Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks

February 13-16, 2009
AC593 YYZ-LAS, UA286 LAS-LAX, AC790 LAX-YYZ

Not being one not to waste the value of the US National Park pass that we bought in August 2008 for Zion, we headed back to Utah for the Family Day holiday weekend.  Due to the high elevation in the National Parks we were hoping to see some snow in the canyons and luckily were not disappointed.  We were also very fortunate to be there for the few days between winter storms.  As we flew in and out of Las Vegas we got a few hours of warm weather before heading to the bitter cold of Bryce.  We stopped back in Zion to see it with snow and without the summer crowds. Although there was lots of ice in Bryce, we managed to find a snow-covered hike among the Hoodoos.  The snow made for a beautiful backdrop and great weekend.  

Feb 14
Las Vegas to Bryce

Mountains along I-15 towards Utah

Our first snow covered mountains

Mountains in the small patch of Arizona we drove through

Mountains outside of St. George Utah

Zion Canyon

River and snow in Zion

More Zion Snow

Zion Big Bend

More from the heart of Zion Canyon

Me hiding behind the snow covered tree.  Despite the snow it’s not too cold

After driving through the tunnel Zion’s signature red road contrasts with the snow

After a day of driving we get the big pay off of the Bryce Canyon Amphitheatre

One of the many viewpoints in the park

Me trying not to look too cold

The snow provides excellent contrasts for the photos as the afternoon progresses

We waited for sunset as the temperature drops

Sunset from the aptly named sunset point

Feb 15
Bryce to Las Vegas

Sunrise from sunset point

Unfortunately it took a long time for the sun to warm up the day

We started out early on the Queens Garden and Navejo Trail

Although we did the hike in fall 2005, it is very different in the winter

Being in amongst the Hoodoos is my favorite part of the park

Tom was fascinated by the evidence of constant erosion

The rolling snow reminded us of the desert sand

Looking out into the valley

More snow dunes as we climb out of the canyon

More impact from rolling rocks

Looking out over the canyon

The view from sunrise point a few hours after sunrise

The empty parking lot confirms that we had the park mostly to ourselves

We drove to Las Vegas and flew home the morning of the 16th