After just wrapping up its latest star-gazing festival, the folks at Bryce Canyon National Park are inviting you back to take a closer look at the landscape on the ground. On July 30-31 the park, famous for its incredible hoodoos, will celebrate its first Geology Festival.

During the two-day affair there will be ranger-guided hikes through the colorful amphitheaters and along the rim, programs specifically targeted to kids, and even some bus tours with interpreters on board.

Among the featured speakers will be:

* Wayne Ranney, a geologic interpreter and author who has served as a backcountry ranger in the Grand Canyon and has traveled over the world as a renowned speaker. He is an adjunct faculty member at Yavapai College in Sedona and has authored Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau, Carving Grand Canyon and Sedona Through Time.

* Dave Gillette, who holds an endowed chair position at the Museum of Northern Arizona and is the former Utah State Paleontologist. He is responsible for some of the most significant paleontological discoveries in the Grand Staircase.

To learn more about the park's geology through interactive games and an Electronic Field Trip broadcast produced by the National Park Foundation, click on: http://www.brycecanyoneft.org/