Volcanoes National Park - Chain of Craters Road

I have been trying to write this post for weeks but I've been experiencing a severe case of writer's block. Every time I sat down to write, my mind would go blank. It's been frustrating because I really would like to cross this of my to-do list. I mentioned my dilemma to a friend the other day and she said "You know, a picture is worth a thousand words. Just post the pictures." That's probably not exactly what she said word for word but it was pretty close. This friend is very wise. I go to her for advice a lot. In the years since I have known her, she has never steered me wrong. So, on the advice of my wise friend, here is my first installment of pictures of our trip to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Included in this post are pictures of lava fields, the famous Holei sea arch, and petroglyphs.

The view flying into Kona. You can already see the lava rocks.

It was crazy windy on the open lava fields

Bryce Canyon National Park

As we planned to go to Zion National Park, we decided to tack on a side trip to Bryce Canyon since it was so close. I am so glad we did. Bryce Canyon was an amazing experience, completely different from anything we have ever done before. We loved it. In our opinion, Bryce was better than Zion. If you are ever in the area and only have time to do one park, we recommend Bryce over Zion. Those of you who have been to both may disagree, but you are wrong.

The drive from Zion to Bryce is a must-do. The drive along US Route 12 takes you out of Zion and from the road you can continue to see beautiful views of the park. Once out of the park, you wind your way through farmland until you reach Red Canyon, where you once again are among rock formations. 

While in Bryce we hiked the Navajo Trail, which takes you down into the canyon. I was a bit concerned about my ability to do this hike without dying. I kept seeing words like "strenuous" and "steep" when researching the hike. Everything I read about it said that it was pretty steep. While is it definitely steep, it wasn't difficult. Trust me when I say if I can do this hike, anybody can do it. Here are a couple pictures of the trail leading down into the canyon. As you can see it is steep, but the switchbacks help. 

We only scheduled one day in Bryce, and it wasn't enough time. We are already planning to go back and do more hikes. If you know us at all, you know that we don't hike so the fact that we want to go back and hike is a big deal and tells you how much we enjoyed our time in this park. Here are some of our favourite pictures (and by some, I mean pretty much ALL. It was so hard to decide which pictures to post so brace yourself: there are A LOT). 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

If  You Go:

We stayed at the Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel. Nice, clean rooms. Hot breakfast (which during this time of COVID is rare). The park shuttle stops here, which makes it a convenient place to stay. If you don't plan to take the shuttle, plan to get to the park early as the parking at the popular trailheads fills up quickly. 

Gluten Free Find: 

Be sure to eat at Th-e Pizza Place in Tropic. Hands down THE BEST gluten free pizza I've ever had. It even tasted good cold the next morning. Highly recommend.