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| photo by mrbturner |
Hoodoos are tall rock spires of varying thickness and heights. Some hoodoos in Bryce Canyon are a little taller than the average person, and others are about one hundred feet tall.
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| photo by mrbturner |
The most famous hoodoo in Bryce Canyon is probably Thor's Hammer. This hoodoo, pictured below, is 150 feet tall and very impressive.
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| photo by mrbturner |
We spent six days in Bryce Canyon. We went on some really great hikes and took some really awesome pictures. My favorite hike was the 8.2 mile Fairyland Loop. My father-in-law and I hiked this strenuous hike in about 4 hours. There weren't a lot of people on this trail, so it was really peaceful and quiet.
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| photo by mrbturner |
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| photo by dturner |
My most favorite thing about Bryce Canyon, though, is not what you can see during the day. It's what you can see at night that is most fascinating. Bryce Canyon's sky is one of the darkest in the country. The high elevation, clean and dry air, and very little light pollution make Bryce one of the best places to see the stars. Some say that Bryce is the last grand sanctuary of natural darkness.
We were there during the new moon phase, so the sky was really dark. One night we went to a ranger talk about the night sky and were fortunate enough to be able to look through four huge telescopes. We saw Mars, Saturn, a globular cluster, and a twin star. We took a night hike and sat near Thor's Hammer for over an hour trying to get a good picture. We aren't very well equipped for night sky photography but decided that we would try anyway. We didn't get the shot that we were looking for, but we had fun trying, and there's always next time! Here's an image that I found online.
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| nightscapephotos.com |
I would recommend Bryce Canyon National Park to anyone who enjoys hiking and camping. Even though we got to see most of the park and hike on several trails, I will definitely go back there. The geology is unlike anything you will see anywhere else.
Brett, I think Bryce Canyon National Park would be so fascinating to go to! I think the fact that at night it is more unique is very awesome. Usually people want to go during the day to places like these so they can see everything and really venture through the canyons. The last picture that you posted that you got offline was very cool, it looks surreal!
ReplyDeleteIt really was fascinating. Seeing the stars there was a very memorable experience. I can't wait to go back.
ReplyDeletei hate when the night sky is so beautiful or the stars are so bright and you just cant get a good picture because its dark. Its like nothing will work..besides probably one of those night time cameras.lol
ReplyDeleteI haven’t done a lot of night photography. Prior to going out that night in Bryce, I did read a couple of articles that explained how to capture night sky images. Even with some limited knowledge, I still wasn’t able to capture the stars in the way that they appeared in the sky. I had pictures that were overexposed, underexposed, blurry, and many had star trails. Before I go to Bryce Canyon again, I would like to do some considerable research on night photography to increase my chances of getting a good picture.
ReplyDeleteAwsome pictures Brett. When I visit your site I always have flashbacks of when I got stuck while attempting to climb the eye of the needle. I made a long way up, but got scared and sorta froze for a while. It took a coulple of hours for me to find the curage to climb down. The good ole days.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the eye of the needle? I've never heard of it.
DeleteSounds like the needles eye in Yellowstone although i don't think you'd be able to climb it..0r would want to
DeleteI just looked Needle's Eye up. I had never heard of it before. It looks cool, but you are right, I wouldn't want to try to climb it.
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