When geology gets ugly

BRYCE CANYON, Utah—We have been consistently captivated by the scenery in this area. A person could look at Bryce Canyon—a surreal landscape of red, white, orange and yellow rock spires resembling melted candle wax—for days and see it differently each time. Elsewhere, like at nearby Kodachrome basin, larger-than-life formations carved from ancient sandstone thrust up out of the Earth.

But, as we would discover, not everything here is beautiful.

Our stay at the Bullberry Inn bed and breakfast has been pleasant. We are not accustomed to staying in bed and breakfasts, so we didn't quite know what to expect. Fortunately, our stay has been low maintenance and there has not been a lot of forced contact with other guests, although that can be pleasant under the right circumstances. Our accommodations have augmented our enjoyment of this area.

Just a mile or so away from the inn's front porch—home to a 120-year-old stove that cooked legendary Bullberry jelly for none other than the outlaw Butch Cassidy—sits the entrance to Mossy Cave, an appendage of Bryce Canyon National Park. Guidebooks proclaimed Mossy Cave as a Do-Not-Miss attraction in the area, so Caroline and I were eager to hike the half mile to the cave.

The small canyon trail leading to Mossy cave follows a cold clear stream. A large waterfall with a shallow pool invites bathers to cool off after a day in the intense canyon heat. But this day did not feature the occasional European nudity below the waterfall that some guidebooks had mentioned. Instead, the late afternoon light gave us the opportunity to drink in the beauty of the strange formations and explore the canyon upstream of the waterfall, where we found other small waterfalls and the tranquility of a landscape electrified by a soundtrack of running water. The beauty of the landscaped prompted an interpretive dance in me, which I shared with the other tourists, most of whom averted their eyes and hustled smartly away, counseling their children not to giggle at the "wild man."

We headed toward Mossy Cave in great anticipation of what we might find. Various guidebooks had described the geologic feature as "stunning" and "captivating." Some descriptions said a waterfall ran over the entrance of the cave, adding to the experience. We climbed the steep trail like eager children on their way to the County Fair.

The end of the trail brought us to a dusty void beneath a shelf of rock. Inside a few dirty-looking patches of moss clung to the dusty sandstone. The waterfall had long disappeared with the end of the summer rainy season. The only remarkable feature of Mossy Cave was a grotesque looking moss-covered chancre that dripped fluid onto the floor of the cave. Groups of disappointed hikers arrived behind us, uttering a bewildered "this is it?"

We stopped to watch the terrible chancre discharge its drops of disappointment before heading off to the Bryce Canyon Inn for a stellar four-star meal after watching the sun set gloriously over this spectacular landscape that defines the majesty of the American West.

See you on down the road.