Awake: 6:40am Temp 47 Some clouds Elevation 2948 ft overnight @
Hurricane, Utah
Today we visit Zion Nat’l Park. Leave our campground @ 10:15…drive our
Suzuke 30 miles on a good road (# 9), which they refer to as a scenic
byway; it was very scenic indeed, in fact it was a warm up of eye catching
beauty leading to the Zion Nat’l Park’s famed beauty.
1st of all, being the last week of April, this was an ideal time for our
visit. This place has been averaging over 2 million visitors/yr the last 2
years &, already this morning when we arrived, parking spaces for autos
were getting scarce, but not as scarce as in the summer. There is, out of
the park-parking available with free shuttle service to handle the higher
numbers. Inside the park @ the visitor’s center, maps of the 6 mile canyon
scenic road & the 8 stops the free shuttle makes along the way are clearly
shown & readily available. There are 30 propane buses in service now &
each bus/trailer combination replaces 28 cars that used to be allowed to
drive on this 6 mile canyon road. @ each stop, there are descriptions of
what to see, a paved or dirt hiking path & degree of difficulty, usually
rest rooms & drinking water & other helpful info signs. We get our Zion
map & guide, hop onboard the shuttle bus (private vehicles are not allowed
on the Zion scenic drive road from Apr thru Oct) & take the shuttle all 6
miles to the end of the line to get a broad overview of the area or, maybe
I should say, under view as we are looking up from the canyon floor to
some 5000 ft or higher. “Angels Landing,” “the Grotto,” and “Weeping Rock”
are examples of some very strenuous, albeit beautiful hikes that climb to
these heights (no, we did not attempt these).
At the last stop, the Temple of Sinawava, we get off & walk a paved trail
that follows the Virgin River along the bottom of the canyon. A high
waterfall greets us almost as soon as we start down the path. The Virgin
River is responsible for creating all this beauty by carving thru layers
of rock over millions of years and exposing black lava rock and vivid red
and white sandstone. Back on the shuttle, we get off at a different
“Weeping Rock,” a short but steep hike on a paved trail that ends at a
rock alcove with dripping springs. We walked behind the small waterfall
which is dependent on abundant rainfall, which they have had this year.
Then Mother Nature has us walking in the “waterfalls” as a dark cloud
opens up; we seek the Lodge store as a shelter. When the sun shines over
the canyon, the colors and view of the canyon walls and cliffs change; it
is hard to describe such beauty. We complete our tour of Zion by watching
a 20 minute video on the park and the life of the early settlers, and then
walk the Pa’rus Trail along the Virgin River thru the campground and back
to the visitor center.
7:50 Dinner: Kathy’s famous chili with Tostitos.
Evening time: Watch some Scientific American program with Alan Alda.
Today’s high temp=68 Lights out: 10:32pm
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