Thursday July 27, 2023
Escalante, UT -> Bryce Canyon National Park
46.9 mi and 3,882 ft
The Petrified Forest State Park in Escalante is absolutely gorgeous! Aside from the cursed rocks (the visitor center has mail from visitors who took rocks from the park and found themselves plagued by bad luck), the view and amenities at the park are amazing. There was eduroam wifi, which for those of you not in college is the nationwide college wifi and you can automatically connect to this wifi when visiting other campuses, showers with hot water, and a beautiful lake to swim in!
Here is a giant beetle Kat found under her tent and Audrey struggling to eat crackers and nuttela- a spokes staple.
After waking up in the morning I was plagued with cramps, stomach aches, and nausea. Unfortunately, Kat was also feeling unwell and I was able to join her in the car on a day of rest for my sick stomach.
We decided to travel back for some breakfast to kiva koffee house before checking in on the team on their route to Bryce. Fortunately, it was a very short ride- just about 40 miles. Unfortunately, it was VERY windy with the last 8 mile climb also having headwinds.
The entire team made it safely to Ruby's Inn campground- a historic lodge that helped popularize Bryce canyon (plus it has a pool!)
There were also tons of ground squirrels!
Vin went straight to the Bryce visitor center and I followed soon afterwards to collect my stamp for visiting the park. I had come to Bryce in the Winter a couple years ago and while I still prefer it covered in snow, it was more beautiful than I remembered. Plus, I got to ride on the bike path that travels through the park!
We ended the night with shakshuka made by Kat and for the first time in a long time fell asleep and were chilly.
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