Day 19 Friday May 24: Part 1 Bryce Wildlife Adventure!

With each of our adventures on this trip, we say “Nothing can top this!” Well, our ATV excursion has got to be one of the top 2-3 experiences. When I made the reservations, I wanted to pick an activity that Thomas and I could do together, that we had never done before and where we could experience a wilderness area. This scored a perfect 10 on all counts.

Here we are: Old farts on the Arctic Cat ATV!

Being a horse person, I have never had much use for off road motorized vehicles preferring peace and quiet and a slower pace. However, this adventure proved me wrong. The Arctic Cat was much quieter than expected with very comfortable seating, especially since Thomas was driving. We were able to see extraordinary terrain and wildlife that would take hours longer on foot or by horse and would be completely inaccessible by regular roads.

This pronghorn antelope stag gave us our first wildlife viewing:

Followed by yet another stag:

Our dirt road took us through the high desert countryside:

And another pronghorn, a pretty doe this time:

Then on to the view from the top: no words are needed here!

Back from the top, more terrain diversity:

And more antelope:

Past a beautiful small river:

And red rock hoodoos:

Arriving at a peaceful lake:

Then back up to the top on this trail:

More views from the top:

By the way, the air up here (9000+ feet) is absolutely incredible; like breathing pure oxygen. I have never experienced anything like it – could not get enough. At the very top are these exceptional bristle cone pine trees:

Then this awesome view:

And the road back down!

All total the elevation change was 1468 feet: Ground level at start: 7717  Highest point: 9185

On the way back, we happened upon a wonderful herd of pronghorn. We stopped, were very still and they walked right by us: what a treat!

We had signed up for the 3 hour tour and ended up extending to 5 hours! If you are ever in the Bryce Canyon area, we both heartily recommend this. Contact info: Bryce Wildlife Adventures 1945 W Scenic Hwy 12 Bryce UT 84764  (435) 834-5555     www.brycewildlifeadventure.com