ZION CANYON NATIONAL PARK, UT

We arrived at Zion Canyon Campground mid-afternoon, set up, ate lunch and had a restful afternoon.  The temperature kept climbing the entire trip today. Last night at Bryce Canyon we had the heater on and the first thing we did when setting up today was plug in the electricity so we could turn on the a/c immediately.  It was close to 100°!  The next morning after another yummy breakfast we took off for Kolob Canyons, a portion of Zion National Park, 42 miles to the northwest where we have never been before.  We hiked the Timber Creek Trail which offered incredible views of the Finger Canyons.  At the end we were supposed to be able to see the rim of the Grand Canyon, but we don’t know whether we did or not since there was no signage pointing it out.  The temperature made it a little uncomfortable since it was in the high 90s, but there was a little breeze most of the time.  After our hike we enjoyed the picnic lunch we took with us.

The next morning we got up early, took showers, ate breakfast and walked to the bus stop right outside the campground to catch a bus to the Zion Canyon visitor center. There we walked to where the shuttles are and got on and went all the way to the end where we did our first hike of the day.

The Riverside Walk is the gateway to the Zion Narrows.   It is a 2 mile walk which took us a little more than an hour.  Since we were there rather early in the day it was nice and cool.  The canyon we walked in got narrower as we got closer to the end and the walls loom just about as high as you can see.  There were many people who rented walking sticks, waterproof sox and shoes so they could walk in the water.

We hopped on another shuttle which took us to Weeping Rock trailhead where we had a little snack we had brought along.  This hike was shorter and brought us to an overhanging blind arch where we got a little wet since it drips every day of the year.  The spring water seeping out of the rock 100 feet overhead takes nearly 1000 years to travel through the porous Navajo sandstone above.  We remember there was more seeping the last time we did this hike. The cool water actually felt good.

Then back on a shuttle to catch a ride to the campground where Mike took a nap and Judy read until dinner time.  Another fun day in Zion!