Expanding services at Bryce Canyon

Expanding services at Bryce Canyon increases visitation, both numbers and locality.  It’s beginning to look more like summer but without tour buses.

Thank goodness we’re not as busy as Zion, and seemingly more organized as I hear from visitors.  However, the number of vehicles entering the park continues to increase with more RVs.  A few weeks ago people I talked to were semi-local (it’s a big circle) from Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and southern California with some from Washington.  Lately, I’m meeting more folks from the Midwest and East coast.  Is COVID19 over?  Many are not wearing masks.  Yet visitation is still lower than last year due to cancelled tours, reservations, vacations, and travel restrictions.

Increasing temperatures also indicate summer is on the way.  From cold 30°F mornings early last week to an almost balmy 50°F this week the highs are reaching almost 80°F.  Sitting outside in the shade of the visitor center a week ago Monday with high winds chilled me to the bone.  So I moved inside to count people coming in and out to a limit of 40 people in the building.  Late that day one of the popups went flying and now we have to take the tops off if winds are predicted over 20mph.  Even had a few snow flurries that morning.

That was June 8th, when the Mangum fire started on the Kaibab National Forest at Mangum camp where four historic buildings burned, cause is still being investigated.  High winds quickly pushed the fire northwest through Ponderosa Pine forest and by the 12th covered 12,000 acres and people at Jacob Lake were evacuated.  That amounts to the Inn (where the awesome cookies come from), Forest Service visitor center and campgrounds, and a RV Park.  The North Rim shut down after only seven days open and employees were given an option to evacuate or shelter in place as they were safely south of the fire.  State Route 89A closed from Fredonia to Marble Canyon, Arizona.  We’ve been watching the smoke.  So far the historic Jacob Lake Inn has been spared but the fire jumped the road and as of the 16th covered 40,000 acres.  That’s when the Forever Resort concession employees were evacuated.  And still it burns with more high winds spreading through Juniper/Pinyon woodlands and sagebrush with grasses.

The fire didn’t slow down visitation here much averaging 1500 vehicles a day between the 8th to the 14th.  Long-time blog friend and RVer Colleen visited with her grown son, wife, and two children.  We met near the park’s General Store and sat chatting like old friends—though we’d never met—for several hours while waiting for her family to return from hiking among the hoodoos.  Then a fellow Ranger from Grand Canyon who currently works on the South Rim visited for several days and stayed overnight in my truckcamper “guesthouse”.

Somewhere in there I fit in an all day shopping trip to Cedar City with a friend and now won’t have to return for about a month.  We scored because the new Natural Grocers had opened that day making us both very happy and with many sales we bought lots.  Hit many other stores as well, us and some others wearing masks.

Other than covering the door-count and information area I table-roved for a couple hours near Sunset Point overlooking the hoodoo filled Bryce amphitheater and walked along the rim trail answering visitor questions.

North view

East view

West view

Another day I roved at Rainbow and Yovimpa Points at the southern end of the Paunsaugunt Plateau providing long views circling at least 220°.  I talked a little about the Grand Staircase geology within view.

But I talked more about fire ecology because the southern view included the smoke from the Mangum fire located about 80 miles away as the Raven flies.

Lodge

Sunset Motel

Every day something new and many expanding services opening at Bryce Canyon National Park.  On June 15th, lodging through Forever Resorts opened at the Sunset Motel and Deluxe cabins with take-out dining.  The Lodge Gift Shop and Valhalla Pizzeria will remain closed at this time.

The Natural History Association store and outside the visitor center Ranger information will be open from 8am to 8pm beginning June 21.  Backcountry will open for permits July 1st.

Although the 2020 Geology Festival has been cancelled we hope to provide modified geology talks within the park in late June.  The later will depend on limiting group sizes that are committed to physical distancing.

Getting closer to the park being in full operation yet I believe that won’t happen until Utah is in the green, and right now numbers of COVID19 cases are going up in Utah and Arizona.  So the park will continue expanding services as time goes on, or at least we hope so in a safe manner.

Life can be a struggle but once roots are set growth occurs.

I am excited about getting out to present programs and just a little nervous too.  I am REALLY frustrated with my signal problem from home.  I can get a signal almost anywhere in the park on top of the plateau except where I live.  Even with the booster, my phone tethered to the computer shows 4Glte with three bars and it doesn’t work worth shit.  I am ready to SCREAM!  If you don’t hear from me for a while you’ll know why.