Bryce Canyon

If you've been checking in on our trip regularly, you may have noticed that I'd been posting pretty methodically... Basically, once each day wound down and the kids were asleep (or getting there), I'd spend a little time uploading some photos and creating a post. It usually went online around 11:00 p.m., depending on the time zone we were in and how much trouble I was having maintaining a solid Internet connection. (And believe me, there were nights when that was a struggle.)

But last night I didn't get a post online. That's because we were in Las Vegas -- our only full day in Vegas. And it was FULL. We were going-going-going from morning until late in the evening, and once I was able to sit and relax I just didn't have the energy to do anything but read for a few minutes and crash hard.

The Vegas leg of our trip (our last) was great fun, and I'll be back with photos and a little recap of that stretch. For now, though, I return to Bryce and present you with a summary of our time in Bryce Canyon and the rest of that day.

We shuttled in from our campground, which was just a short distance from the park and the outermost stop on the shuttle loop. I have to say, Brian and I didn't really know what we were doing when we plotted out this vacation, but we truly scored with our campground reservations. Ruby's Campground was our fifth camping stop (sixth if you count the Pomona Walmart lot!), and like the others, it was comfortable and convenient.

Anyway, here are some shots taken soon after disembarking the shuttle...









We hopped the shuttle to the next point, where I handed over the camera to Foxy and to Evan for a stretch. A few of these were taken by them:







Then I took a few more shots of the canyon scenery, which was stunning.













The heat and the altitude started to get to the kids as we walked to the next point of interest, so after Brian gave them personalized "shuttle rides," we gave them each an apple and water and they took a little break from the action:



Once we got going again, we hit the next lookout point and even ventured down a little ways on a mild hike. The kids' footwear and their moods weren't pointing to an extensive hike in this park, which was fine. Foxy and I even found some shade and stopped for a break while the boys and Brian headed a bit further down the trail.













When we'd had our fill of the canyon, we walked back to the nearest shuttle stop, where the kids decided to cuddle up together and make more noise than was probably socially acceptable.





When the shuttle dumped us back at the campground, we strolled through the nearby Old Bryce Town, which provided fun sights and interactive photo ops, plus some yummy ice cream (though I didn't snap any photos of that... too busy enjoying my pralines and cream).















There weren't too many wild flowers out at this time of year, but we saw some Indian Paintbrush on the walk back to the RV:



Here's a quick shot of our rig sitting in its spot:



We played some Uno and then Brian took the kids swimming while I read and rested a bit. Then it was time to bike over to the nearby restaurant for dinner. After cooking meals for a solid week, I was fine with trying out the local fare.

Brian looked super tough with his week's worth of beard, his collar flipped up (NOT his usual look), and Foxy's headband sticking out of his pocket:







The boys goofed around in front of the restaurant while Brian locked up the bikes:





And finally, when we returned to our camping spot after dinner, Brian turned the fire-building over to the boys. And they did a darn good job! Between rock skipping and fire-building, the trip was almost like a mini-Cub Scout camp. :)





As I said, we headed out to Vegas the next morning. Stay tuned for a few snaps from that!