What goes down gently and ends flat? No, not Bryce Canyon; that is flat and descends steeply. The car warning light came on while we were doing the tourist drive along The Rim yesterday afternoon; this morning the tyre (tire) was fully deflated. So we spent much of the morning getting the tyre plugged - a wonderful microcosm of small town America life. "Back in 5 minutes" means time for ham & eggs as well as coffee; "back in 2 minutes" only allows time for a bagel with the coffee! But the Sheriff turned up, as did a guy with truck wheel arches almost as big as our Toyota. We enjoyed the waiting experience. The remedial work took 5 minutes and cost as many dollars.
So it was after noon (literally) when we set off on the 8 mile Fairyland Loop. If Zion was awesome then Bryce is simply magical, particularly away from The Rim and down among the hoodoos. Hundreds of thousands of unbelievable shapes and sizes; nature at her most amazing.
Two unexpected sightings. I suppose I should have taken a photo, but when this slithery thing is giving you the eye from 4 feet with its tail in the air and rattling, your mind tends to be on other things. I guess we outstared it as it decided the bush was a better bet than us. The other surprise was meeting a couple of Brits; lots of Germans, Eastern Europeans and Japanese around, but hardly any from the Old Country.
Two other things that were absent as well - birdsong and litter. Shame about the one, but the UK can certainly learn a lot from the US when it comes to litter.