Traveling with the girls - part 4, Bryce Canyon and Pipe Springs

After a wonderful week at Especially For Youth at BYU, we picked up the girls from their dorm early on a Saturday morning and headed back to Arizona.  We had a couple of little side trips planned.  The first was Bryce Canyon National Park.  The above picture is for Red Canyon which gives a sneak peak of what is to come as you approach the entry way into the park.

This was our first overlook in the park.  Magnificent!

Glen points out the trail we hiked on New Year's Day in 2000.  We had a large family gathering at Ruby's Inn to welcome in the new millennium.  Bryce Canyon frosted with snow is something to see.

A man with the last name of Bryce used to haul out timber from the canyons, thus the name.

Nature creating over time is awe inspiring.

Alma and Samantha snapped away on their smart phones.

Look closely and you will see the many hikers below.  The girls were excited to see so many different license plates on cars including Florida and Alaska.  We also heard native tongues from all over the world.

It was a beautiful day, especially at 8300 feet.

When traveling this route, one has an amazing view when heading south from Fredonia, Arizona up the road to the Kaibab Plateau and Jacobs Lake.  You can see the layers of different colored rocks, thousands of feet of them, with Bryce Canyon red sandstone creations making the top layer.

The view from Bryce Point.

This lookout is a short walk from the parking lot and one ends on this rocky peninsula.

A story of Mormon Pioneers and the settlement of this magnificent wilderness.  Little towns are in the far distance.

These arches in the top layer look like they could be man-made.  I loved how the sun shone through the middle arch.

Next stop was Pipe Springs National Monument just 12 miles west of Fredonia.  It played an important part in western United States history.  This little oasis in the arid west was host to explorers such as John Wesley Powell.  In the above picture, we are in the kitchen which fed many and was famous for the  pies produced here.

This quilt hang over the banister of the stairway to the upstairs sleeping quarters.  I just loved the pattern.

We exited the sleeping quarters and also toured the other side of what is called Winsor Castle.  It is named after a family with the last name of Winsor who lived here.  It is a large stone structure and resembles a castle from a distance.

The other half has additional sleeping quarters and a telegraph office upstairs.  The downstairs has rooms where cheese and other dairy products were produced.  The springs for which Pipe Springs is named actually flow under the floor where the girls are standing and enter the cool room before exiting the building.  This facilitated the dairy work and acted as their refrigerator.  The "castle" was built as a fortress as there had been warfare between the native tribes and pioneers previously.  The large wooden gates on each end were large enough for horse drawn wagons to pass through or remain inside if needed.

A covered wagon, transportation for that time.

Outside the Winsor Castle.  The wing you see behind the girls is the one through which the spring flow exits on the corner.

The water flows into ponds which helped in irrigating their orchards and gardens.  This is a fun stop which gives a great glimpse into life on the western frontier a hundred and forty years ago.

We delivered the girls back to their families that evening.  We loved introducing them to some of our favorites places.