Days 8 through 12 — Rain

my journey to  utah was very nice — good weather and scenic roads (i HIGHLY recommend u.s. 89 for anybody that has a chance to drive it).  i got up early the next morning to catch the famed bryce canyon sunrise, and it didn’t disappoint.

without having a chance to scope out the park first, i didn’t know which overlook would be the best, so i picked the most popular: bryce point.  apparently i wasn’t the only one with similar ideas, as there were about 75 other people taking pictures and enjoying the view.  i couldn’t really complain because the views were so gorgeous, but i tend to prefer my sunrises and sunsets in secluded locations, so i went off in search of some less popular overlooks for my pictures over the next few days.

i stopped at sunset point (which looks east…kinda confusing) and went on an excellent hike that dropped down into the canyon (navajo loop, for those that visit…).  it was pretty busy during the day, but i figured it was going to be much quieter than bryce point during sunrise, so i decided to come back there the next morning.

unfortunately, it started raining.  and kept raining.  i actually didn’t see sun again until after i left the park for colorado.  and i only had a few hours of sun before getting into more clouds, fog, and rain in western colorado.  the rain and fog provided a pretty cool atmosphere for the rest of the trip, but it didn’t make for very many good pictures (rain pictures can be pretty spectacular if done right, but i’m not very good at them and i didn’t have any way to keep my camera dry so i hesitated to spend much time experimenting).