Today we toured Zion National Park. It's much warmer in this area than we were in for Bryce Canyon. It's amazing what a difference a few thousand feet in elevation makes. We are back in shorts and T's.
Scenery on the way to Zion.
As we got closer to the park we saw signs that the parking lots were full in the park so we parked in a small hotel/restaurant parking lot that advertised they were a shuttle stop.
We didn't have to wait long as the free shuttles that run from the town of Springdale to the park run about every 10 minutes.
In no time we were at the park.
We are now ahead on our National Parks and Monuments Pass. We paid $80.00 for this pass and have used it enough that it has now paid for itself with the parks/monuments we have visited and we are $15.00 ahead so from here on out we are seeing the parks for FREE! We have plans of seeing five or six more parks so this little card was really worth it!
I have to be honest with you, I was disappointed with Zion Park. After seeing Bryce Canyon, well, this just doesn't compare. The parks are completely different. The major difference being that at Bryce you are looking down on the sights and in Zion everything is above you. Bryce's features were colorful and unusual and in Zion they were, well, rocks!
A little bit about Zion.
Mormon pioneers arrived in Zion in 1863. Issac Behunin built the first log cabin in Zion Canyon, near the location of the current Zion Lodge. During the remainder of the century, small communities and homesteads in the area struggled to survive. Pioneers gave the canyon the name "Zion", a Hebrew word meaning safety, or a place of refuge. Despite the name, the canyon offered poor soil, and catastrophic flooding, making agriculture a risky venture. By the first decade of the 20th century, the scenic qualities of southern Utah, and Zion Canyon in particular, had been recognized as a potential destination for tourism.
The park is characterized by high plateaus, a maze of narrow, deep, sandstone canyons and rock towers and mesas. The North Fork of the Virgin River has carved a spectacular gorge in the park called the Zion Narrows. The canyon walls in some places rise 2000-3000 feet above the canyon floor.
Another major difference was that you couldn't drive your vehicle through the park, you had to be on a shuttle bus. You were welcome to get off at each of the seven stops and stay at each one as long as you like. The next shuttle was just 5 or 6 minutes away.
So after watching a movie about Zion we boarded our first shuttle. Now I'm sure you have all heard the phrase "It's a small world". Well we learned just how small it is. We were on the shuttle to start our tour of the park, a typical shuttle, the first two seats facing each other and all the rest of the seats facing forward. A young couple who were obviously going to do some serious hiking in the park were sitting across from us. The couple behind them, in the first set of forward sitting seats, were talking to them about the equiment they had with them. The lady asked them where they were from and they replied, "Salisbury, Maryland". Now Salisbury isn't all that far from Delaware and I was surprised when the older couple said, "Really?, we're from Wilmington." Now I was really listening. I said, "Excuse me, did you just say Wilmington?" She said yes. The couple behind them said, "Wilmington?, we're from Newark!" Three Delaware couples all within five feet each of other almost all the way across the country on the same shuttle bus in Zion National Park. It IS a small world!
Some of the scenery as we traveled to our first stop.
The shuttle driver pointed out some rock climbers. This picture was taken through the ceiling air vent of the shuttle bus. Can you see the climbers? There are two of them and this should certainly give you an idea of just how big these rocks are. The most visible climber in this picture is dead center and the other is to the left and at about 10:00. NO WAY would I even attempt this!
We got off at the first stop to explore the area.
We walked our first trail.
We did a lot of looking UP.
The river, hence the name of this trail.
How many frogs do you see? (Click to enlarge)
There are two.
We saw these plants quite often growing out of the rock.
We saw ALOT of these and they have absolutely no fear of humans.
I just realized that I didn't take pictures of all the trail signs on the trails we took. So the above pictures were in fact taken from different sections of the park. Sorry about that.
On one trail we came across this tired little fellow. He just laid there as dozens of tourists took his picture.
More pics from different trails.
There just has to be a picture of a dead tree. Oh my gosh LaVon, you've got me hooked on dead trees!
The trees in this picture are TALL trees, not bushes.
These two took the time for a rest and to cool their feet in the stream.
This isn't snow.
Here it is flying through the air.
We couldn't see where it was coming from, but it was flying all over the place. It reminded us of the fuzzy stuff when a dandelion goes to seed.
It was time for lunch and we went to the Zion Lodge to get something to eat. Bob and a burger and fries and I had a piece of pizza. We sat on an outside deck and watched the world go by as we ate.
We passed these horses on a trail ride.
A picture taken from the bridge.
The view from yet another trail we walked.
So we take the trail to the Emerald Pool. It was just under a mile trail and I couldn't wait to see the emerald green water at the end and the waterfall.
Well, the waterfall was barely a trickle and here's the Emerald Pool.
Sorry, I'm not impressed with the Emerald Pool.
It just amazes us that flowers will grow just about anywhere.
This next picture is of The Court of the Patriarchs. They are three pyramid shaped peaks which have been named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Back at the lodge, all the trails we were going to walk... walked, we waited for the next shuttle. Wild turkeys kept us entertained as we waited.
Some final shots of Zion National Park.
So there's our day in Zion National Park. When we got home we COLLAPSED! Tired from all the hiking on the trails we were just wiped out.
I may be married to Bob, but tonight I'm sleeping with Ben. Ben Gay that is!
1 comment:
It's just not right to describe anything a rock climber does as "dead," in regard to where the climber was in the picture. ;-)
One again, these pictures are frameable... gorgeous. And that dead tree is really unique... yep, you're hooked and darn good at it.
That Ben sure gets around!
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