Bryce Canyon [antikvár]

In a land that abounds in remarkable formations of rich, red rock, Bryce Canyon is still an extraordinary sight, a highlight in the haveler's journey that may also include the splendor of Zion's immense natural cathedrals and the indescribable awesomeness of the Grand Canyon.Bryce Canyon has splendor, and it is awesome, too; but unlike its neighboring canyons to the south, it is a discovery of a more inHmate nature, perhaps akin to finding an unexpected treasure at one's very feet. The canyon is a sculpture of heroic proporhons, carved right out of the plateau on which we stand and fashioned with a skill more intent on creating intricate and exquisite forms, even whimsical ones, than on making grand, sweeping statements in the land.A journey around Bryce Canyon's rim is an exhilarating day heightened by brilliant sun and sky, pure air, and the sense of being high above and truly removed from the "madding crowd." A full day it is, too, for to miss one of the overlooks and the view it affords into the spectacular canyon is to pass up a new perspective and, perhaps, a memory that would last a lifetime.Below the rim, nature, using her ancient tools of weathering and erosion, has carved a huly marvelous scene. Columns, temples, castles, arches, bridges, windowsall are highlighted by the vivid colors typical of southern Utah. Throughout the day, changing light and shifting clouds capriciously paint the spired cities in shades of pink, salmon, and umber that lend an air of utter enchantment to the landscape. And when the sun sets in the western sky, the amphitheaters are flooded with warm tides of reflected light, often giving a fleeting, translucent quality to the formations.Strikingly picturesque as they are, however, Bryce Canyon's "badlands" are only part of the beauty of the scene here. One might compare the canyon and its surroundings to a sparkling jewel resting in a remarkable and eminently worthy setting.Beyond the pinnacles and spires of the canyon, the view continues as far as the eye can see-across vast plateaus broken only by shimmering cliffs and shadow-etched canyons to mountains crowned with snow, mesas clothed with evergreens, and meadows suffused with profound tranquility. All are available to us in a 360-degree panorama of nature unconfined and nearly unmanned. For ninety unobstructed miles we are privileged to exult in a scope of wilderness America that is unequalled anywhere on earth!Bryce Canyon straddles the crenulated eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, the southeast-ernmost of the high plateaus of Utah. The view from this lofty vantage point stretches across vast expanses of southern Utah and northern Arizona.To the west and north, the horizon is dominated by the Markagunt, Sevier, and Aquarius plateaus, each over 11,000 feet high; farther away and less conspicuous are the misty peaks of the Tushar and Henry mountains. To the east, the eye scans the flat-floored Paria amphitheater, the white-walled canyons carved by the Paria River, Canaan