Sailing, sailing,: Zion, With Lots of Pictures

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Zion, With Lots of Pictures

One of the many S curves on the Zion - Mount Carmel Highway

We managed to pull over here for a photo.

We tried to leave Page, AZ early for Zion but forgot that once we crossed the state line into Utah, the clock "sprung" ahead an hour. We were anxious to get in a hike that afternoon as the weather report showed rain 2 days ahead, But we hadn't realized that our route would take us on the Zion - Mount Carmel Highway and through the famous 1.1 mile tunnel. Work on the road began in 1927 and finished in 1930. Vehicles over 11.33 feet in height and/or 7.83 in width need to have a special permit as the road must be closed to allow one way traffic to pass through the tunnel. It costs $15 and is issued at the entrance. Baby just exceeded the width requirement so we waited a while until they stopped traffic coming our way and then we proceeded right down the middle. That was an adventure!

As you can see these goats were not timid!

This is the spot where we found the goats and were able to walk down to the river.

The road itself is glorious with many pull outs to view the scenery. Unfortunately it was a beautiful clear day and there were lots of tourists. We found only a few spots big enough to pull over, but they were wonderful. In one we enjoyed our lunch with an amazing view. At another stop we encountered a band of goats. They were not shy of us but we kept our distance. I had once been butted painfully by one on a small island in the Caribbean and didn't want a repeat.

All the waterfalls were full from the
past week of rain.

This was our first hike up the Riverside Trail
quite late in the day.

But we still managed to get settled in our beautiful RV Park, Zion Canyon RV Resort just outside the park boundaries in time to return for a hike. We took the free Springdale shuttle to the parking lot at the Visitor's Center and then the free shuttle that runs up the Zion Canyon. It takes about 45 minutes to arrive at the last stop, the Temple of Sinawava, the beginning of the Riverside trail. I had read the park map but remembered incorrectly that this was 1.2 miles round trip. We thought that would be perfect as it was already 4:30 PM. But after a half hour of hiking it was clear that I was wrong and it was much longer, so we turned around. But it was so beautiful that we vowed to return and finish the hike into the Narrows another time. In fact we hiked this trail and the Narrows thirty years ago with Scott's brother and his, at that time, partner Katie, but we barely remembered the trip. The weather was very different then, as it was August!

Another view on the Riverside trail which parallels the Virgin River and ends at the Narrows - although we didn't get that far this evening.

We did however get close up and personal with
some mule deer!

Our RV site was right on the river with a view of the mountains so we enjoyed our drinks outside before moving inside for dinner. It turns cold here as soon as the sun goes down. We got an early start the next morning but even so, the first 2 City shuttles were full, so we ended up walking the 1/2 mile to the Visitor's Center and the Zion shuttle. There were a lot of people ahead of us there but the line moved quickly. Unfortunately when we departed the bus at the Zion Lodge, I forgot my gloves! Despite checking the lost and found several times over the next few days, they were never turned in and I had to buy new ones.

Our hike this day was the Lower Emerald Pool trail and it was amazing. The crowds were a huge surprise to us though. We thought, being March, that there would few people, but there were lots, particularly tons of families and school groups. But there are a lot of trails. so often we had them to ourselves, at least for awhile.

The Emerald Pools trail starts by crossing the
Virgin River,

It climbs up but gradually and was wide,
happily because sometimes it got crowded.

Looking down at the Virgin River from the trail.

Scott looks back just as we start under the
waterfall

Now we're through the waterfall.

Looking up the valley

Enjoying our drinks at our RV site!

The trail ends at a spectacular waterfall where you can walk behind the falls! We stopped to enjoy the views and take photos, so it was well past lunchtime when we returned. Our RV site is so lovely we just went back and hung out there for the rest of the day. At 5 PM Scott built a fire and we had our drinks and dinner in the last of the sun.