Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

Today Bryce Caynon was the intended target and, given the longish two-hour drive to get there, we made a more earnest, and more successful, effort at getting up early. This actually resulted in us being on the road by 8:30, which I believe technically, in this case, classifies as a miracle of some sort. Although we toured the highlight of Zion National Park yesterday, which is the canyon, there is actually much more to this park. Our drive to Bryce took us on a road that stretches all the way across Zion which thereby allowed us to view much of the rest of this wonderful, natural terrain. It was so nice I couldn’t help myself from stopping for many a photo op as we made our way through. This did nothing to expedite our progress to Bryce, however, we did ultimately make it there. Slightly before you arrive at Bryce you get introduced to Red Canyon and its striking florid faces. It seems almost like a warm-up act for the big show, Bryce Canyon. After a quick lunch we started our hike down into what has got to be one of the most impressive geological formations I have ever experienced. I could tell the camera was going to get a real workout. It felt like you were stepping into a whole new world. Every twenty paces or so your entire view would change into some other stunningly beautiful composition … often times made up of the exact same rocks and cliffs, just looking at them looking from a different angle. This continued to happen over and over again, all the way down and all the way back up again, for more than two hours. It was unbelievable! Then, once we had made our way back out of the canyon, I noticed that my camera was not functioning properly. It was turned on and seemed to be working but it just would not take a picture for some reason. Then I realized why. My memory card was completely filled up! I purposely download all the pictures from my memory card onto my computer every night just to avoid this problem. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would take a GIGAbyte of photos in a single day, let alone by mid-afternoon. But I suppose that may be the best indication of what a compellingly magical place I found Bryce Canyon to be. We continued our hike along the upper rim of the canyon and the fabulously gorgeous scenery continued. I was able to capture some more photos by virtue of deleting some of the blurry or mis-composed shots from the morning but it was a drag to have a limit on the pictures I could take. The weather today was a little more unsettled but we had been lucky as the rain had held off. As the wind picked up, and the temperature started to creep downward later in the day, we bid a fond farewell to Bryce Canyon. It is an incredible place that I would highly recommend to anyone who finds themselves between Salt Lake City and Vegas. On our way home we watched the nastier weather slowly move into position. At one point we could barely see some puffy white clouds in behind, yet poking up above, the mountain tops in the distance. They were hovering just below a thick layer of black clouds which ominously filled the rest of the evening sky above. It was dusk and the last light available was from the unseen setting sun which was blocked by the peaks in the distance. The only trace of this light was furnished by the rays shining brightly on the sides of these white clouds tucked in behind the mountains. The result was a classic “silver lining” which, in this case, looked more like a grandious firey gold. Apparently A-P had been watching this scene developing out the window as well. I asked him what he thought of the incredible scene playing out before us like a monolithic art show. He simply said that the sky looked “Divine”. I don’t think I could have found just one word that would have described it better myself.

Today’s word:

florid \FLOR-id\, adjective:
1. Flushed with red; of a lively reddish color.
2. Excessively ornate; flowery; as, "a florid style; florid eloquence."