Zion

The heat continued in Zion with high temperatures over 100F, so we woke up early for our hike Monday morning. We rode the Zion park shuttle into the canyon (no cars allowed) and climbed up to Observation Point to take a look around.

Passing the people on their way up the trail while we were on our way back down, made us very glad that we got going early before the sun got over the canyon wall.

We spent the afternoon in the heat of the day in the park museum, looking through some shops, and lounging in the shade.

Today, we went for a trip up The Narrows, which is a narrow, steep canyon carved out by the Virgin River at the upstream end of Zion Canyon. It was an excellent way to spend a hot day, since we spent most of the time wading through the 61F water. The water-carved sandstone cliffs were amazing, with all the different shades in the rock including grey, red, brown, tan, buff, and a thousand other shades to subtle to mention; and contrasted against the greenery, blue sky, and dark shadows. Around each corner was a scene more beautiful than the last. We are really looking forward to exploring more canyons in the coming weeks.

On our way back from The Narrows, we went to Weeping Rock where water that has been percolating through the porous sandstone for 1200 years or so drains out of the rock and creates a hanging garden of plants living on the rock. The shade and water were refreshing in the mid-afternoon sun.

Since it was against the rules to bathe at the campground we were staying in and we had gotten pretty salty, sweaty, and dirty over the last couple of days, we decided we would shack up in a motel tonight at the Treasure Trail Motel in Kanab, UT on our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow, with a wireless connection care of the Best Western across the street. The shower sure felt nice, and catching The Daily Show on Comedy Central was a nice touch also.