Road trip, Zion Part 2 and Bryce Canyon

 We did a bit of walking in Zion in the morning before heading to Bryce Canyon.

We saw these deer locking horns but they didn't seem to serious about it. The path was about 10 feet higher than the riverbank they were on, so we had a great view.

Then we headed over to Bryce Canyon. There is a lot of snow and ice on the ground here in winter, so we couldn't really hike into the canyon. Last time I visited 15 plus years ago, it was summer and the view of the rock formations from the valley floor was really awesome. I was kind of bummed.

We were here for sunset, but sunrises are better since the valley faces east.  

 

Moonrise over Bryce Canyon.

If you ever travel in Utah in the winter, I recommend checking that the restaurant and/or hotel you are thinking about going to is open.  In the smaller towns (like the town at the entry to Zion and smaller towns around these parks), a lot of places shut down in the winter since there aren't many tourists this time of year. Also, cell phone reception is almost non-existent for long stretches and gas stations are few and far between. It's a good thing I brought paper maps.