“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou at York College on February 4, 2013 found at WikiQuote – http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou

Every single mile of our drive to Bryce National Park was beautiful. It was perhaps the most scenic drive of our tour through Utah’s Grand Circle. We drove along Hwy 12 to Escalante then to Henrieville and on to Bryce Canyon City. There were beautiful valleys throughout with many places along the way to camp or B&B’s for those that prefer a less rustic experience.

When we arrived at Bryce we heard the news of Maya Angelou’s passing. For us it was a day of exploring Bryce Canyon’s natural beauty while reflecting upon the amazing journey of Maya Angelou’s life. It was a wonderful way to celebrate a life well lived.

Our first visit to Bryce was in the spring of 2008. There was still snow on the ground and the winter chill was still in the air. We didn’t spend much time hiking so I was looking forward to exploring the canyons of Bryce.

We spent the day stopping at all of the scenic overlooks. The view points were crowded with tourists but the views were spectacular.

There was a raven with a crowd of admirers begging for food at one of the viewpoints. The bird had no fear of people. When a car pulled in the raven would fly to the front grill of the car to pick out whatever he could find there. Tourists happily feed the wildlife without realizing the harm to the animals making them dependent on unhealthy human food. They lose the interest in hunting and teach their young the same behavior.

The following day we hiked into the canyon along the Fairyland Trail. The hoodoos looked like fairy castles. The views captured my imagination and looked like a magical land of fairies that I dreamed of as a child.

After our hike we went to our first rodeo. It was the Bryce Canyon Country Rodeo at Bryce Canyon City. This is an interesting little town that appears to be owned by one company, Ruby’s Inn. Everything that we saw was a Ruby’s Inn property. The town is just a few miles outside of Bryce National Park and has a monopoly on the tourism coming through the area. We’ve never seen anything quite like this company town.

After Bryce we drove to Las Vegas along Zion-Kolob Road which winds through part of northern Zion. Rosemary and Bill who we met in Zion recommended this backroad. It was a beautiful road and made for a beautiful day trip to Las Vegas.

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” Maya Angelou