We were at the campground bus stop right at 0915 for our free 3 hour guided bus tour to Rainbow Point (elevation 9,115') in Bryce National Park. We hopped on, and our driver and guide drove the big bus with one hand and held his microphone with the other. As we went along he told us all about the origins of the park and the fellow it was named after: Ebenezer Bryce. Quite a character himself, he finally introduced himself and told us he hadn't done it sooner so as not to scare us - we would be seeing signs about dangerous Cliffs!
At Rainbow Point we got out and walked the trails - saw a Bristlecone pine tree - also called a bottlebrush tree - it was 12' tall and 150 years old - these trees can live to be 1500 years old! From Rainbow point we could see Navaho Mountain 80 miles away to the East, and to the South, on the horizon, the North Rim on the Grand Canyon.
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Wild Blue Flax flower
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On the way back, between stops to see various viewpoints and hoodoos, Cliff regaled us with the "true" story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who had roamed Utah (and Wyoming and other states), hiding in various canyons after their bank robberies.
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| Cliff points South |
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