winter
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Bryce Canyon in winter…
Finally, not far from Bryce Canyon, snowfall inspired me to go discover it in his winter coat…
1. Start on Christmas Day. Warmer than the night before but snow and blizzard formed small snowdrifts while rocking me all night long… 😉
2. Small lake along a country road, between two flurries…
3. It is large enough to not be completely frozen yet. I saw two great eagles, probably on the lookout for some fish to eat.
4. Arriving near Bryce, I first discovered a secondary cayon, less known but beautiful too.
5. It was partly dug by the water of an irrigation canal built upstream by Mormons a hundred years ago.
6. Triple arch on an edge.
7. A small waterfall almost completely frozen…
8. I arrived on the heights of Bryce Canyon between scathing snow showers and blue sky. It was 15F and for once, there wasn’t many people there, only some Japaneses and Hindous.
9. While I go down into it, snow showers give a wintry atmosphere…
10. Then shower fades…
11. The white-red contrasts give a very different face of this exceptional place…
12. The next night was one of the colder than VivaLaVida has had to endure: -10F to her thermometer. Olive oil even froze in the closet… 😉
13. Wind creates clouds that cause snowing on the mountains while the rest of the sky his quite blue.
14. I went hiking in an annex canyon of Red Canyon, not far from Bryce and less known but also interesting to me.
15. Hoodoos are everywhere.
16. I even find that unnamed arch.
17. Almost ten inches powder snow fell in this wilderness.
18. And he still snosw under showers while the wind blows almost as a storm.
19. Going down to VLV in late afternoon.
20. That road conditions we had at almost 10,000 feet above sea level, near Cedar Break inaccessible due to snow.
21. Down to warmer altitudes, an example of bright Christmas decoration that you Americans love. 😉
Change of scenery to come in the next update… 😉
Looking for a little warmer temp
As I wrote it in the previous update, VivaLaVida has turned south-west, temperatures from -13 to -22F being announced for the San Rafael Swell.
1. Tremendous panorama of Cathedral Valley and Henry Mountains in the distance.
2. At Hogan Pass at almost 8,000 feet above sea level, it is 8F at noon despite the sun.
3. And it blows a strong north wind that sculpts the snow.
Forsyth Reservoir is frozen, you could almost skate there.
5. VLV almost reached the Rock Lake but had to give up 9,350 feet, too much snow…
6. So I continued on foot, wrapped up warmly, while they didn’t seem to be cold! 😀
7. Went back down just before night, enjoying a beautiful sunset on highlands.
8. The next day, Christmas Eve, VivaLaVida tried to reach Escalante across the splendid Awapa Plateau, between 7,800 and 9,800 feet elevation.
9. Vast stretches of grasslands. I like to imagine herds of bison grazing here 150 years ago before that men exterminated them from these areas…
10. As the altitude increases, the snow becomes more present.
11. It blows an icy wind that makes me think of a blizzard. 10F to the best of the day. But at least I enjoy a Christmas with snow! 😀
12. VLV had to give up, the amount of blown snow making progress difficult. He tried two other tracks but it ended the same.
13. Beautiful cirrus sky announcing some snowfall overnight…
14. These semi-snowy meadows remind me of the tundra of northern Alaska.
15. The wind has drawn waves, while the sky covers.
16. I so love this kind of moors landscapes, I decided to spend the night there. And Nature offered me a nice surprise for Christmas: an amazing sunset. It began with soft colors to the north.
17. Too much wind to light a campfire as I expected and it is already 3F…
18. Three minutes later, the sky blazes…
19. Without Christmas tree in her, VivaLaVida is aflamed by the Christmas setting sun! 😉
20. Last colors… all lasted only a few moments…
Unable to join Escalante by the way I had imagined because of the winter already installed in altitude, I found another path that led me to discover Bryce Canyon in its winter coat… To come here soon! 😉