Zion

Up and out early – what a surprise – today we are headed to Zion….and Utah! We’ve stocked up with beer and wine so we don’t have to worry about their bizarre alcohol laws – but as it turns out – they’ve changed the “club” law so most bars and restaurants can serve beer/wine/liquor without charging you a membership fee. Anyway – we’re on the road, and Alice of course, is telling us to go a different way than Google Maps – and it looks like her way is out of the way. So we soldier on with Google and the more direct route.

We go through Kanab where Marti and Jim stayed when they were doing the park circuit, then head up Route 89 toward the park. Oh, ok, so now I see why Alice took us the other way – Route 89 is a State Route, but it actually runs right though the park. We have our annual park pass, so we get in “free”, but otherwise you’d have to pay $25 to drive through the road – and on top of that – there’s “the tunnel”. The park road winds through spectacular scenery, but at one point it goes through an old tunnel, drilled years ago before the invention of huge trucks and RVs. So any large vehicle needs an escort, is charged and extra fee, and for us plebian car drivers, shuts down the tunnel in one direction, because the trucks/RVs/Trailers are too large to allow two way traffic. Oy!

There are horror stories of the tunnel causing traffic of up to 3 hours. Yikes! We are totally lucky – either because of the time of day, the time of year, whatever, as we approach the tunnel, our direction of traffic is let through. Phew! Catastrophe avoided! We whip right through the potential bottle neck, and navigate down twists and turns and S curves into the canyon floor and straight to the visitor’s center. Zion is a small little park, with a mandatory shuttle system. We are lucky to find a parking space – the lot was pretty full even though we are fairly early.

We hopped on the shuttle, and rode all the way through the park to the last stop – the Temple of Sinawava and the Riverwalk. Even though it was starting to warm up, the canyon walls blocked the sun, so it was actually pretty chilly walking along the Virgin River to the bottom of the narrows. We had hoped to walk the Narrows as well, where the canyon walls come so close together you can almost touch them – but the river was running really high and strong, so the narrows trail was closed. Just as well – we would have ruined our only hiking shoes walking through the water and the sand in the narrows.

The Riverwalk is really wild though – there are tons of hanging gardens all over the canyon walls. Really amazing the flowers and greenery growing right out of the rocks. We walk down along the river and make our way back to the shuttle. We hit the Weeping Rock trail and climb up to see the springs rushing down the rock. It’s nice and cool up there – with a nice little spray of water. Since it’s warming up now, the water and coolness is a relief! Next stop is the Grotto trailhead. We take a break here to munch on our trail mix and drink our water for lunch. We nix the longer, moderate trail going to the Emerald Pools, and settle on the flat Grotto trail that leads to the Lodge. After some consternation and wandering around, we finally find the trail head – not marked at all – so if you’re going look for a little dirt path behind the service building to the right of the picnic area.

It’s a quick walk to the Lodge, where we cross over to the Pool trail. There are 3 pools, each one requiring more strenuous hiking. We get to the Lower Pool, and you know, that’s good enough! It’s hot, there are a lot of people, and it’s getting on into the afternoon – we’re just as happy going to the hotel and scoping out the town of Zion.

Pictures are here.

Easy on the shuttle, back to the visitor’s center, get our stamp – and two of those little neck bandanas you can soak to stay cool ($4 here, as opposed to $9 at the Grand Canyon). Easy out of the park – and within a minute or two, we’re in downtown Springdale and at our hotel. Great place with a view of the cliffs right out our window, a nice pool (but it’s too darn hot to use it!) and amenities. We hit the grocery store to stock up on our picnic supplies, and the gas station, then go back to refresh and cool off in the room.

This is the beginning of a highly unusual heat wave that is hitting the country. Beginning in Santa Fe even, everyone is complaining about the heat and how it’s just too hot too soon. We’re feeling it – even though there’s no humidity! It just wears you down. But, fortunately, when the sun goes down, it does cool off nicely, so that sometimes I even need a sweater. That’s the difference in the dryness out here.

Dinner tonight is right across the street at the Bit and Spur Saloon. Great location (yeah! Walking!) with views of the cliffs, and an outdoor patio with a fountain and lanterns. We sit outside and just bask in the warmth and the great view. Food is fantastic too! Ed had the best ribeye we’ve ever tasted – I was really sorry I didn’t order one even though my Steak Asada and butternut squash salad was awesome! That steak though…wow! So we hung out and ate and drank, then went into the bar and hung out some more. The bartender was talkative and friendly, as were the locals at the bar. Met the guy who invented Chums for sunglasses, and who is working on a new invention right now. Fun!

Wandered back across the street to our hotel, and had our nightcap out on the little deck on the 2nd floor. Rocking chairs, a porch and a view of the mountains. Yeah, this is the way to end a great day!