Visiting the Queen

Saturday July 2, 2011
Bryce Canyon National Park
North Campground site 45

 

We were up and walking toward
the Navajo Trail Head by 7:10 this morning.
It was supposed to be another 89 degree day
and I thought my shin was better so
we got an early start on this 4 mile hike.

Since it was slightly less than an hour after
sunrise, the sun gave us some troubles with
photography on the rim especially in the
distance but the views were still amazing.

Here are some shots from our 3/4 mile walk
from Winnona to Sunset Point as we
got near the trail head.

You can see what the sunlight is doing to formations.

 

It was wonderful to see the light hit
and shine through the
spires and forms in these close ups.
Don’t they look fabulous??

 

They look lit from within.

  Here we are at the trail head

  We started down and the light
was changing

 

The Navajo trail is a loop you can take the right
or left spur just after starting down.  We had
decided to take the right spur down through
”wall street” and then connect to the Queen’s garden
tour and leave the left spur to Twin Bridges until
another day.  Total today would be about 4 miles

But when we got to the point where you choose
here is what we found.

 

 

Good decision on our part :-)

So on we go, short flat piece
around that hoodoo and then pretty
hard angle down and lots of little
stones to slip on.  Pity the folks
in “inappropriate shoes”.

and down from there even more steeply

This trail is very popular because of all its cool
features.
First there was a wide set of switchbacks.
This picture is taken looking back up from about
half way down this set of switchbacks toward the
head of the trail and the previous steep paths.

and into a second series of switchbacks

It was hard to show the turn ends of the
switchbacks as the space got narrower
and narrower

And then a tunnel

and out the other side

ANOTHER set of steeper switch backs

Around the corner, really narrow switchbacks

Wall Street is right.  Wish we could have given
a better sense of the height of these walls
we are walking between here.

Inside the walls

and then WHAT???

 

At the bottom of the steps,
a HUGE Ponderosa pine

and this sign

Now they tells us – or did we miss the one
at the upper end???

Actually two 80’+ pine trees growing up to the
light at the bottom of Wall Street.
See the tiny person for perspective?

Just amazing!

and then we were “outside” so to speak

Hoodoos along the trail as it moved
more into the open light

Along side this trail in the bottom
was a wash.  Boy I’d love to see
that with water in it.

Notice the hole in the wall on the left?

Remember this hole?

Great shady spot.

We’re in a green valley surrounded by Hoodoos

 

We passed by the Three Sisters in the valley

and
came to bottom of the Navajo Loop where
you would turn up the Two Bridges side if it
weren’t closed due to a rock slide
OR
as we intended, go on to the Queen’s Garden Trail.

and this sign

Looks like for 1/2 mile extra we can see
Two Bridges and come back and continue on
to the Queen’s Garden.
We turned out to be the only ones who
read the fine print so it was VERY NICE
to have this section of the trial totally to ourselves.

Well except for this cutie
He’s the Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel
Smaller than a squirrel, bigger than a chipmunk,

Note to Nellie:
Notice, he is feeding himself.
Which is what wild animals will do if you don’t feed them doritos.

Looks like a slot canyon coming up

We got a little closer and found
two slots

The left one looked like this

UNLAWFUL – well then guess we’ll try the right side.
Boy these guys have lots of rules


but ……bridges???
BINGO

End of trail is right.
Back down to The Queen’s Garden we go.

still down in the bottom

Starting up and out but still haven’t spied the Queen
or her Castle

But there are some cool slots to slide through yet

And then we found her
Victoria herself out her in Southern Utah.

Did you recognize her?
How about now?

Pretty good likeness wouldn’t you say.

But who is this guy or gal??  off to her left in the first picture?
Is that a flute?
If you know, drop me a comment.

 

Looks like it’s time to go through the castle gate

Where we found a lot of her subjects waiting

as we headed up out of the kingdom.

Other monarch’s castles

 

And lots more gates to walk through

 

This is a tough place to get out of.
Look at the guards all along the passages

One last gate

 

And then apparently we entered the lands of
the HOOF-ERS.

Clearly, you too could be a Hoof-er

Not quite sure what this gal was up to
but we didn’t stick around to find out

We took the high road out of there

Were frowned on by the guy with the big nose

took a couple looks back

 

and found this sign at the end of the road.
It said nothing about the dangers we’d seen

And thus ended another adventurous
hike in Bryce Canyon National Park

Back by noon for lunch

 

It’s a tough life,
but somebody’s got to do it.
And we volunteered!!