We got to the RV park at mid-day and decided to have a “down” day. The pool and spa here were nice and we needed to take care of some housekeeping stuff. I also had some lingering work responsibilities that needed my attention. The weather here was windy and colder than we had experienced in the desert east of LA.
We woke up early the next morning and set out for the park. We stopped in Springdale and rode the tram up to the park entrance where we hopped aboard another tram that took us up into the canyon. We travelled about half way up the canyon to the Zion Lodge where we enjoyed a short hike to the Emerald Pools – a series of cascading waterfalls - and had lunch out on the lawn in front of the lodge. Zion Canyon is a remarkable place – a narrow valley carved by the Virgin River with red sandstone cliffs that rise nearly straight out of the valley floor. There are incredible rock formations all the way up the canyon. It was a bit too early in the year to do Zion’s most notable hike – “The Narrows.” This hike involves wading through the Virgin River up a 16 mile long channel cut into the rock. The channel is only a few feet wide in places with the canyon walls rising hundreds of feet above. This early in the year the water is about 45 degrees and seasonal rains cause flash flooding – we’ll save this hike for the next time through J
On our way out we drove through a mile long tunnel bored through a mountain. The tunnel was built in 1930 when cars were smaller so we were required to pay a small fee so the park ranger’s could stop traffic in the tunnel so we had it all to ourselves and could drive down the middle of the two lane road. The kids thought that was pretty cool.
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| Hiking to the Emerald Pools |
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| Tight fit... |
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| We saw a herd of Bighorn Sheep on our way out of Zion |
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