Ed

[Today's Photos] Wow. How to describe Bryce? I guess if you've been there you know, and if you haven't been there you might want to.

It is breathtaking. We got to do some hiking, from Sunrise Point down to the Queen's Palace. This was with a group of a dozen folks from the Elderhostel tour! These people put us to shame. The main crowd went back up the same way, while Ginger and I did the loop to Sunset Point. Turns out, the short part of the trail was closed due to conditions, so we had to take the long way. Fortunately we made it back just before the other group.

From the hike we went to Bryce Point and took yet more photos. Today's total -- excuse me, this morning's total -- is 108. One hundred and eight photos. And that's just Bryce. I won't be posting those photos for a while, but all the rest of the days are now online.

After lunch, a quick stop at Escalante National Monument. Escalante is 1.9 million acres, so we didn't quite see all of it... nor did we see all the visitor stations. Just one of (I believe) four. We did a quick visit of the museum, learned about local flora and fauna, and headed out again.

Off to Anasazi State Park in Boulder, Utah. This is a beutiful area at the base of Boulder Mountain. Ancestral Pueblo people lived here in villages in the twelfth century. We saw some ruins and enjoyed a fascinating lecture by the resident scientist, a captivating speaker. We also got to see an 11,000-year-old Clovis point recently found in the area.

I'm writing from 9,000 feet as we traverse a snowy mountain pass. We will not have time for anything tonight: very late dinner, then a bus ride to the next motel. This Elderhostel deal is exhausting!