Hoodoo Voodoo

Over the weekend break, we headed to Bryce Canyon National Park. It's a 4 hour drive from Las Vegas.  The park is famous for its reddish-limestone rock in bizarre shapes, towering formations called hoodoos. Geologists say they were shaped by centuries of erosion. The Paiute people(a Native American tribe) tell a different story. 

The Legend People (To-when-an-ung-wa) were notorious for living too harshly on the land.  They would drink up all the rivers and there would be no water left for all the other creatures. During Fall, the Legend People would eat up all the pine nuts and there would be no pine nuts left for the animals to make it through winter.  The animals and creatures started to complain how rude and reckless they were behaving - they got the attention of the powerful god, Coyote.

The Coyote being famous for being a trickster - he decided to punish these people in a creative way.  He invited them to a feast.  He promised that they could eat all day long.  And so, the Legend People showed up with their finest war paint and most colorful clothing. But before anyone could take a bite - he cast a spell on them that turned them to stone. 

The Legend People tried to escape over the top of the canyon rim - and when doing so, they trampled on top of each other. They stand inside the canyon to this day like rocks. The geologic forces of erosion and weather have worn these rocks. They look more like towers in a city than cursed beings. Yet, you can still see some that resemble a being.