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Show A series of breaks Bryce Canyon not a canyon at all iii.iw(K'' -.. wm n" mm nnm s. i -.. m m mi ( V " f" - . with the Red Cliffs. North of highway 12 (Park Road) is a circle drive as far as U.S. 24 Junction, then east through Loa and Torrey and back again through Boulder and Escalante. Another road leads due south to Kodachrome Park and Grosvenor Arch. Calf Creek recreation area lies between Boulder and Escalante, and spectacular Calf Creek Falls is the major attraction. "But," exclaims Al Foster, miner, merchant and ardent color country booster, "the entire drive as well as the one to Kodachrome is an experience ex-perience in natural beauty." The lower Calf Creek Falls are accessible by a 2 3-4 mile trail. The upper falls, 5'2 miles upstream can be reached only by a difficult one mile hike over sandstone slickrock from the Escalante-Boulder highway. Kodachrome Basin State Reserve is an exotic haven for visitors seeking restful communion with nature in a remote setting. It consists of 2,240 acres of dramatic natural scenery. Yovimpa Point provides a panoramic view of the plateau and canyon country to the south. No trailers are allowed beyond Sunset Campground; day visitors must park their trailers in the visitor center lot. Bryce Canyon National Park is one of several national parks, monuments and forests in Color Country. Its brightly-colored spires and i canyons are a hiker's and pictures-taker's delight. i It's not a canyon at all. Bryce National Park is a series of breaks in a dozen large amphitheaters plunging a thousand feet down through nearly 60 different layers of limestone. Red, orange and yellow gold formations are majestic. The dazzle the eye. The multi-colored spindles and spires of fancifully eroded sandstone comprise one of the most scenic natural resources in the United States. The park, about 100 miles west of Cedar City, Parowan and Beaver off highway U-12 was named for Ebenezer Bryce, an early pioneer. The many shapes and forms in stone ha ve conjured up all sorts of images; walls and windows, minarets, gables, pagodas and pedestals, temples, and even "platoons of Turkish soldiers in pantaloons." Photos usually emphasize this other-worldly magnificence of Bryce Canyon, and rightly so. The intricacy of form and brilliancy of color astound you, as though in this particular par-ticular spot the force of creation went temporarily unrestrained. Regain your perspective by visiting Bryce Canyon's second world, its forests. As elevation rises from the park boundary out to Yovimpa and Rainbow Points, the forests change from a dwarf forest of Utah juniper and pinion pine on the lower slopes to ponderosa pine forests on the plateau surface. sur-face. Higher up toward Rainbow Point begins a spruce, aspen, and fir forest. The forests and meadows of Bryce Canyon support a diversity of animal life. Chipmunks, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, rabbits and porcupines are active by day. At night mice, woodrats, moles, gophers, badgers, skunks, bobcats, weasels, ringtailed cats, gray foxes and coyotes come out of hiding. Mule deer can be seen in the meadows in the evenings all summer. Once in a while a cougar can be sighted. More than 164 species of birds visit the park between May and October. The pioneer resort operator outside the entrance en-trance of the park ws Ruben C. Syrett, who brought his family to the wilds of southern Utah in 1916. He established a anch near the present site of Ruby's Inn. Three years later he built the "Tourist Resort" lodge near Sunset Point in Bryce Canyon. "Ruby" Syrett later moved t the resort to his ranch. The U.S. post office was situated there. It still serves the park area with his son, Carl, as postmaster. Another son, Rod, manages the lodge. The area between U.S. 89 and Bryce's is full of interesting in-teresting sights, starting |