Bryce Canyon is the home of the hoodoos, rows of rock pillars formed into alien looking shapes by erosion on an even grander and more colourful scale than we have yet seen. I do a ten mile hike accompanied by Katie, one of the few Americans on the trip and whose general fitness has led her to being dubbed the passenger most likely to win the physical challenge TV programme Survivor, the elder Neil, an English artist who specializes in portraits of cities at night, German Johannes and hyperactive Tenille, who have become a furtive couple on the trip, regularly bagging the double bed space hidden below the tables on the bus, Swiss blond Marion, ‘Kids’ from South Korea and Cristina. The trail provides an opportunity to get up close to the hoodoos and feel a sense of remoteness, but perhaps they look their most impressive as a group viewed from Bryce’s own ‘Inspiration Point’, a short mile walk up a tarmac path after finishing the trail through the canyon.
After dinner, Jimmy gives a long talk on what we are up to over the next few days, ensuring that we miss the best of the sunset over Bryce Canyon. During his speech he quotes some lyrics from the Grateful Dead, ending his quote with ‘and the Grateful Dead are always right’. This raises the eyebrows of US Army Captain Tim and his wife, a couple who were part of the new batch of passengers collected yesterday.
We are on the road again tonight. Before yesterday, there were thirty people on our trip and I thought that the bus would be much more comfortable if there were a couple less. However, we now have thirty-four, which makes things very cramped and makes me cranky. I have to sleep with legs moving against me and with my feet in Tong’s face and slipping off the end of the cushions.
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