Bryce Canyon

The great lodge



After big rustler breakfast grub at Bryce Canyon Lodge, one of the great national park lodges built in the 1920s, we walk towards the ridge of the canyon. There it is, a hoodoo magical kingdom, part Disney, part geology. The mythical inhabitants, the warring factions, the lovely daughter of the king endangered by a scoundrel all yours to imagine. If you don’t see the magical kingdom angle, study the history of these rocks called Claron formations, which got going about 200 million years ago. Do both. At an altitude of 8,500 feet, a short hike from Sunrise Point down into the hoodoos takes one’s breath away physically and psychically. Frequent stops are required to get it back. A cold is taking hold too, making me woozy––as if the magnificent rock formation colors soft off-whites to deep brick aren’t enough to make one’s head spin.



Phil Reed. Possible head spin.




Mythical canyon.






After climbing around the hoodoos for a short while we drive toward our next destination, Gateway CO.

Who does this?

Yesterday morning, May 16, Volvo handed us keys to a new XC60 and said, “Be at the Gateway Resort near Grand Junction, CO in two days. Have a nice trip.”
Other than that, Phil Reed from Edmunds.com and I were on our own. Volvo management tried to entice us to spend tonight in Vegas, but but around 11:30 we blew past a city we both find—well, unnecessary. We were headed for the Lodge inside Bryce National Canyon National Park where we could sing Do, do, that hoodoo that you do to me. Hoodoo, for the uninitiated is a pinnacle of odd-shaped rock left standing by the forces of erosion. Second definition—to cast a spell and these rock formations have an upper hand there. In their sweep, their grandeur is imposing fascination.
I still get a kick out of signs written in giant letters that say EAT, especially when they are on top of buildings that are smaller than the sign, but we were happy to see the first leg of the trip disappear and melt into the natural beauty that is why we chose our route
Volvo has termed this the XC adventure—we’ll end up driving all three models—the XC60, XC70 and XC90--by the end of the trip. We get points for doing things they ask us to do so we headed first for the St. George Animal Shelter in St. George, Utah. We made it there around 5 just as they were closing. There was a rescued drama enacted on the spot when a young woman brought in a dog that had been hit by a car. I asked the shelter folks if I could see the dogs for rescue. The minute I walked in they all stopped barking and looked at me as if to say, Is today my lucky day? I photographed them but I did not rescue any of them. Each one posed and spoke not a woof. I have to say I wanted to pile them all in the XC60 and take them back to New York. We had some Chinese food and got back on the road.
Spending all day in a car—a good 11 hours straight—give you a very rounded picture of a vehicle. Volvo right-sized this vehicle. It’s perfect for four people who have a lot of stuff. Has the Swedish elegance and the safety. More later on Bryce Canyon and today’s drive.