Spectacular scenery over 12 days in Bryce, Zion, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite.
Day 4 - Zion National Park
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Day 3 - Bryce Canyon National Park
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Day 4 - Bryce Canyon National Park
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Day 4 - Zion National Park
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Day 5 - Zion National Park
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Day 8 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks
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Day 10 - Yosemite National Park
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I like National Parks. Always have. I never get tired of them. Maybe it's because my dad was a driving fiend and would plop all of us into the Ford Galaxy du jour and off we'd go on two week adventures, usually involving a park or two.
We went to a lot of them, but somehow missed all of Utah, including Bryce, Grand Staircase Escalante, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Cedar Breaks & Zion. Grand Canyon and Sequoia/Kings Canyon didn't make the list either. But, to be fair, we did several Canadian National Parks, Niagara Falls and a lot of exploring on the East Coast.
The rest would be up to my adult self to get done. Starting in 2019, the Colorado Plateau area, with close to 25 National Parks and Monuments, has had a strong gravitational pull for us. Several parks have been hit up multiple times in the last 5 years.
So, in July I decided we needed to watch Ken Burns' documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea. We watched it 15 years ago when it came out in 2009. The country has drastically changed in the ensuing 15 years, and not all of it good. The parks endure as the best cathedrals in which to escape the drudgery of everyday life, especially if you live in a large city. Oh, sure, they're crowded as hell now, but you can still stand in those places and be glad someone was smart enough to set these aside forever.
A lot of the documentary focuses on John Muir and Yosemite, and the struggles he had to get people to listen to him in the last decades of the 1800s. Sequoia and Kings Canyon, being close by (well, all of the Sierra Nevadas for that matter) received a lot of his attention too, because he loved to wander the mountains and sleep among the 300 foot tall, 2,000 year old trees. The miners and lumberjacks were running rampant and needed to be reigned in.
After finishing, we decided to focus on Sequoia / Kings Canyon and Yosemite as a starting point. Plus, I'd been itching to get back to Bryce and Zion in Utah (which we first saw via an F90 in 2019) - they are less than 90 miles apart. Just cruise out to Salt Lake City, head south to Bryce and Zion, then loop around the south end of the Sierras and Bam! - you're in Sequoia National Park. Then meander north through Kings Canyon and Yosemite. Late September, early October: the summer crowds should be thinning a bit and it should be a bit cooler. Ahem.....Wrong.....and dead wrong.
This was Long Trip #7 in the M850, now just 2 1/2 years old. 24,830 miles is like a trip around the world. Yet, the farthest we ever got from home was 1,680 miles at the Texas border.
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This trip is just a big clockwise loop
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It seems like Salt Lake City has been a hub for many outbound and inbound trips. It's a long, but comfortable two day haul from Portland. I always say our trips actually start on Day 3.
Before leaving, I decided to get the wheels balanced - had a slight vibration that would have driven me nuts over 3,000 miles. They said the brakes were all at 7mm. A couple days before departure, MyBMW app said I needed rear brakes soon. OK, two weeks should be fine, I don't think I'll burn through 3mm in 3,000 miles. I made an appointment for right after I get back. The car was running as smooth as it ever had.
Day 1: Portland to Ontario, Oregon - 401 miles
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Only a couple things to do today: lunch at a chicken place we found in Pendleton last June, see the Hot Lake Springs Hotel and stop at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City.
After 200 miles we stop for lunch.
Me: "Yeah, we'd like the roast chicken dinner."
Server: "Um, sorry, we're out of chicken."
Me: "It's in your name - Roosters Country Kitchen"
Server: "Yeah, but we're not really known for chicken."
The meatloaf turned out to be delicious.
An hour later we pull in to look at the Lodge at Hot Lake Springs, an historic Colonial Revival hotel.
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Originally built in 1864, it was operated as a luxury resort and sanitorium due to its mineral water hot springs located on the site. Visitors came from around the world. Over the years it was a retirement home, an asylum and nurses training school during WW II. Eventually abandoned in 1991, it started back through a long rehab beginning in 2003. It is now operated as a hot springs resort, pub and theater.
A few miles away is the quaint little town of Union. We came through in May of 2021 just when things were opening up after Covid.
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The Rexall proprietor was a young gal with an entrepreneurial spirit who had bought the building and ran a gift shop and lunch counter. She was struggling, but making a go of it. Sadly, the building is abandoned today.
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Another 40 miles gets us to the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. We went to the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, WY back in June. Four major western movements passed through Casper, heading west. Hundreds of thousands made the 2,000 mile, six month, journey. Now it's time to see if any of them made it. Today you could drive from Casper to Baker City in about 12 hours.
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Ontario is only 80 miles away down interesting freeway. Dinner and the only car wash of the trip await. Day one in the books.
Day 2: Ontario to West Valley, UT - 424 miles
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MyBMW app said I needed rear brakes again. Nag.
The only thing to do today was the Golden Spike National Historic Park at Promontory Point, just north of Salt Lake City. We stopped by in April last year, and while the website said the park was open for summer hours, who would've thought they wouldn't be open on Wednesdays?
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The site commemorates the last spike pounded in to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States on May 10, 1869. The Central Pacific Railroad came out of Sacramento and the Union Pacific Railroad came out of Omaha.
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Of course, for us, they are only half open today.
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Still, a fun visit. Man, there's some serious bugs on that bad boy.
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It's only 90 miles to the hotel, but I-15 traffic starts to build at Ogden - 43 miles out. The Salt Lake City area is a giant megalopolis - stretching about 90 miles north to south. East to west is only about 15 miles, because you are hemmed in by the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake. The whole area is nearly 3 million people - about 85% of the entire state population. And they are ALL on the freeway right now. But it moves extremely well. We never go below 60 and most of the time its 5 lanes of cars going 75 mph. There's no screwing around down here. I can go about 3 miles in 20 minutes during rush hour in Portland.
We get to the hotel about 4:45 and MyBMW app says I need rear brakes. Nag. Then the car chimes and basically screams at me:
YOU NEED REAR BRAKES!! NOW, YOU DUMBASS!! I call my guy back in Portland and he looks me up - yup, you need brakes now. But, but, I have 7mm.........
He gives me the name and address for BMW of Murray. I call, don't get through, but they say the service department is open to 7 PM. Luckily they are only 4 miles away. We walk through the service doors to an empty service bay at about 5:15. Everyone is leaving and they are turning lights off.
I meet Jacob, the only person at a service desk, and explain my out-of-town plight. "I usually need a week to get an appointment in Portland, but I got a problem now. I'm on a really tight schedule. Is there any chance............"
Well, Jacob is already filling out paperwork for my loaner car. He checks the system - there aren't any, except the special VIP i7 for special customers. He calls his boss and gets approval to give it to two lonely strangers they've never seen before. He says have fun with it, I'll put you at high priority for tomorrow morning and hopefully we have the parts and you only need pads. Son. Of. A. Bitch. Jacob is my new best friend in all the world.
The i760 is a giant boat of a car. It is a full foot longer than my GC. It's all techy and we can't figure out how to make anything work. Well, the go pedal works. It works just fine. Hoowee. We manage to find our way to a Cracker Barrel for dinner before heading back to the hotel - and then I go back out and spend a half hour figuring things out. I am not a fan of The iMax Screen.
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Day 3: West Valley to Bryce Canyon City - 282 miles
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We get up wondering what our day will be like. How long will we be here? Will I have to juggle all the hotel reservations? I really, really want to get to Bryce and stand on the rim today at 5:00 as the sun is going low. The color is fabulous.
I get an inspection report at 9:15 - rear brake pads, brake fluid change and an oil change are due. Should be ready by 12:30 - we would make the 5:00 viewing of Sunset Point at Bryce. We look for things to do to kill 2 hours in SLC. Another text comes in at 10:44 - your car is ready. We go back to Murray and shower Jacob with a bunch of Cracker Barrel fun-food we bought last night after dinner. We thank him profusely again, pay the bill, grab lunch and we're on the road down I-15 by noon going 85 mph. Sometimes things go your way. And, the car stops on a dime.
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Having never been on this stretch of I-15, we found it to be quite entertaining. 200 miles and 3 hours later, we turn off on UT Hwy 20 and head east passing through three little mountain ranges and hook up with US Hwy 89. After 17 miles we turn east on to UT Scenic Byway 12. The landscape changes instantly.
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Everything is orange. And not just a little bit. We have entered the Colorado Plateau - 130,000 square miles of some of the most glorious landscapes on the planet.
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We soon pass through one of the two Red Canyon Arches
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Once you're on Hwy 12 it's only 15 miles to Bryce Canyon City, climbing to an elevation of nearly 8,000 feet. It's about 4:30 and we quickly dump our bags at the hotel and scurry on to the park. The Bryce Canyon Lodge and Sunset Point are only about 4 miles away.
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Parking is always a premium around Sunset Point. There are many cars waiting ahead of us at the lot. We skooch out and head over to the Lodge, snake past the overflow lot and snag a slot out back in a hidden cul de sac. Bingo, front row. Life is good. We are literally 75 feet from the back door of the Lodge - and 75 feet the other way to the rim.
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The Lodge was opened in 1925 and offers 114 rooms, including lodge suites, motel rooms and cabins. It is located just a short walk from Sunset Point and the iconic Bryce Amphitheater. There is also a nice dining room and gift shop.
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We do a quick tour of the lobby and gift shop and then head out to the rim. It's 5:00. Perfect timing. The amphitheater is in all its glory. For some strange reason the photos aren't very good. I salvage two.
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A photo from 2019 seems nicer
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Sunset Point is awash in people. We pass by the cabins on the way back to the lodge.
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We still have light, so we grab the car and head up to Inspiration Point, just a couple miles away. The view opens up a lot.
Lower Inspiration Point
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That's us, on the left.
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Upper Inspiration Point (and some elevation gain at 8,000' feet) awaits.
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The view is something else.
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Bryce Canyon is not actually a canyon. It is a plateau of sedimentary rocks, raised upward by tectonic movement and then fractured and eroded away toward the east. The Rim runs north/south for about 20 miles and falls away to the east. The main geologic feature at Bryce are the hoodoos, the rocky colorful spires, shaped over millions of years by wind, rain and ice. There are more hoodoos in the Amphitheater than any other place on earth.
The Wall of Windows
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The sun disappears over the horizon behind us and we head back to the hotel in search of a meal. For a day that could have been disastrous, it turned out pretty damn good.
Day 4 - Bryce to Springdale, UT - 130 miles
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We don't have far to go today, but it will certainly take us all day. We wake up to 40 degrees and sunny. Time to head over to Sunrise Point, just a short hop north of the Lodge.
The camera decides to cooperate today. The early light is spectacular and the colors are outrageous. As such, there's going to be A LOT of Bryce pictures - just sayin'
We get to the rim and just walk south, taking dozens and dozens of pictures. No need to comment.
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Hikers heading down Queens Garden Trail - The trail system into the hoodoos is quite extensive. most of them involve losing a lot of elevation to get down to the action.
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We return to the car and go back to Sunrise Point, snagging our spot back at the hidden cul de sac. We walk over to the rim and up to Sunset Point, where the Navajo Loop Trail heads down into the hoodoos. I want to at least experience the hoodoos up close, so we head down the trail. The altitude gets to the wife, so she heads back up.
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Its sunny all of a sudden and the temperature climbs pretty quickly. Somehow the 400' drop to the bottom seems less enchanting without a hat or sunscreen. Ok, I'll just go part way. The trail splits at Wall Street, forming the loop. I choose the Wall Street side because it's less sunny and way more interesting. The hoodoos looked a lot smaller way back up on the rim. Just fascinating. We're not in Kansas anymore.
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I trudge back up to the missus and we go back to the car. It's time to drive the 16 miles south along the rim out to Rainbow Point.
First stop is Bryce Point at the south end of the Amphitheater, sitting at 8,300 feet. It is the viewpoint with the greatest view of the hoodoos.
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Paria View is nearby
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Then the marvelous glowing orange sandstone of Natural Bridge
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And, finally, a car pic.....
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The road meanders through some nice forests and sometimes comes right up to the rim.
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We eventually reach Rainbow Point (Elev. 9,115') at roads end. Also insanely popular. Every slot is taken, two times through the lot. They don't want you parking along the side of the road, but I cram the boat into a tiny space on the shoulder just in front of the No Parking sign. Whew.
The colors at Rainbow Point do not disappoint.
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There are several more stops to hit up on the way back, including one with a taco truck in the parking lot. Tasty.
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It's about 2:30 now and, sadly, we turn our backs to the rim and make our way down to the Visitor Center, which we somehow missed 5 years ago. The large parking lot.........is full. So is the visitor center.
Of all the National Parks, Bryce is truly unique. It's certainly the most colorful. But it's hard to choose a favorite National Park, because ya got your Glaciers, Rockies, Yosemites and Grand Canyons. It may not be in a class all by it self, but it certainly doesn't take long to take roll. Gotta go top 3....easy.
It's 3:30 as we wind our way back down Scenic Byway 12 to Hwy 89. Once again, we pass through The Red Canyon Arches.
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