Hoodoo, You Do Visit Bryce Canyon National Park By Dee Whited Photos courtesy of the National Park Service More than 40 years ago, our family arrived at the gates into Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. After our long drive from Southern California, my husband and I were looking forward to uncovering the reported beauty of the park and capturing it on film. Even before we got out of the car, our children began giggling uncontrollably. And the source of their hilarity appeared to be something they’d read on the park map. “Hoodoo, you do,” they would repeat, followed by fits of giggles. And, as you’ll discover, there were scores of opportunities to see the myriads of hoodoos, which always resulted in more giggling. Hoodoos (irregular columns of rock) exist on every continent, but here is the largest concentration found anywhere on Earth. Lots of giggles. Bryce Canyon is a relatively small national park, but it’s beauty and breathtaking vistas pack a punch. Fortunately for millions of us who have discovered the hoodoos, others who came before us worked to create a national landmark to help preserve the region for generations to come. In the early 1900s, J. W. Humphrey, a U.S. Forest Service Supervisor, after viewing the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau wrote the following: “You can perhaps imagine my surprise at the indescribable beauty that greeted us, and it was sundown before I could be dragged from the canyon view. You may be sure that I went back the next morning to see the canyon once more, and to plan in my mind how this attraction could be made accessible to the public.” That rim is now known as Sunset Point in Bryce Canyon National Park. Humphrey didn’t just enjoy the view and keep it to himself, he immediately began a campaign to introduce more and more people to the amazing scenery. The busy supervisor had still photographs and movies of the canyon sent to Forest Service
Sunset Point view of Thor’s Hammer in the late afternoon.
Hoodoos are tall, skinny spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins and ‘broken’ lands.
officials in Washington, D. C., and to officials of the Union Pacific Railroad. Magazine and newspaper articles were written. In 1916, Humphrey secured a $50 appropriation to improve the road and make the rim accessible to automobile traffic and thus it began. Because of his tireless efforts, President Warren G. Harding proclaimed Bryce Canyon a national monument on June 8, 1923—100 years ago. On June 7, 1924, Congress passed a bill to establish Utah National Park, when all land within the national monument would become the property of the United States. On February 25, 1928, Bryce Canyon officially became a national park. We owe a lot to people such as J. W. Humphrey for discovering scenic wonders and helping to preserve them so my family and I and millions of others could be amazed and entertained by such awesome beauty. Your 2023 visit will greatly differ from the early
HOODOO, YOU DO
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