Bryce Canyon and Under the Rim Trail

OK that picture is from Kodachrome State Park, but it begged to be included......

Right now we are at the lovely Slot Canyons Inn, located in Escalante, Utah. We are luxuriating for a night after several days of camping along the 23-mile Under the Rim Trail (well, 24.5 for us thanks to a short diversion as a result of an inaccurate sign) in Bryce Canyon.

The Under the Rim Trail is a toughie, I won't lie. However, it is less popular than I thought it would be - we saw just a few other people. I think this is because water can be very limited and it gets HOT down there in the summer. We got lucky with some recent rain (so the streams were flowing) and it was only in the mid-70s. It was nice to get off the beaten path away from the tour bus crowds at the top of Bryce Canyon for sure!

Anywho, what more can you say about camping in one of America's premier national parks? Words cannot capture it. Here are some pics instead.

Great weather at the start (woosh)

We look so energized and clean at the start.

The famous Bryce Canyon hoodos in the background

The point where we started.

Seriously......you hike in those socks - get some Smartwool man. Yer feet stink.

Bad fire but great views

Hot and bothered

Just making dinner

Dance parties every night at camp thanks to the Jambox

Dave at the "Hat Shop"

At the finish! I need a beer, and it had better not be 3.2%.

We are off to explore the Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument for a few days. We are hoping to camp along one of the famous washes or slot canyons here, but it has been raining and there is a flash-flood advisory. We'll see how it goes.

Also, I just had to plug Good To-Go meals. The company was started by a chef in Maine who was tired of crappy dehydrated camp meals so she started her own company. These meals are the shiz-nit! I am NEVER going back to those weird Mountain House cheese-burger macaroni meals with 8 million ingredients I cannot pronounce and don't want to eat. This tasty, veggie-laden Thai Curry was a gift from the gods after 11 miles of tough hiking.