Saturday June 23, started early at Bryce's campsite #61. The 3 am visit to restroom revealed that the previous days smoke clouds had moved elsewhere and the full glory of the milky way was laid plain over our heads. Amazing! We learned that this area is indeed one of the best dark sky regions in the country. It's also one of the quietest.
The normal morning started with a novel camp breakfast innovation: Pillsbury crescent roll dough stretched around a forked stick and toasted over the campfire. Remarkably tasty.
We drove up to rainbow point at the very south end of Bryce Canyon National Park. Lots more hoodoos, cliffs, and ridges. Here it was easy to see the capstone layers protecting the underlying more crumbly materials creating these remarkable vertical shapes. The road rose up to 9000 ft and passed in and out of the smokey haze.
We also visited Bryce point, and Visitor Center with some excellent geological tutorials and displays. (There also was a moving violation as John overlooked a stop sign, but fortunately the park officer let us off the hook.)
Later in the afternoon, John completed a hike of the 8 mile Fairyland loop trail . At the same time as the smoke from the wildfire in the adjacent forest darkened the sky and made the sun just a dim red disk.
Dinner was the again a campfire first for the Notte's: Pizza - another camping meal planned by Adelaide. It was good and surprisingly easy to clean up.
We also learned that while the days can be hot ( 107 F at peak) and dry, the evenings can be remarkably cold. This night got to 40 F, making Michele and John shiver through the night. The super lightweight sleeping bags were perhaps not the best choice for camping in the high desert at the canyon rim.
