Two of the highest viewpoints in Bryce Canyon National Park are Rainbow Point at 9,115 feet and Yovimpa Point at 9,100. Both viewpoints are located at the end of the 19 mile Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive at the southern end of the park.
In the Southern Paiute language the word Yovimpa means “pine tree ridge.” This is a true description of the view which takes in the Dixie National Forest which surrounds the park. Also looking south you can see Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and its layers of sedimentary rock that gives it its name.
Rainbow Point was named for its vivid red, orange and yellow hoodoos which are even more dramatic when sunrise and sunset light wash over these formations. The Southern Paiutes used the Bryce Canyon region for seasonal hunting and gathering from around 1200A.D to the late 1880’s. They viewed the hoodoos as petrified “Legend People.” These Legend People were part of their creation story and connected them spiritually to the land. In the Paiute language unka-timpe-wa-wince-pook-ich, translates to “red rock standing like men.”
Over the course of Peter’s 50 year career as an artist he painted subjects in Byrce Canyon 60 times. The first paintings were done in 1982. Peter found Bryce Canyon especially interesting in the winter when the snow would add a great visual relief to the brightness of the rocks. Some of the other areas and viewpoints he painted were from Sunset Point, Inspiration Point, Silent City, The Queen’s Garden, Thor’s Hammer and Ponderosa Point. Currently, there are 15 Bryce paintings still available for purchase.