DAY EIGHT: PAGE AZ TO RED CANYON/BRYCE CANYON UTAH

I wish we had more time to spend in Page, because I very much wanted to do some kayaking, but money and time constraints had us leaving this day.
We left relatively early, and headed out across the Glen Canyon Dam bridge, out past Greenhaven, and into Utah. The drive through this section of Utah was a mix of boring desert towns, beautiful green meadows with flowing streams, and then eventually the red cliffs of Red Canyon.

We set up our camp in Red Canyon Campground, which is off the main roadway and about 15-20 minutes away from Bryce Canyon.

This is a very nice campground. The restrooms are clean, there are shower facilities, and the sites are spread well enough apart to afford privacy and a "true camping" experience. In fact, everything appeared clean- right down to the fire pit and the concrete pad where the picnic table was. The whole place appeared brand new! Very impressed...good job to all the workers who keep this place up. Very pleasant stay.
After setting up camp and enjoying the view for a bit, we headed out to Bryce Canyon to take in the canyon and hike Navajo Loop. It was important we got plenty of rest today, since the ride tomorrow on Thunder Mountain would be quite brutal!

Although this is a short trail, it's rough on the knees. There is a pretty significant change in elevation in a short time, so it is definitely a good aerobic workout. There are a pretty decent series of switchbacks that get you down to the floor of the canyon.

You can see how steep it is down to the bottom of the canyon....

But once you're down there, it is an amazing view. One thing I noticed out here, was HOW BLUE the sky was! The pictures you see are totally untouched-the sky was really that brilliant blue. I think it has a lot to do with the altitude combined with the lack of smog or air pollution.
We headed back up out of the canyon, sucking some wind because of the steep climb, but all in all it was a pleasant hike.
After shopping for a blanket for my girlfriend at Ruby's General Store, we headed back to our camp, and cooked up a good pre-bike ride dinner:

Steak, grilled corn on the cob, and potato salad. Gotta fuel up for the big ride!!