On Sunday we woke up early and headed to Cafe Soleil. We had excellent food (breakfast sandwich and a breakfast tortilla wrap) and great coffee. Then we headed back into Zion National Park, through the park, and about 2 hours up the road until we got to Bryce Canyon National Park. We briefly stopped at the visitor center, then drove to Bryce Point. We had originally planned to do a bit of hiking in the park, though the wind and snow piles at the point made us think twice. However, the views were excellent.
We also stopped at several other overlooks as we backtracked towards the park entrance, including an overlook of a “natural bridge” that is technically an arch. [Natural bridges and arches are formed differently, bridges are formed by running water and arches by top-down erosion.] By this point, the temperature had dropped to near freezing and we could see snow clouds moving in. We hustled to the last viewpoint in the vacinity of Sunset and Sunrise Points, and got to the overlook just as the snow started. We looked around, took pictures, and hurried back to the car. We didn’t have much time in the park, but we enjoyed seeing the different colored rock formations and watching the local weather patterns develop overhead.
After stopping for lunch at Subway, we decided to take the scenic route back to Las Vegas. The scenic byway took us through Dixie National Forest. Before starting the 22 mile drive, we did not realize that this area is often snow-covered. We realized this about 1/2 of the way into our drive, as the snowbanks were 3′-4′ high, and snow often blew across the road. Surprisingly, we weren’t the only ones on the road. By the time we got off the mountain, the temperature had risen to about 50 degrees, the sun was visible, and we could look back and see that the area we drove through was one of the few areas where it was snowing. Despite traffic, including a big rig that drove off the side of the road, we managed to make it back to Las Vegas by the early evening.
