Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Critters and HooDoos, But Not a Flower in Sight!

Today we went to Bryce Canyon -- it's COLD up there! The area along the rim ranges from 7000 to 9000+ feet. It's still winter there! We saw the eroded rocks they call HooDoos --




And lots of critters -- on our way to the Park, we watched this osprey circle a small lake and make one unsuccessful dive for a fish --



This Utah prairie dog is an endangered species. We thought it might be too cold for them to be out of hibernation yet (there was snow yet on an adjacent field), but there were a few of them out and about --



And these ravens with their huge beaks were waiting at every scenic overlook. Do you think maybe they were looking for hand-outs too?




This is one of a pair of pronghorn antelope that were grazing near the road in the park. Later this evening we saw a herd of 6-8 on a hillside as we were driving home on Highway 20.



This lady elk evidently had a pretty tough winter judging by the way her (blurry) ribs are showing. She was by herself getting a drink --



Since it is still winter and there are lots of snowdrifts and snowbanks in the park, we did not see ONE SINGLE flower!

1 comment:

  1. Bryce & Zion are on my "to do" list. I just love Utah-but have not experienced the southern area yet. Your photos are great.....

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