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Return to Bryce Canyon National Park & Red Canyon

Edges of the Paunsaugunt Plateau | Saturday – Tuesday, November 8-11, 2025

Earlier in the year, well before she even knew she had a meningioma and would need brain surgery in October, Diane told me that she wanted to go to Bryce Canyon National Park sometime this year because she had never been there before and it was the only National Park in Utah that she hadn’t been to yet, so I planned a trip for us to visit the park over the Veterans Day holiday and weekend in early November. Of course, after her surgery in early October and the rough recovery afterwards, I wasn’t sure if we were still going to be able to go on this trip, but as the dates got closer and she continued to slowly get better every day and was no longer under any restrictions, we decided to still go, even if she would only able to visit the overlooks from the rim. Although I had initially planned to go on some longer hikes when I started making plans for this trip earlier in the year, I had no problems toning down those plans so we could experience the park together now. I thought this extended weekend might be a nice getaway for Diane who has spend most of the last month either in the hospital or at home.

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Kodachrome Flat: Land of Sand Pipes & Chimneys

Veterans Day Weekend at Kodachrome Basin State Park
Thursday – Sunday, November 9-12, 2023

Kodachrome Basin State Park is a relatively small park located in Southern Utah that is nestled into the rugged canyon country between the White Cliffs and the Pink Cliffs of the Grand Staircase and is best known for the sixty-seven towering sand pipes that dominate the desert landscape. These sedimentary pipes are believed to be found nowhere else on earth and while there are several theories that have been proposed to try to explain their formation, geologists are still unsure of the exact origin of these unusual sand spires. Over the years I have driven right past the entrance to Kodachrome Basin on numerous occasions as I have driven down the Cottonwood Road while exploring the Grand – Staircase Escalate National Monument, which practically surrounds this small reserve, and in all that time I have never stopped to check it out. This holiday weekend I finally planned to change all that by spending some quality time hiking and exploring the interesting landscape of Kodachrome Flat.

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Under the Pink Cliffs: Trails of the Bryce Amphitheater

Bryce Canyon National Park | Thursday – Sunday, December 1-4, 2022

Of Utah’s ‘Mighty Five’ National Parks, Bryce Canyon National Park is the only one that I have not done any ‘real’ hiking in before. Previously, my only visit to the park was over ten years ago and during that brief visit I only went on short walks to most of the overlooks along the rim. I was hoping to change that this year, so I made it my goal to plan an extended weekend to Bryce to hike all of the trails within and around the Bryce Amphitheater this winter. I figured that early December would be a good time to go to avoid the crowds and maybe catch a little snow on the hoodoos, too.

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Lower Hackberry Canyon to the Watson Cabin

Canyons of the Paria | Southern Utah Wanderings
Thursday & Friday, October 8-9, 2020

After spending all day Thursday hiking along the Paria River to Starlight Canyon and back, we returned to the east side of The Cockscomb and found a nice spot to spend the night just north of the Lower Hackberry Trailhead under some cottonwood trees along Cottonwood Creek. Our plan for Friday was to take it a little easier and hike up Hackberry Canyon a few miles, so we wanted to camp nearby. On Friday morning we slept in a little later and woke up with the sunrise again. We packed up camp and then drove back over to the trailhead so we could start our hike.

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The Paria River: Old Paria Townsite to Starlight Canyon

Canyons of the Paria | Southern Utah Wanderings
Wednesday – Thursday, October 7-8, 2020

After spending Wednesday afternoon going on a pair of short hikes along The Cockscomb and then grabbing a quick dinner in Kanab, Jared and I made our way back to the Paria River to find a place to camp just after dark past the Old Paria Townsite and Movie Set. We found a great spot at the very end of the road under a couple cottonwood trees and set up camp in the dark. Our plan for Thursday was to hike up the Paria River to Starlight Canyon and this time we wanted to get an earlier start since it was going to be a longer hike, so we made sure to get to bed early.