Hats & Hoodoos

According to Ebenezer Bryce (the dude Bryce Canyon is named after), the canyon is "a hell of a place to lose a cow." Why that'd be the first thing he'd think of or what would make it onto one of those tourist information boards at an overlook, we don't know - but it's darn funny!

Why is it "a hell of a place to lose a cow?" Because there are so many hoodoos, of course! What's a hoodoo? That's coming ...

After a 4 or so mile round trip hike into the canyon and out to visit the Hat Shop ...

Not these kind of hats:

(yup, that's a katamari hat)

But these:



we FINALLY took some rest time! Beth took a nap in her hammock & Betsy read & caught up on some conversations.

Then, we did the tourist "thing" & saw the Natural Bridge (that's really an arch & the little information sign says so, but for some reason it's still called a bridge) & some other nice views. A hoodoo, by the way, is what's left when rain, ice and snow break apart the mesa or plateau. Harder rock sometimes guards the layers underneath a small area & the small area is left standing in these weird, crazy looking structures called hoodoos! (That's the not-so-exact version of what happens ... Wikipedia might be a good start for a real explanation.)



But there were ultimately two highlights of the day:

1. The sunrise from right near our campsite. OK, not the sunrise (we were still in our tent), but just after:



2. The "issue" Utah has with bears. Turns out, when we were in Yellowstone there was an unfortunate black bear incident near Salt Lake City. Since then the state and all the parks have put up bear warnings (even if there isn't a real concern with bears). They don't tell you what to do when you see one, or how to store your food or cook. Instead, they're very clear about not stealing the bear signs! (If you can't read the sign, I think it might get bigger if you click on it.) This entertained us a great deal!

And a quote to live by (also on one of those little tourist placard things):