We took a weekend trip down to Bryce Canyon. We’ve driven by it several times over the years, but never stopped. This year we decided to change that.

We started off with the Mossy Cave hike.

The real attraction here was the Tropic waterfall, which I found to very interesting. When the saints first settled the region, they dug a 10 mile ditch to divert water from the East Fork of the Sevier River. Once the water crossed over the threshold, it flows down through what is now Bryce Canyon National Park and on to the town of Tropic. The Tropic waterfall was a great place to cool off on a hot day.

This rock looked a lot like an elephant.

We did some more cooling off in the hotel swimming pool.

After a quick bite of dinner, we went to Sunset Point to enjoy a majestic evening.

We couldn’t just look at that incredible trail and before we new it, we started walking down the Wall Street trail.

Really cool switchbacks

Cutie pie

I took the three older kids and we cruised down the trial a ways and into the slot.

On the far (lower) side of the slot, there were these incredible trees. What a life they have lived. I was blown away seeing them as we came through the narrow slot.

A view of some of the switchbacks from the lower side.

Such a cool place.

Afterwards, we stopped by the Old Bryce Town shops for some ice cream and fun.

Lock ’em up!

The night was almost a new moon, so the sky was especially dark. I took Ashley and Eliza and we went to a Sky Party at the park. It was pretty incredible to see the sky so full of stars. This is not my picture, and I don’t think it looked quite like this to the naked eye, but pretty close. We got to look in some really nice telescopes and see some fun star clusters. It was a neat experience to have with A and E.

The next morning, Landon was not feeling well, so Kathryn took another one for the team and stayed at the hotel with him and got us all packed up. She needs two gold stars, and some rain checks for sure. Meanwhile, I took the three other kids and we went and did the Queens Garden & Navajo Combination trail. Notice the inset picture of the queen on the board.

And here is the one we took.

Here is the explanation to help you see what you’re supposed to see.

We saw this Rattlesnake on the trail too.

Two bridges. There are two stone bridges going across this slot canyon.

Making the most of a difficult situation.

Hiking up the switchbacks.

We did it! It was fun to have such a cute talking backpack buddy too. Later that night, Zoey told me thanks for taking her on the hike and she had a fun time. It was already worth it, but that made it extra special and melted this daddy’s heart.

After getting the whole family back together, we came back into the park one last time to see Bryce Point. It was spectacular.

What a great trip, and an incredible place to visit!