After yesterday’s late-afternoon hail and rain extravaganza,
we had clear skies last night. Coming back from the evening ranger program, we
saw brilliant stars. Bryce Canyon is truly a Dark Sky sanctuary, with
approximately 7500 stars visible on a moonless night. You can clearly see the
Milky Way, and the stars shine with great depth. I just wish I could identify
more than the Big Dipper.
I paid the price for craning my neck back looking up at the
stars, though, and aggravated my dizziness problem. I woke up this morning
feeling like the world was spinning, and spent the day trying not to lurch when
I walked. Armin and the boys kept me away from any canyon rims. I am feeling
better this evening, though, and I hope that by sleeping kind of propped up I
can avoid any further dizziness.
Anyway, we had a 2 am thunderstorm that sent us all into the
car for a little while. The boys handled it with sleepy good humor, and quickly
fell back asleep once we were back in the tent.
This morning we took some time off from hiking in order to
do some housekeeping. We had to get the tent tidied up and dried out, and the
back of the car needed some serious organizing. It felt good to do some little
chores and be able to find things once again. The boys also appreciated being
able to lark about with their campsite friends who were going back to
California today.
Once we had things shipshape, we decided to drive the park
road to hit the scenic overlooks. There was only one little hike along the way,
so we just tooled along, snapped pictures, and enjoyed a picnic lunch. The boys
finished up their Junior Ranger requirements and we spent some time at the
Visitor Center. Then we got back to a nearly deserted campground and hung
around, reading and such. I’m reading Mrs.
Frisby & The Rats of NIMH to the boys and we are completely captivated
by it. We spent a couple of hours lounging in the tent following the adventures
of our new mouse & rat friends.
The day has been free of rain—probably our first day without
precipitation in more than a week. It’ll be chilly again tonight (sorry,
sweltering East Coast friends), with clear skies for good star viewing. I’ll
resist the temptation to crane my neck!
Tomorrow we’ll take a ride on the Dixie National Forest bike
path, which Armin says is spectacular. Then on Thursday morning we head to Salt
Lake City for a bit of city sight-seeing and a hotel room. I will resist the
temptation to spend the entire time in the shower.
So, dear readers, though it makes for rather dull reading, I
am glad that the past 24 hours have been free of drama. We needed some mellow
downtime!
