The first was Kodachrome Basin State Park. Given the name, you can imagine it might be a colorful place, and indeed it was. The two mounds on either side of the road in the photo below could be considered the gates to the park, I suppose.
In addition to the very red standstone are interesting rock formations.
Of particular interest are formations called "pipes", like the one below. Geologists believe these were formed when a moist slurry, trapped beneath several layers of rock, was forced up through cracks that led to the surface. The slurry hardened into a cement of sorts, while softer rock eroded away around it. Kodachrome Basin features many of these chimney-like structures.
There were a few very smooth rocks like the one in the foreground below. There is a wonderful campground to the right of this rock. It is now on our list of places to stay at some future time, although never in mid-summer:
A double pipe?
Those lumps in the sand, below, are cryptobiotic soil, actually made of living organisms that are one of the oldest forms of life on the planet:
Life is hard out here!
Lizard, about 5 inches long:
The hills in the photo below are just outside the park:
I mentioned another place we visited, Cedar Breaks National Monument, just south of Bryce. This area is viewed from the rim of a colorful canyon, at just over an elevation of 10,000 feet. This overlook is 12 feet higher than Haleakala on Maui! I didn't feel quite as cold or as breathless, though. We have been getting used to the higher elevations for a few weeks now (although not quite this high.)
Cedar Breaks shares many of the same features as Bryce Canyon, including colors and hoodoos. It has fewer hoodoos, but as canyons go it is broader and deeper.
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Life is difficult at these elevations. I was surprised to find so many trees up here.
Driving to and from Cedar Breaks, we passed through a beautiful valley where the aspen were wearing their best fall colors.
And this was the view from our campground!
