Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Peek-a-boo

Tuesday July 5, 2011
Bryce Canyon National Park

David here. 
With the forecast of rain in the afternoon,
we planned an early start
so we would be back before the heat or rain. 
I did all the preparations last night
while Sherry was blogging,
so we were up at 6 AM and out the door at 6:15
with coffee in hand and hot water for the purist,
watered Camelbacks, breakfast and snacks. 

The trail is called the Peek-a-boo Loop
and is 3 miles of wandering up, down and around
in the Bryce Amphitheater
among all the hoodoos
we had been looking down on from Sunrise, Sunset,
Inspiration and Bryce Points
as described and pictured in earlier posts (from the Rim Trail). 
Because the Peek-a-boo Loop is down in the amphitheater,
you need to take one of two other trails to access it. 
We had already hiked one of those trails
so we took the one that leaves from Bryce Point
(Under the Rim Trail)
and is 2.5 miles round trip making the total hike 5.5 miles. 

Because we were out before the buses were running
we had to drive up to Bryce Point,
but we were still heading down the trail at 6:45 AM,
estimating we would be out by noon or 12:30 PM.

P1100431
 
First view from the top:
 
P1100434
 
One of many cautions ...
P1100439
 
And sure enough, here it is
and Sherry throwing caution to the wind stepping into it. 
No, sorry, wrong Sherry -
this Sherry is proceeding WITH caution.  ;)
P1100468 

A closer look at a different view


 
And about an hour later
we were down to the Peek-a-boo Loop.
P1100515
 
Now you know this place inspires
a LOT of impulse photo shooting
numbering well into the hundreds,
now double that since we each have a camera,
and you can see my dilemma.
I volunteered for this assignment
after Sherry did both the
Fairyland Trail and Navajo/Queens Garden
which were both equally spectacular and photo laden. 
What was I thinking?? 

Unlike Sherry,
I am not going to walk you through this one
in a nicely knit narrative,
that would take me far too long. 
Instead I will just run you through
four sets of my favorite pictures
from this hike, not in any particular order,
but categorized as
wildflowers,
colored rocks & sand,
Peek-a-boo windows,
tunnels and slots
and finally my overall favorites.


First the wildflowers. 
This low growing (less than one inch tall)
cedar-like green is the only one of its kind
I have ever seen and it was literally covered
with tiny white trumpets as recently as yesterday. 
Today they have faded
but still impressive, it must have been quite a show.
P1100474 
And the lovely evening primrose
in both its glory and faded-glory colors.
P1100479 
Though not a wildflower,
when we were passing even the leaves of this ground cover
have taken on the colors of the neighborhood.
P1100513 
The prize for oddity goes to this one. 
It has leaves, so I am calling the delicately colored
inflated thingies flowers. 
 
P1100608 
 
I love these things
which I believe come after the flower of a clematis
- at least they do at the farm. 
These guys are wild so may be something different.
P1100652
 
And this one is my personal favorite, the purple columbine!
P1100681
 
Moving on to favorite colored rocks and sands,
check this one.
P1100473
 
Coming round a corner we saw this one.
 
P1100481
 
Yellow and pink on this one got me - beautiful!
 
P1100546
 
Sherry couldn’t help herself,
she had to touch it.
She kept saying these orange and yellow and white
looked like Dreamsicles.
Remember them?
 
P1100550
Odd but colorful.
Peek A Boo 044
 
Purple, orange, pink and mustard
- only Mother Nature can do this so well.
Peek A Boo 045
 
Peek A Boo 078
 
And the graceful sweep of the sandy colored slopes are stunning too.
Peek A Boo 119
 
Peek A Boo 216
 
Our lunch spot.
Peek A Boo 271
 
Reminders of Yuletide every where.
Peek A Boo 280
 
Now for some of the features that got this trail its name. 
Check out this peeking hole.
P1100455
 
And now a large, high, hidey hole.
P1100463
 
Loved these windows between
a short, stout figure
and a pair of taller twins who appear to be dancing. 
Don't ask me why or how they are joined at the hip.
P1100504
 
Absolute favorite windows which we saw
from many angles, all looking completely different
and all spectacular.
P1100521
 
P1100524
 
This small peeking hole
 
P1100554 
was found on the trail!!
P1100555 
 
Tunnel ahead.
 
P1100557
 
Sweet view!  ;)
P1100566
 
Another tunnel through a wall connecting different galleries.
 
P1100568 
 
Sometimes natural openings connect different spaces as well
so that there are always surprises coming along this trail.
P1100593
 
Just lookie through here.
P1100613
 
And what is through this tunnel?
P1100690
 
Well peek-a-boo to you too!
P1100694
 
You probably did not notice the keyhole in the cliff,
but watch this.
P1100734
 
P1100735
 
P1100736
 
P1100737
 
A double peek-a-boo to you.
 
P1100745
 
and a single one.
 
P1100748
 
And a great place for hide-and-seek too.
Peek A Boo 051
 
Look like something you might want to see out there??
Peek A Boo 145
 
Finally, here are some of my many favorite shots today.
A little happy dance in the foreground.
P1100497 
 
P1100506
 
P1100525
 
P1100527
 
P1100577
 
P1100630
 
P1100647
 
P1100648
 
So is he coming or going??
 
P1100688
 
How about this for an inviting look ahead?
P1100738
 
P1100752
 
Peek A Boo 067
 
She's right, that right leg is skinny.
But stop looking,
pay attention to the trail and
the scenery.  :-)
 
Peek A Boo 104
 
Peek A Boo 152
 
Peek A Boo 184  
This one is a howler!
Peek A Boo 230
 
Peek A Boo 239
 
Nice hat, nice expression, but a bit ghoulish.
 
Peek A Boo 250
 
Nice one to end with - just beautiful.
 
Peek A Boo 252
 
I could not help but feel a new appreciation
for the meaning of WONDERFUL after taking this hike.

Boy did we have fun!!!
And in the end, the rains did come - big time.
BUT not until AFTER we finished the hike!!

Thanks to Sherry for keeping taps
on Mother Nature's watering schedule!
 
P1100777

5 comments:

  1. So glad you got that hike in before the rains came. It looked like one of your most magical hikes yet!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't decide which looks better the rain or the hike. We are still here in parched New Mexico.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It was magical!! I cannot imagine what it was like in person. The photos are spectacular!!!

    Bryce and southern Utah are way up on our TODO again list ;o)))))

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh My Word that is spectacular! It will have to wait until we have no dogs, but I WILL get there one day! Thanks so much for another awesome entry!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Is this all somewhat overwhelming? I can't help but think that when I look at these pictures. I remember seeing the aspens at Sundance in October 1999 -- my first and only trip to that area -- and It was such a beautiful sight that I got very teary. I'm not sure that I could handle the magnitude of all of this beauty that y'all are taking in. I keep thinking "Do the people who live in this area take it for granted?" as I see one unbelievable sight after another. I love my Blue Ridge Mountains, but this is a whole other level of beauty. Thanks again for sharing. I love checking to see what new delight is in store. Take care of yourselves!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are the best part of this blog for me.
I LOVE hearing from you!