Happy Memorial Day, and the last measurable snowfall at Bryce Canyon, finally. Also my first of two days off so I wasn’t keen on getting up early enough for sunrise and instead woke up to a blanket of white with a slate gray sky. I did however enjoy watching it snow all day while working on Ranger programs and blog posts. Made me, and Sierra, jump when big clumps of snow fell off the heavily laden tree boughs onto the RV roof with an unexpected thud.
Yet I figured if I wanted to photograph snow on the hoodoos to get out the next morning before it melted away. So I shot for, and almost made sunrise.
There are overlooks on the eastern rim above the amphitheater full of hoodoos. In fact Sunrise Point and Sunset Point are a half mile apart, and both facing east. For sunset, one of the poorest named overlooks I’ve experienced with the Park Service.
For a couple weeks I’d been telling visitors Bryce Point would be the best sunrise overlook, even though I hadn’t tried it myself. But just looking at a map told me the view would be east into the sun but also north and west over the hoodoos and towards the amphitheater walls. I was not disappointed.
With clouds hanging low on the horizon I got a second chance at sunrise over the Aquarius Plateau.
Having bundled up appropriately for this sojourn I stayed for the golden hours. And may have discovered a view to the west for sunset, someday in the future I’ll check that out.
Later I went to town, Bryce Canyon City is located about 1 1/2 miles away from the park. I got a reliable signal while doing laundry at Ruby’s. Just about everything in Bryce Canyon City is Ruby’s something: campground complete with Teepee glamping, hotels, restaurants, fuel, groceries, tourist traps, music, and rodeo. Maybe more. Plus convenient shuttle parking to enter Bryce Canyon National Park.
I entered the above two shots in the bi-annual employee photo contest at the park. Employees vote, no results yet.
Back to work and presenting hoodoo geology two days in a row helped lock in the 20 minutes of how hoodoos were formed. Bizarre rocks, enchanting spell, or both.
Then after lunch, an hour long cultural history walk with stops along the rim, forest, and historic lodge. People’s relationships with the land has changed significantly since the nomadic First People to today’s selfies.
I’ve also worked up an evening program and slide presentation about finding wildlife in Bryce by learning their habits and habitat, which I have since presented twice in the lodge auditorium.
I may try to post the programs at some point.
And I’ve operated a Celestron 11 telescope twice now, both times focusing on Alcor and Mizar, the double star in the handle of the Big Dipper. College astronomy interns helped me set up as I can’t move or lift the scope into place. One intern focused on the crescent moon which filled the field of vision through the scope. She also helped me take the phone shot above as it’s difficult to hold the phone flat and level against the eyepiece while also taking the pic. We’ve recently been looking at Jupiter and 4 moons.
The Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival happens in and out of the park June 26 – 29, 2019 with Bryce Canyon’s Astronomy Rangers and local Astronomical Societies. Attendees will enjoy a variety of astronomy-themed activities and programs offered both day and night. Keynote Speaker will be Dr. Amber Straughn, Associate Director of Astrophysics Science at NASA.
I spent my three-day weekend taking care of business in St. George and visiting with Bill in Kanab. Not my favorite way to spend days off except for the visiting. I did get my shopping done, eyes examined and glasses ordered.
Plus I’ve been exploring below the Plateau where Spring is turning into Summer.
Because the next night I operated a Celestron 11-inch telescope for the first time, with a lot of help from other Rangers. Five scopes were set up and staffed by Rangers, each showing a different object in the sky. Our “Astro field” is the employee parking lot behind the office/visitor center building. This show normally happens Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights from 10-11:30pm if the sky is clear. And that night was our open window. Because I’m really not an astronomer (yet) I chose to focus on the double stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, Alcor and Mizar, a constellation almost everyone in the northern hemisphere can find, including me. After aligning the scope to Arcturus and Vega, with the push of buttons it automatically moved to my chosen Alcor star. I only had to make a few adjustments for drifting over the night. I outlined the constellation with a laser light, pointed out the second stars to the left of the last handle star, and asked if anyone could see two stars there with the naked eye instead of just one. In days of old, this was considered an eye test to become an Arabian soldier. Some guests flunked, including me. But then I’m due for new eye glasses. In the scope the two dim stars could clearly be seen about 1/4 inch apart. Guests seemed to love it and they then moved on to another telescope line to view clusters, the whirlpool, Spica in Virgo, and eventually Jupiter and four moons.
