Zion National Park-One of the Most Wonderful of the National Parks

Gosh, I am so far behind on my blogs!  Moving on down the road and out exploring almost every day, sure makes time for blogging a premium!  Now that we are camping in the RV repair lot in Mesa, AZ, (another blog later) and having to be out of the RV all day, sure cuts into my hobby time even more!!!  We are sitting in the local library now as I write, so hopefully I can get caught up soon.  

Oct. 17, Friday.  Our second day in Kanab, we drove out to revisit Zion National Park  We had been twice before several years ago, and both of us remarked that we had forgotten how truly beautiful the park really is.  We entered the park from the west, and when we stopped at the entrance booth, the Ranger said “that’ll be $15.00”.  That is what it costs to drive through the 2nd tunnel that is 1 1/2 miles long.  The tunnel is rounded, so wider vehicles have to drive down the center.  Traffic is stopped at each end while larger campers and vehicles do this.  The Ranger even measured our truck and we were right at the limit, so we had to pay the $15.00.  It used to be $10 a few years ago, and we thought for sure we were under the limit and wouldn’t have to pay the extra fee.  At least it was good for a round trip. 

The road winds through a beautiful canyon and every turn brings another fantastic view of the colorful rock formations into view.  Even the pavement becomes the reddish color of the surrounding rock.

     

After exiting the 2nd tunnel, the vista opens up to even more gorgeous scenery as the road winds down to the valley floor and the main canyon of the park where there is camping and loads of hiking, plus the lodge.   Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, cuts through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone along the North Fork of the Virgin River. 

    

In the late 18th century with the exploration of southern Utah by Padres Silvestre de Escalante & Francisco Dominguez, the padres passed near what is now the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center on October 13, 1776, becoming the first people of European descent known to visit the area.  In 1825, trapper and trader Jedediah Smith explored some of the downstream areas while under contract with the  American Fur Company.  The floor of Zion Canyon was settled in 1863 by Isaac Behunin.  The Behunin family lived in Zion Canyon near the site of today's Zion Lodge during the summer and Behunin is credited with naming Zion, a reference to a place of peace mentioned in the Bible.  John Wesley Powell and his expedition visited Zion Canyon in 1872.  The canyon floor was farmed until Zion became a Monument in 1909.  Congress established Zion National Park on November 19, 1919.  

Zion is the most visited of all the national parks and visitors number several million.  With such beauty, I can understand why. 

 

We thought a Friday would not be a very crowded day for October.  WRONG! The place was packed! We drove through several of the parking lots and finally found a spot in the very last parking area the farthest away from the visitor center.  We walked over to where the lines formed for the shuttle buses that take you on a loop through the canyon and drop you off at various trailheads.  The buses run about every 7 to 10 minutes.  I asked someone why it was so crowed and where all the hoards of children came from.  Unbeknownst to us, school was out for a teachers conference.  Had we known we would have waited for another day!  But after the bus stopped at the first couple of trailheads and most people got off, it wasn’t so bad in the rest of the park.  We got off at the trail at the end of the canyon.  We had taken this trail before.  It was nicely paved and follows the river so it really is a pretty hike.   

  

It was nice and cool in the narrow canyon.  Of course, you find yourself looking up most of the hike!  The sun reflecting on the colored sandstone shows such gorgeous natural colors against a pretty blue sky.  At the end of the trail you can wade across the Virgin River and hike further up into the slot canyon.  We didn’t and most people have special foot wear for wading through the cold water.  The slot canyon can be very dangerous, so you must watch the weather so as not to be caught in a flash flood. 

    

Then we headed back out to catch the shuttle back to the parking area. 

     

By the time we reached the parking lot for a late afternoon picnic lunch, it had turned cool and the clouds had rolled in.  So, I wasn’t able to get very pretty pictures leaving the park.  But we returned several days later to explore more of the park on a clear day and those pictures are in my next blog.   To be continued……..