Bryce and Zion – Day 3

Bryce-Zion Day 3, Monday, Bryce Canyon

Let’s admit it. We all like a little routine. So, I awoke this morning and had my dawn cup of coffee with the bats again.

After breakfast at our hotel in St. George, we shuttled over an hour up to an altitude of 10,000 feet to Cedar Breaks National Monument, where we started our ride.

Our ride started at over 10,000 feet with a short but steep climb. We then pedaled 37 miles through Dixie National Forest, descending to 6,500 feet onto the valley floor and into the small town of Panguitch, the Paiute Indian word for “big fish.” This is where we stopped to enjoy our boxed lunch. 

Because of COVID-19, things have to be done differently, including boxed lunches instead of wonderful spreads of banquet buffets.  Backroads is trying to limit the number of touch points we have with each other. When there is a buffet style, which will always be outdoors, we are required to have masks when serving ourselves.

In addition, we are required to always wear our masks when in the shuttle vans and when we are in indoor spaces together.  All of us get our temperature taken each morning as well. Two of our fellow travelers work in the healthcare field, and are very comfortable with the pandemic protocols Backroads is using.

After lunch we bike uphill for 6 miles on a bike path ascending from 6,500 feet to 8,000 feet through Red Canyon and then bike another 12 miles on relatively flat terrain before arriving at our destination – The Lodge At Bryce Canyon – located in the park and just yards away from the Canyon Rim.

While crossing over the Paunsaugunt Plateau toward Bryce Canyon National Park and our lodging for the night, there were trading posts dotted along the way – their most ubiquitous craft item being dream catchers. 

Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams, both good and bad. The dream catcher, a willow hoop with a loose netting and feathers around the hoop, when hung over your bed, is meant to catch dreams as they fly by. The good dreams know how to get through the netting, sliding down the feathers gently to permeate the sleeper with good dreams. The bad dreams get tangled up in the netting and never make it to the dreamer, perishing with the first light of a new day. It does seem true that most of our bad thoughts and anxieties we hold with us during the dark hours of the night seem to look less bleak with the dawn of a new day. 

After a short rest, some of us meander to the Canyon Rim to see a maze of spires, hoodoos (see earlier post), windows, walls and pinnacles rising from the Canyon floor.

At 7 p.m. we meet to take our “dinners to go” – The Lodge at Bryce Canyon only does carry out during COVID – and head to the Canyon rim to enjoy a simple, but delicious meal, while watching the sun set over our majestic Canyon. My dinner included Buffalo Sirloin Steak!