We spent over a week exploring parts of the Colorado Plateau, visiting many National Parks and Monuments, and seeing a variety of geological wonders that comprise "steps" on The Grand Staircase, a gigantic topographical "stairway" that ascends from the Grand Canyon North Rim to Bryce Canyon. The cliff edge of each colored layer forms a step. The exposed rock layers of the five steps up the staircase are Chocolate/Kaibab limestone, Vermilion near the Glen Canyon Dam, White/Navajo sandstone of Zion National Park, Gray/Cretaceous shale and sandstone, and Pink/Claron Formation. At the top of this vast arrangement of colorful sedimentary rock layers that form The Grand Staircase are the red and pink cliffs of Bryce Canyon National Park.

The showpiece of Bryce Canyon is its natural amphitheater populated with fantastic rock spires called hoodoos. These towering formations are the result of erosion by snow and rain. The  canyon is lined with thin walls of rock called fins. This pink Claron Formation rock is composed mostly of soft limestone, which is slowly dissolved through chemical weathering by rain and snow. Through this process of freezing and thawing, cracks form in the fins and enlarge, creating holes or windows in the rock. Slowly the windows grow until their tops collapse, leaving a pillar of rock. With an elevation of 8000-9000 feet, there are over 200 freeze/thaw cycles a year in Bryce Canyon. The average snowfall is 95 inches per year!

The eerie towering spires of rock are called hoodoos, fairy chimneys, or goblins. Bryce Canyon has the largest concentration of hoodoos in the world. Each hoodoo is unique. These rocks are sculpted by water into fantastic shapes, some of which seem to defy gravity, at least for a time. 

In the 1870s, Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon pioneer, settled in the valley east of the park. One day he lost some of his cattle and wandered into the canyons to find them. Although he eventually moved to Arizona, the canyon continued to be known as Bryce Canyon. In 1928 Bryce Canyon became a National Park and is now visited by over 2.5 million people annually who come to hike the numerous trails and enjoy the stunning scenery.

After reaching the top of The Grand Staircase, we would be heading back down, stopping at several more splendid sites. Please join me as we continue on our tour.

~Debbie

First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.
Seventh stop - Zion National Park here.
Eighth stop - Between canyons here. 

After leaving Zion National Park, our next destination was Bryce Canyon, which is about an hour and a half drive from Zion. We spent the night at a comfortable motel about five minutes from Bryce Canyon. After a delicious home style meal, we watched the sun set before settling down for the night. It was a quiet interlude before the next day's activity. 

A forest of tall Ponderosa Pines provided a beautiful backdrop to the quiet meadow where horses grazed in the fading light. Ponderosa Pines grow in mountain elevations of 3000 to 9000 feet and can grow over 200 feet tall. Their huge trunks measure 3-4 feet across and their bark can smell like vanilla or butterscotch. Yes, really. The next day, I smelled a few pine trunks at Bryce Canyon that had a faint butterscotch scent. And I wasn't the only tree sniffer! 

Ponderosa Pines are evergreen and can live for over 500 years. The wood is ponderous,or heavy, and is the major lumber tree of the America Southwest. As the tree ages, its bark changes from black to orange. The bark is very thick and cracked, giving it the appearance of a rugged jigsaw puzzle. It is also fireproof, unless a thick undergrowth has grown. In many places, the U.S. Forest Service is thinning out trees and doing controlled burns so that forests of Ponderosa Pines continue to thrive throughout the Southwest.

In the morning, we would visit Bryce Canyon National Park, which is located in the High Plateau region of the Colorado Plateau, also know as "Red Rock Country." But for now, we enjoyed the quiet beauty of this peaceful meadow resting in the golden glow of the setting sun.

~ Debbie

First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.
Seventh stop - Zion National Park here.

The next stop on our journey through Utah was Zion National Park. In contrast to Glen Canyon filled with the waters of Lake Powell, which we viewed by boat, and the Grand Canyon, which we viewed from it's rim looking across and down, our view of Zion National Park was from the canyon floor looking up at multiple peaks of solid white and orange rock. And it was a glorious sight! 

The Virgin River, a tributary of the Colorado River that empties into Lake Mead, runs through Zion Canyon and provides an oasis for unique plants and animals to thrive along its green banks as the river winds its way along 15 miles of the canyon floor. Mormon settlers in the 1850s settled in the canyon and farmed the land until the canyon became a National Monument in 1909. Because of its awe inspiring beauty, the canyon was named Zion, a reference to the ancient city of Jerusalem and the future Heavenly city.

With over 4.3 million people coming to Zion National Park in 2019, it was the fourth most visited National Park in the United States. (The Grand Canyon was second.) Many of the stately mountains protecting the canyon were given names by early visitors and explorers of the canyon. A Methodist minister gave Biblical names to several prominent peaks, including Great White Throne, Angels Landing, the Watchman, and The Three Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The weathering of this white mountain reflects its name, Checkerboard Mesa.

As our time in Zion Canyon drew to a close, I couldn't help but play this old hymn in my head, Marching to Zion

It will be my final destination, and I hope yours. In the meantime, I will continue marching through this world with my eyes open in wonder, awe, and praise to our Creator, the King of Zion.

~ Debbie
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First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.