle bus back to the Visitor’s Center for Isaac’s Junior Ranger badge. Then, we caught
the shuttle back to Ruby’s Inn for dinner and the car ride back to Zion.We went through several small towns on the way to and from Zion Canyon. Just like us, I imagine that there are several cars going back and forth through those towns several times a day. I’m also fairly sure that not all of those cars observe the speed limit. The locals have come up with a creative way to scare people into behaving. In almost every town that we went through, parked by the side of the road was a police car. Inside the car was a dummy, dressed as a cop, giving the appearance that you were in trouble if you didn’t slow down. We wondered how many people it fooled.
Back at the Lodge, everyone pretty much went to bed except me. I wanted to get the dusty laundry from the last few days of hiking washed so that we headed home with a carload of clean clothes. So, I spent a very quiet few hours finishing my book and the laundry at the same time.
