Spider Rock to Zion

Another early morning start

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/irenewheatley/ZionNationalPark?feat=directlink

So after a lazy afternoon we packed for an early start and drove out to the South Rim of Canyon de Chelly. There were still a few sights to see, chief among them, Spider Rock, a significant monument to all the tribes which ever lived in the area.

Next, back through Chinle, back to Kayenta, to our relief the blown sands of yesterday had been cleared from the road and then we were headed north to Zion through more unrelenting desert landscape. So much of it reminds us of Australia. We stopped for brekkie at a “scenic view” which in this land also means art and craft stalls and afterwards I went over to have a look at the wares, which were pretty nice and so I had to choose a few items for our souvenir and present stash.

We drove on, came to Page on the edge of Glen Dam and had to make a quick decision, do we spend some hours here or keep moving on? We’d read that the local sights were costly to get into, and having stopped in town saw that there were noisy crowds of people waiting for the various tour wagons and our minds were made up. Off again over the Navajo Bridge ever forwards. We turned off on the park road, saw a flashing light roadside sign about closures and roadworks but couldn’t work them out, as you wouldn’t when driving on a highway! About a mile further on there were important park sighs at which we stopped and informed ourselves and continued on. We passed some extraordinary scenery and passed a meadow in which buffalo were grazing (I thought they were bison), great! Eventually we came to the park gates where we learned that the road was closed until 4:00pm. Nothing at the park signs down the road, we were supposed to stop mid road and read the flashing sign - as if!

Anyway, no problems for us, we drove back to the entrance gate, unpacked our esky, took it under a tree and lunched, then went for a little walk and joined the growing queue which started moving almost on the dot of 4:00pm. With the forced slow drive down into the park we were able to take a really good look at the surrounding mountains and cliffs. Astounding in shape, design and colour, Howard fell in love and declared the park better than the Grand. We found our hotel easily enough and settled in, found an excellent supermarket which sold good food including packed salads which actually appealed to us - not packed with cheeses, mayos or meats. We enjoyed a cool glass and a nice salad for dinner and talked about planning the next couple of days. We were both of the opinion that we should just enjoy Zion and leave Bryce until Sunday morning on our way out to Las Vegas. The detour would take some hours but then there would be plenty of rest time before going out to enjoy the wild life of Vegas.

Friday
A slow start the next morning with the pressure to see everything off, we caught the free shuttle to the Park Office Visitor Center, only I had to get off next stop and hike back to the hotel to pick up the forgotten camera. There’s always something isn’t there? Eventually, we arrived at the end of the road - having planned to go to the end of the canyon and work our way back, and took the Riverside Walk to The Narrows, where the path continued over/in the creek. We didn’t need to do that so doubled back and took the bus back to Weeping Rock for a short walk to look at another scenic spot, much like many we’ve seen in our parks with hanging gardens and water oozing out of the sandstone. Next we got off at Zion Lodge and walked the Emerald Pools Trail. Not very difficult but it was hot and the track very rocky and sandy. We visited all three pools and then caught the shuttle back to the Canyon Junction (with the eastern entrance road) for a supposed short walk back to the Center. Well, in the afternoon heat it was more than 2 miles with no shade but we eventually made it and congratulated ourselves for the achievements, stopped off for more supplies and headed home to enjoy more salads.

An early start today - where have I said that before? We planned the Angel’s Landing Trail, best taken early or late but not in the midday sun. We were in the park and on the trail shortly before 8:00am. Today’s hiccup, Howard dropped his sun hat somewhere and did the walk without cover but plenty of sunscreen. We were surprised again by how many people were out there without proper clothes, even babies without head cover. Today’s projected temperature was due to be 980F (about 37c) and with reflection off sandstone and sand, the likelihood of sunburn, very high. We’d seen the evidence of that yesterday. Back to the story, the climb was about 300 -350 meters, all of them pretty steep. We arrived at the saddle within about an hour, headed up to a viewpoint over Angel’s Landing and had our breakfast. For much of the walk we were accompanied by a father and son combination. The son, Gerard about 12, wasn’t too interested at first and quickly puffed, but I explained that slow and steady was the way to go and his dad made it fun form him too and we arrived without being too puffed. The Angel’s Landing was about a further 100 metres up along a knife edge (almost) assisted with gripping chains. We never felt we had to try that at all although most people tried at least a part of it. The long walk back down was still ok but by now it was hotting up. We took the shuttle back to the Center where miraculously, Howard was able to retrieve his hat from the Park entrance box. Back to Zion Lodge stop for Howard’s planned walk alongside the river, when he was informed that this was the horse ride trail (think stinky) between 8:00am and 4:00pm and very sandy, so we only did a short part of it, no horses but plenty of hot wind. We felt by now we could call it quits, having done a good few walks in our two days and went down to the Human History Museum, watched a short doco on the park and then home after stopping for a wicked waffle ice cream, the usual cool wine and salad dinner. Tired again!

That’s it for Zion. What a beautiful park. Good night folks.