Snow in the Middle of May at Bryce Canyon National Park!

We get up early and take a hike up to some famous arch in Capitol Reef National Park (Hickmans Bridge). The hike is less than 2 miles and the scenery is nice, but I can't get really excited about seeing another arch. However, Jere feels that we have to see this arch so we go hike up the mountain to see it. Like I said, the scenery and hike are nice, but I think I've reached my quota of pretty arches.

We return to the campground and hook up the 5th wheel so we can leave for Bryce Canyon National Park. We take a scenic 2-lane road and the trip goes fairly quickly. We pass through a very picturesque area known as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

As we approach Bryce Canyon NP we see our first glimpse of the area's famous pink colored hoodoos:

When we arrive at Bryce - it is freezing!!! And I tell Jere that those are wet snowflakes coming down, not rain. He says it isn't cold enough for snow; however by the time we set up our trailer in the campsite, it is definately snowing.

We are staying in the national park campground, so no electric or water. Not normally a big deal, but they are predicting lows in the 20s tonight. We will put our battery to the test tonight (we need battery or electric to run the fan in our heater; if no battery nor electric, then no heat).

It is too cold to do anything outside, so we bundle up and walk over to the visitor center, see the museum and movie, and read the forecast:

I learn something very important about Bryce Canyon today -- although photos of Bryce look like a canyon in a desert somewhere, it's not really a canyon at all! It's a series of geological amphitheatres on the edge of a mountain plateau. So I was thinking we were coming to a hot canyon -- it is anything but hot here. The elevation of the park ranges between 8000 and 9000 feet, so it's cold here! I need to do more research about some of these locations.

We go back and fix a hot meal with hot chocolate, and after dinner we head for the evening ranger program in the nice, warm lodge (dressed in winter coats, wool caps and gloves).