Further Adventrues

Day two on our trip to Bryce Canyon Mac indulged me in something I'd been wanting to do for a long time, a back country tour on an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle).  They don't allow them in the park itself, but there are hundreds of miles of ATV trails throughout that part of Utah.  We reserved a two person vehicle, I was NOT driving, and we took off after signing a million waivers of liability.  There were 2 other vehicles plus the guide, we brought up the rear.  First he took us out to the rim of the canyon where we made a stop to take pictures.  Then it was down through a small stream and out into the back country.  Was it fun, sort of, was I glad we did it, yes, would I do it again, probably not.  Bouncing around in an ATV at 25 mph at my age is more "excitement" than I need.

Rim of the Canyon

After Mac had taken me to do that I took him fishing.  He loves to fish, particularly for trout.  Not too many trout in our neck of the woods, the water is too warm, but Bryce and the surrounding areas range from 7,000 to 9,000 feet, perfect for trout, if we could find some water to fish in.  Most of the streams we saw were dried up, but we were told to try the Tropic Reservoir which was about 6 miles down a dirt road through the Dixie National Forest (it sure sounded funny to hear Dixie in Utah).

Bass at Escalante

 So after buying some worms we were off.  It was a pretty little lake and Mac gave it a try, though lake fishing is not his favorite.  He didn't catch anything and by then we were running down so we headed back to our cabin.
Saturday we took off to Escalante (named after a Spanish explorer) Petrified Forest State Park which also had a reservoir.  The park was nice, but the climb to the forest was steep and had drop offs so I chickened out (I don't do heights) so Mac went on his own.  He said it was a great view, but not much petrified wood.  Then he tried out the fishing and immediately caught a bass, but he wanted trout.  I painted while he fished and it was a nice afternoon, but no more fish.
The next day we went to Kodachrome Basin State Park and WOW. it was wonderful.  Instead of being on the rim we were on level ground and took one of the hikes through the formations.  We saw dozens of what are called Hoodoos ( a type of "chimney" rock formations).  The walk was easy, but the sun was HOT. We saw an Indian cave with petroglyphs  and loads of Hoodoos. We spent the whole morning there and I definitely want to go back.

Hoodoo

Hoodoo at Kodachrome Basin

 Then it was off in search of the elusive  trout.  We had been told it was ok to fish the stream that ran below the road in the Dixie Forest, that it wasn't private property.  So we found a place to leave the car, walked down to the stream and Mac fished.  Oh boy did he fish catching nearly a dozen brown trout, he was in heaven.

Trout Stream

A couple of great days.

First trout