Bryce Canyon and Zion - New Mexico/Utah Trip - January 19, 2026

After a buffet breakfast at 6:30 at the hotel, we headed to Bryce Canyon National Park with plans to start with a hike of the Queen's Garden Trail that starts and returns to Sunrise Point.  Upon arriving at Sunrise Point, reds and yellows colored the horizon in anticipation of the sun's rising.  Everything was bathed in those soft pre-sunrise colors.  This was a hike I took on my own so my Dad saw me off and watched the beginning of my descent from Sunrise Point.

The trail descended 450 feet over 0.8 miles (one way) down into the canyon where I had the chance to walk among the hoodoos (rock formations characteristic of Bryce Canyon which has the largest concentration of hoodoos in the world).  Up until this hike, all my views of Bryce Canyon had been from the rim looking down on the rock formations as an observer of Mother Nature's magnificent creation. This hike allowed me to feel like a participant in this creation.  It was a spiritual experience that left me in awe.  The words "wow" left my lips almost as often as I took a step.

A photo my Dad took of me starting my descent

I happened to stop and take in the view the moment the sun peaked over the horizon.  To watch it rise as I was descending was amazing.

The path was filled with switchbacks to help ease the descent.  

Three times along the trail, I came across these cutouts where the path continued right through the hoodoos.

The trail ended at the hoodoo that has been named Queen Victoria (pictured below).  To be honest, it was a bit anticlimactic but I think that is because so much of the experience was the journey down, not the destination.

Then I retraced my steps and began the climb back up.

On my way back up, I noticed this tree standing in the middle of the path.  I laughed at how I could have missed it going down but I guess there was just too much to take in all at once.

Some of the hoodoos seemed to glow as the sun reflected off them and the surrounding rock.

Here is the moment when I spotted Sunrise Point, the beginning and end of my hike.  I captured my shadow looking back up at it.

Then I turned around once more, with the sun in my eyes, to admire the path I had taken.

Back at the top of the rim, I was once again an observer looking down onto the hoodoos.

I walked the paved pathway along the rim from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point where my parents picked me up.  In the picnic area near the parking lot, several Stellar's Jays flew between the trees, at times landing on the dirt ground.  This was a new species for me and what a beautiful jay it is!  One had sung for me from a tree down at the bottom of the Queen's Garden Trail but I didn't have the right lens to capture it.  Back at the car, I could grab my long lens and get some great photos of this beautiful bird!

This photo below shows the white eyebrow characteristic of the Rockies variation of the Stellar's Jay.

Then a small bird joined us.  This is a Mountain Chickadee, another new species to me although I am very familiar with and fond of its cousins, the Carolina Chickadee common to my current home in Alabama and the Black-capped Chickadee, common to Wisconsin, the state I grew up in.

Then we drove to the end of the scenic drive, Rainbow Point so I hiked the Bristlecone Loop Trail.  It was a bit snow covered and icy in spots and the wind went right through me on this incredibly cold morning but there was something about walking among the pines and getting glimpses of the mountains and canyons in the background.  There were several beautiful viewpoints including one at a gazebo.  

With a lot of the day left, we contemplated where to go next.  I asked how far away was Zion National Park.  We had already visited four of the major five Utah National Parks.  If it was doable, I thought it might be cool to at least get a taste of the fifth.  So we made one last stop at the Visitor's Center for a bathroom break and headed west to Zion National Park.  

We entered through the East Entrance.  I don't have any photos of the drive in because there was just no way to capture it and not a lot of good places to stop but it included towering mountains (larger than we had seen at any of the other four parks), a tunnel and then winding switchbacks with breathtaking views as we descended down to the canyon floor.  

This park felt really busy.  I think part of that was because it is a popular park but more importantly, being in the valley of the canyon leaves little room for parking and everything is really condensed.  Most of the year, they close the main road and run a shuttle but we were there the one time of year when we could drive the entire scenic road on one of the most beautiful days of January.  We only did one hike to Weeping Rock but had a chance to stop at a number of overlooks and just get a good taste of the park.

These photos below really don't do it justice.  Every park we visited had something unique that made it special and different from the others.  This park was all about scale.  Everything was bigger than you can even imagine.

This park is where we saw the largest cactuses.  Arches had some neat little ones but nothing of this size.

I picked up this new sweatshirt which has a teal green sleeve, a mustard green sleeve, and a gray pocket.  I loved the uniqueness of it!  It felt so me!

The Weeping Rock trailhead looked full so my Dad dropped me off planning to come back and pick me up but fortunately quickly found a spot as someone pulled out and so was able to join me for this short but unique hike.  This was different from all our other hikes on this trip because of the sheer number of people.  There is something to enjoying nature in a bit more solitude.

There was a really neat sign in front of this field that I wish I had taken a photo of.  It talked about how no one takes the same photo.  Lighting changes, how we frame it changes, and we put our own perspective on the photo.

Here is an attempt at showing the perspective but even this doesn't fully capture it.

We ended the day at the hotel restaurant with dinner and a few drinks.  The espresso martini was especially good.  This was our last fully day of touring.  The next day we would make our way back to Albuquerque where I would ultimately catch a flight home.