The Navajo Loop trail at Bryce Canyon National Park. (Susan Glaser, The Plain Dealer) Natural Bridge, a stop on the 18-mile Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive. (Susan Glaser, The Plain Dealer) ...

Traverse pink hills, green forests, hoodoos and big meadows while traveling in some of Utah’s most picturesque countryside. Trail No. 9 — Paunsaugunt Rim/Straight Canyon Loop ...

The closest shuttle stop is the visitor center, about 2 miles southwest of the viewpoint; from here, you can hike the Rim Trail to Fairyland Canyon. For more information on the trail, visit the ...

Bryce Canyon is famous for “otherwordly” rock formations known as hoodoos — “spires and towers that appear as forests of rock,” according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The hoodoos reached up towards the luminous, rising moon like grasping hands. The canyon was absolutely silent, eerie and beautiful at the same time, lit by the silver moonlight and nothing else.

Peralta Trail in the Superstition Mountains southeast of Phoenix. To reach the trailhead from Tucson, take Arizona 77 to Oracle Junction and then follow Arizona 79 northwest to U.S. 60.

The 1.5-mile Canyon Trail snakes upward, showcasing hoodoos from different perspectives. Awe mingles with suspense as we mince through a deep slot canyon.

The trail winds its way for more than two miles and an 800-foot elevation gain up the mountain, with helpful metal signs identifying the yuccas, cliff roses and junipers along the way.

No hoodoos yet, but it was easy to see hints of shapes and faces in the uneven cliffs. At the 14-mile mark, we came to a stream that flowed for 100 yards down the rocks that made up the road.