It’s a good thing we checked the map before driving down to the Grand Canyon yesterday. As far as the North Rim is concerned, winter isn’t over yet; the road to that entrance doesn’t open until May 14. I will not be able to visit the Grand Canyon on this trip. I guess I’ll just need to come back. Amy recommended October when the Aspens are all yellow.

For this trip, though, we pivoted in the high school parking lot. We decided to go in the opposite direction, to Bryce Canyon. Wow, what a landscape!

We hiked a 3 mile trail down to the bottom and back out again, and we had beautiful weather for it: short sleeve temperatures, sunshine, and a cool breeze under a bright blue sky.

On the way down, I stopped every few steps to take photographs. The hoodoo rock formations were so cool. I couldn’t get over them. Plus, I am a sucker for red rocks against the blue sky. Luckily, my friend did not get annoyed with my slow progress; she warned me that she would want to stop frequently to catch her breath on the way back up.

We took our time. We admired twisty trees. We marveled over geology. We talked about how this used to be an ocean, and that the rock is sedimentary — literally sediment that settled to the bottom of the sea. It cemented together in the pressure of its young days and by the minerals that crystalized together to give it structure. It is soft rock that eventually comes full circle and transforms back to sand.

Amy and I made lots of friends on the trail. We chatted with other folks resting in the shade — two friends from California, a couple from Italy, a father and son from North Carolina. I snapped photos of hiking partners with their cameras. We had a gorgeous day together outside in the fresh Utah air, laughing and talking about life and our kids and the nature of rocks.

Today, we pick up our friend in Vegas. On the way we’re going to stop at a place in Nevada called Valley of Fire, which may be the best ever name for a state park. I’m hopeful we can also hit a Mexican restaurant that I’ve been craving since I last came to Amy’s over a year ago.