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We had set the alarm for 6, planning to check the weather and decide what to do. It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful morning - not a cloud in the sky!
So, we bundled up and headed back to the park and Sunset Point. We spent a good 3.5 hours there, including walking part way down one of the paths. Bryce looks totally different with a thick layer of snow on it. I think I got some really good photos this morning.
The three photos above were taken from Sunset Point. The photo on the left is the view to the north of this viewpoint and the photo on the right is the view to the south. The photo in the center shows Queen's Garden Trail from the trailhead at Sunset Point.
We walked part way down the Queen's Garden Trail and I took these photos along the way. The one on the left shows how narrow the packed trail was. As you can see, the handrail is nearly buried in snow. The center photo shows a snow covered hoodoo that looked vaguely like an elephant. The photo on the right is another trail view. The single spire in this photo is called The Sentinel.
As we left Sunset Point overlook, I spotted this fence on the way back to the parking lot. That's how deep the snow was!
Back to the hotel for a late breakfast, then down the road to the Mossy Cave Trail. It’s a part of the park that’s not usually visited. There’s a short trail (0.8 miles round trip) back to an ice cave and a waterfall. The trail was nicely packed, so we didn’t need to go back to rent snowshoes.
The two photos above were taken near the parking lot for the Mossy Cave Trail. The trail crosses Mossy Creek and this is the view from the bridge over the stream - one upstream, one downstream.
It was a delightful little walk back to the cave and waterfall. The cave has ice structures in it most of the year. Of course, they were very, very evident this day. The waterfall was frozen and most of its ice was dirty, so I passed on taking any pictures of it.
The two photos above were taken at the ice cave. The photo on the left emphasises the permanent ice found in this cave, while the one on the right shows the more seasonal icicles.
However, my primary objective at that location was the formation above the waterfall. Seen at certain angles, it looks like a dragon has settled onto the ridge of the hill to take a nap. Unfortunately, the clouds were starting to build up and I don’t think my photos there were as good as they could have been. We’ll see when they get back. Two of them appear below. What do you think? (The head is on the right.....)
After such a glorious morning, it was a bit disappointing to see the clouds come back. By 2 pm it was completely overcast again. So we returned to the hotel and watched old movies and played cribbage.
Then an early dinner and bed.