Sunday, May 23, 2010

a silver mount [ ]

 
Zion has to be my favorite place we've seen so far. Jumping off the freeway and heading towards the park from theEast  was rather uneventful - more of the flat desert of Utah, rocks tinged with red. But once inside the park - beautiful. Following Zion-Mount Carmel Road, the sun shined as we drove past unusual rock outcroppings, bighorn sheep, past blooming cacti and through tunnels. We dived deep into the canyon by way of dozens of switchbacks, passing buses and RVs that barely made the sharp turns.
 
 
The road leads down to the visitors center, where you must take a free shuttle to access Zion Canyon Road. We traveled up, past the Court of the Patriarchs, Zion Lodge, the Grotto, Weeping Rock, and Big Bend all the way to the Temple of Sinawava. From here we hiked along the Virgin River as the canyon walls narrowed around us. I'd love to come back in later summer or fall when the water level is lower to continue following the trail into the Narrows - a 9mile hike on the riverbed, where the canyons squish closer and closer together.

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