Tom's National Park Adventure

To try and sum up what this park is all about in one blog entry is just ridiculous. But that is what I’m about to do……be ridiculous!

Zion National Park has been here for a very long time. Ever since there have been people, they have lived, hunted and prayed here. It seems to me that in this part of the world, everything starts with water. Water has to be one of the most powerful forces ever conceived. Look what it has done to all these different layers of rock. Given enough time I’m sure the Virgin River could find its way to the center of the earth! It is out there doing its thing not even 100 feet from where I sit right now!

There are so many things to look at and do in this park. I could stay here for a month and hardly scratch the surface of it all. I gave myself one day to look around and see what i could see. One of the most popular areas in the park is Zion Canyon. There is a scenic drive that follows the river at the bottom of the canyon that has nine stops. There are buses that run through the canyon starting at 6:00AM until 8:15PM. I spent most of my day Riding the bus and getting off at each stop. Here are some of the pictures I took. Hope you like them

Stop #1 The Visitors center. No pictures. This is where you board the bus.

Stop #2 – The Museum. No pictures. By the time I got there my phone battery was dead. The bus only stops here on its way back down the Canyon.

Stop #3 Canyon Junction. No Pictures. This is the gate that lets the busses through up to the Canyon. The bus doesn’t stop here until its on its way back to the Visitors Center.

Stop #4 – Finally I get to get off the bus! This area is called “Court of the Patriarchs”. There was a short walk to a viewpoint. Straight up!

Stop #5 The Zion Lodge

This is where I ate dinner last night.

Stop # 6 The Grotto.

This stop was a nice shady area that acts as a trailhead for several longer hikes that my knee wasn’t going to tolerate. The steepness and the length of the hikes kept me waiting right there for the next bus to come!

Stop # 7 Weeping Rock

The brochure said short hike with a bit of an incline! They understated that just a bit!

Stop # 9 Temple of Sinawava

I know I skipped Stop # 8. The bus doesn’t stop there on its way up the canyon! The Temple area has a river walk that follows it up to “The Narrows”. This is where some of the people kept on hiking in the river to see how far they could get! Needless to say….. I stayed dry! The only time I’m going wading into a river, I usually have a fishing pole in my hand!

Stop # 8 “Big Bend”

The title for the stop says it all. This is where there is a big bend in the river. I got one kinda fuzzy picture just before my phone went completely dead.

So I got back on to the bus and rode it down the canyon all the way to stop # 2 the museum. I watched a 20 minute film about the park. It was right then that I decided that I would be coming back again someday. There are just so many things I would like to see. The California Condors, the Big Horned Sheep just to name a couple.

The next time I come here, it’s going to be to explore just this park. No side trips to get stamps.

After I walked back to my campsite, I made myself something to eat and took a nap. When I got up I took my bike for a spin. I rode through all the campgrounds and the I rode the Pa Rus trail from the campground to the Canyon Junction. (Stop # 3 on the bus). The trail is a little over 3 1/2 miles long. Nice trail that follows and crosses the river I got to see a Mule deer getting a drink!

Today I will get up, break down my camp and head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

I’ll write more again tomorrow!