Give Me A Hoo! Give Me A DOO!

We did it! We decided we needed to go somewhere, so we went to Bryce Canyon for the weekend. Since it's February, we had the place mostly to ourselves. Ideal for hikes, but it also means that the restaurant at Ruby's Inn (where we stayed) is the only place to eat. So what the heck can you do in Bryce Canyon when the high is 29 degrees?

First, we went to a presentation at the visitors' center (on Valentine's Day) called "Astrology Through the Ages." It was fascinating! Did you know that almost every star in the sky is brighter than the sun? It's just because the sun is closest to us that it seems the brightest. I'm so much smarter now. We were going to stay and look through the telescopes, but Bridget had other ideas. Even without the telescopes, we walked out of the visitors' center to a perfectly clear night sky full of stars. I know you think you know what I'm talking about, but you don't. There wasn't a smidgen of space that was not taken up with a star. Beautiful! Amazing!
The next morning we were off to the park. The ranger who took our money at the entrance told us to go to Navajo Loop because it was the most popular. (He neglected to tell us that it is also the most dangerous this time of year. Thanks for noticing the toddler in the backseat, chief.) It was a difficult hike, but what did we know (nothing)? Don't you love Bridget's face? Oh, she was bugged! Every time Brian took a turn on the switchbacks she gasped a little. I slipped a few times and caught myself with my hands, but Brian was steady. We stopped and enjoyed the views quite often. Brian noticed a deer and then all the sudden there were lots of them. So pretty.
That's one of my favorite shots from Navajo Loop. The air was so dry and cold that I had a hard time focusing the camera. If I tried to keep my eyes open, they would start watering like crazy.
Once we were out of that canyon we rolled a couple snow balls down from the top. Bridget wasn't impressed. (Some Germans were, though.) We went back to the hotel to rest before we tackled another hike. We thought. Bridget fell asleep bundled in her bed and didn't wake up for three hours! Hmmm. No better time to watch "Live Free or Die Hard," I guess.
We spent the late afternoon driving through the entire park to get to the Bristlecone Pine Loop. Once we got there, though, it was obvious that the only way to do that hike is with snow shoes. Oh, well. We saw some beautiful views and Brian fed a fat crow one of my sugared almonds without getting caught. ("Breakin'thelaw! Breakin'thelaw!")

After some food at Ruby's (where else) we came back to our room and convinced Bridget to watch "Cars" because it was Tyce's favorite. (Whew! We only get "Enchanted" at home because it's on our DVR. It was a tense moment. Bridget even suggested we should go home.)

The next morning we found Bridget had figured out life at Bryce Canyon. So easy.
She had some of her hiking uniform on and everything. This morning we hiked to Queen's Garden. It was much colder today, but still invigorating to be outside breathing in such clean air.
As you can see, Bridget was totally into it today. :) N0? Really she was much better today - the trail wasn't as steep and slippery. We even let her out to stretch her legs at the bottom while we visited Queen Victoria. Can you see the resemblance? Uncanny.

It's a good thing we waited until almost the end of the trip to let Bridget taste the freedom of walking in the snow. All the way back up to the top she kept saying she needed to get out and walk. Then she said she needed to go potty. Good times!
I highly recommend deciding to take a weekend vacation one week before you actually go. We didn't have time to do too much planning or thinking about it, so now that it's over we just feel rejuvenated instead of the usual post-vacation blah. Also, if you're ready for the cold, February is the perfect time to visit places that are super crowded in the summer time. The end.

P.S. One of the many definitions of "hoodoo" is the rock formations we saw at Bryce Canyon. It's funny when Bridget says it. :)