Day 76 - Grand Canyon North Rim, AZ, Coral Pink Sand Dunes & Bryce Canyon, UT

We woke up early to squeeze in one more hike in the Grand Canyon North Rim before we needed to leave.

Having spent a couple of hours yesterday exploring the Cape Royal side of North Rim, we decided to spend this morning exploring the areas of the rim that run between the campsite and the Grand Canyon Lodge.

We took the Transept Trail from the campsite and hiked the 1 mile to the Grand Canyon Lodge. The trail went alongside the rim of the canyon, then came in so that you were walking within the forest, then opened out again to the rim. It was very pretty and great to see so many different landscapes in such a short hike. When we reached the lodge, we headed out to Bright Angel Point, a half a mile round trip hike out to a platform with awesome views of the canyon. Whilst this hike was very short, there were lots of hills and drops making it a look more difficult than it seemed but the view made it all worth it.

Before hiking back to the campsite we stopped off for a nose around the Grand Canyon Lodge. Inside it was stunning, like an old hunting lodge only with awesome views. The cabins outside the lodge looked really comfortable and I loved the two rocking chairs on the porch; I can see Lee and I sitting on these one day watching the sun go down. The lodge is probably a good alternative if you're looking for a little more comfort than the campsites although even how impressive the building is and all the facilities, I bet it's not cheap!

We picked up a coffee and a cinnamon roll from the bakery onsite at the Grand Canyon Lodge (it turns into the Saloon in the afternoons!) and then headed back along the Transept Trail for about a mile, back to our campsite.

Once we'd packed up the campsite, we headed on the road towards Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Having already stayed at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, we were not expected to be blown away by this park but since we were going right by it, we decided to take a look anyway. I am so glad we did, it was amazing!

The dunes are formed from the erosion of pink-colored Navajo Sandstone which surrounds the park. Unlike the White Sands, this sand is not cold like white sand but is just as much fun to play in! It only cost $8 for us to enter (cost is per vehicle rather than per person). We walked along the short nature trail that led us up into the dunes. Once there, we headed towards the biggest dune where people seemed to be snowboarding. Lee decided that climbing the dune was a good idea, it might have seemed good whilst we were at the bottom but when walking up sand, you only seem to move a few millimeters uphill at a time as the sand pushed you back down. After a lot of very hard effort in a very hot sun, we made it to the top and were able to appreciate the view whilst we caught our breath.

We later found out that the snowboards and sledges were available to hire from the visitors center, this would have been a cool thing to try although after each time you go down, you have to climb the dune again so maybe it was a good thing we didn't know about this beforehand. We also found out on the way back to the car that this area is a great place to hire an off road vehicle and explore the dunes, sounds much more fun than trying to climb them and something we would definitely do if we ever returned.

Our final destination for the night was Ruby's Campground located just outside Bryce Canyon National Park. We quickly pitched in the drizzle before it started to rain hard and then headed into Bryce Canyon National Park where we sheltered from the rain in the visitors center. Once the rain had stopped, we headed out for some exploring.

Our plan was to go to the furthest end of the park and work backwards so we followed the scenic road 8 miles to Rainbow Point, the highest point in the park and then using the park map, headed back towards to entrance stopping at pull outs and doing small hikes that looked interesting.

Bryce Canyon is spectacular! The rock formations that make up the views at Bryce Canyon National Park are called hoodoos. Geologists say they were formed by erosion but I prefer the Native American story as to how they came to be:

The Legend People were notorious for living too heavily upon the land. They would drink up all these streams and the rivers in the springtime so there would be no water left for all the other creatures come summer.

And if that's not bad enough, then in the fall, they would gobble up all the pine nuts; there would be no pine nuts for the other animals to eat to help them survive the winters. This behavior by The Legend People went on for years and years and years, and all the other animals and all the other creatures complained about how rude they were and how reckless they behaved. And they finally got the attention of the powerful god, Coyote.

And because Coyote is famous for being a trickster, he decided he would punish The Legend People in a very creative way. What he did is he invited them to a banquet and he promised enough food to be able to eat all day long.

So, of course, all The Legend People came and they came dressed in their finest, most-colorful clothing or in their most elaborate war paint, and they sat down to Coyote's great big banquet table. But before anyone could take a single bite, he cast a spell on them that turned them to stone. The Legend People tried to flee up over the top of the canyon rim, and in so doing trampling on top of each other, writhing bodies trying to escape over the edge of the canyon, and clustered right on the brink.

Although we were staying in a campsite at Ruby's Inn, it felt more like a holiday complex. There were a number of hotels, shops, restaurants and other entertainment (such as a rodeo) all within walking distance. We did a little exploring around the shops and then headed to Ebenezers Barn Grill. It cost $32 each and included in that we had a very large and lovely chicken and pork dinner, soft drinks (you had to pay extra for alcohol), a dessert (we think it was a peach sponge) and a 50-minute western music show.