THURSDAY 10/4

THURSDAY, 10/4

     Another perfect morning for exploring Zion NP!   And how timely – on our last drive into the National Park, we spotted some Big Horn Sheep resting on the rocks by the side of the road!

 

 

 

 

     Then drove to the trailhead for our morning hike.   The “Canyon Overlook Trail” has its trailhead just before the long tunnel.  At first, we couldn’t find a parking place.  But we waited a few minutes, and saw some people coming down the trail, so figured we could take their parking place.  We’d have had to wait that long anyway to get into the tunnel, as it was really backed up this morning.  Longest wait we’d seen.

     The trail is only 1 mile round trip, but moderately strenuous (even the official Park publication assigns it this grade!) The elevation climb is about 170 ft., over lots of sliprock (sandstone which has been stripped bare of any sand – can be slippery if wet – hence the name).

 

  Were treated to some wonderful scenery and overlooks,

 

 

 the most spectacular and rewarding of course at the end of the trail, atop a large rocky outcrop.  We could see way across to the West Zion Canyon.  Had perfect views of the West Temple, the Towers of the Virgins, the Altar of Sacrifice, and The Sentinel.  Many of the formation names here are from the Old Testament.  From what we can figure out, a combination of early Mormon settlers and a Methodist minister visiting the area attached these place names.  We felt that the Altar of Sacrifice is one of the most aptly named pinnacles:  there’s red streaks running down the side of the rock, and the top surface looks very level.  

 

 

     We also had marvelous views of the canyons below us – both lower Zion Canyon itself, and a “feeder” canyon immediately below us, Pine Creek Canyon.  Had good views of the road (Hwy 9, or the Zion-Mt. Carmel Hwy, as they call it) snaking its way through the canyons to the Park floor.

 

 

  The huge mountain that the tunnel was cut out of was on our side, so that was fun seeing it from this perspective. 

  And a fellow hiker told us that we were actually on top of the large arch formation (The Great Arch) which is an icon at this end of the Park.  That was really intriguing!

     Both of us felt really good after this hike – not only because of the fantastic scenery, but felt good about ourselves – that we completed the hike with relative ease and comfort – Bill with his knees, and me with several drop-off’s on the trail (but most of these had fences at the edge, so that helped).

 

     We did the tunnel thing, parked at the Museum (lucky us – an empty space opened up right as we were driving in!), and ate our picnic lunch in a shady bus stop area.  

     Then hopped on the shuttle for a stop at the trailhead for another short hike which the Ranger had suggested – Weeping Rock.  A very short (1/2 mile round trip), but steep trail up to a cliff  face where springs had formed in the bottom layer of shale after seeping down through the more porous sandstone above.  The result is a constant light rain, or weeping, of the rock face above us.  And after a hard summer thunderstorm, a heart-rending sobbing!  Another place where greenery flourishes in the midst of a desert.

 

 

 

     Made a couple of other stops on the shuttle.  First at Big Bend, so named because the river makes a big bend here.  Here we had a wonderful view of The Great White Throne (another apt Biblical name)

 and Angels’ Landing  (so named because the angels would gather there in view of the Great White Throne). 

 We saw two rock climbers on the sheer cliffs of Angels’ Landing across from us – amazing. Wonder what they did when darkness fell – did they have hammocks to sleep in??  At the rate they were going, no way they were going to get to the top before nightfall.

 

     Next stop was the Court of the Patriarchs – the 3 massive peaks named for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (with a nod to the Mormon angel Maroni).  

 

     Back to the museum, where we just relaxed and enjoyed the scenery for a while before heading home.  As inconvenient as the tunnel deal may have been, we’re glad we stayed at the east end of the Park. As I mentioned above, much more peaceful than if we had stayed in Springdale.  Plus, the 16 mile drive to and from the tunnel held some of the most unusual and picturesque scenery in this part of the Park (the Zion Canyon region).  We never tired of seeing it –it always seemed like a new and unexpected pleasure!

     Greeted Pappy, relaxed for a while at the RV, and then came up to the café to load blog stuff before dinner, so that if we want, we can have a fire after dinner and enjoy the outside cool fresh air our last night here.

     Turned out that we didn’t have a campfire, but did enjoy our leftover steak dinner inside and then just relaxed for the rest of the evening.  Went outside after dinner in the darkness to see what stars we could see.  It’s weird – couldn’t see any more stars than at home most nights.  It’s a clear night, pitch black . . . you’d expect bazillions of stars here.  It’s a mystery . . .