The night before actually had some moisture in the air, so it made for a very nice sunrise in Tropic. Just like back home, photo worthy sunrises and sunsets usually come after some type of weather.
I startled this little black cat as I was filming in the morning. I guess its home was nestled in the flowers. Sorry!
These are the chickens that will wake you up bright and early at 5am.
Bryce Canyon morning hike: upper rim and into Wall street canyon
Even up at this elevation there was the constant sound of cicadas. They were everywhere on the trees and sound a bit different than the ones back in Georgia.
This was an amazing path down to the cool canyon floor. You’ll definitely get Indiana Jones Last Crusade vibes.
Near the entrance to Bryce there’s a slow point for Prairie Dog Crossing! We only saw this little dude on our way out:
These next photos, were back at “Prairie Dog City” just a few miles outside of Bryce. I think this is the best spot to watch them since you have plenty of sun and the landscape is just so nice and wide open. The cheap Canon 100-300mm definitely came in handy.
Nice backyard sir!
This landscape changes so nicely with the blocking and diffusion by the clouds. The green turns more emerald and saturation really goes up.
Lunch was at I.D.K. Barbecue back in Tropic. If you pull up the ratings, it’s pretty crazy. Surely it can’t be that good right?
They had 3 sauces: BBQ, Spicy, and Smoky. I really liked all of them!
They had peach cobbler as well!! And you can get it in a waffle cone with ice cream.
Beef brisket, baked beans and cornbread. Sorry the food photos aren’t up to my normal quality, but seriously this is some of the best bbq I’ve ever had. The great ratings are justified! The cornbread was sweet and not dry. I could probably have a meal with just the sides.
The folks in this little town definitely work hard, with most places being staffed by skeleton crews, and some also work different jobs at different places! The pressures of tipping has kinda gotten out of hand here in Atlanta, whereas the folks out here really do deserve the gratuity.
We closed off the Bryce portion of the trip with a sunset walk. Problem with Bryce for sunset is that it’s a canyon and the light disappears pretty quick. These spots are from walking up from Inspiration point and up the somewhat scary and worn down path to the south. That way you can see both sides, into the amphitheatre and also way into the distance to see changing sunlight and color.
If you look behind and to your left you see this view, and to the right is Bryce Canyon. Then all you have to do is sit and wait for golden hour.
The light in Utah definitely did not disappoint today. It was pretty cold though, and that kept many of the other tourists away. After the sun disappears and light is more dim and even is still a great time for landscape photos. Even with the iPhone, which definitely rendered a pleasing warm photo with all its computational hdr blending.
I started off the day by startling a cat, and ended it by startling this little rabbit! Crazy how it lives all the way up here.
