Day 17, Wednesday, August 31, Zion National Park, Kalob, Four Corners, Mesa Verde National Park

Leaving Zion Park today. We got up early so that we could have a good breakfast and head up the canyon on one of the first shuttles. T wants to visit the Weeping Rock stop. We were going to do that yesterday, but ran out of gas. We packed the car and got to the restaurant at 6:30 am (when they opened) and had a good buffet breakfast. The shuttles start running at 6:30 am and we caught one at 7:15 which took us up two stops to the Weeping Rocks.

From the shuttle stop, it is only about 1/4 mile hike to the weeping rocks, but it is fairly steep. The weeping rocks is an area where the water seepage from above runs into impermeable stone and is forced out the side of the mountain. Being late summer, the water falls created were not impressive. We really need to come back in late spring to see the REAL thing.

Stream from the weeping rocks

Canyon view from the weeping rocks

T wanted to test the "force" at the weeping rocks with her divining rods. She was impressed with the forces.

 We finally went back down to the shuttle stop and went back down to the lodge. The turkeys were waiting to greet us

We got in the car and headed on through the Zion Park toward Kalob. Stunning scenery. We even saw some long horned sheep on a steep mountain side.

We traveled south/southeast and passed by the Lake Powell and Page, AZ. We stopped at the lake for a couple of shots.

Lake Powell Dam

Lake Powell

We thought about detouring over to Monument Valley (where the westerns were made), but it would have added 150 miles AND five hours to our trip. Monument Valley is a Navajo Tribal Park. Their web site describes the valley as "A minimalist look at the American Southwest, Monument Valley has big rocks, big sky, and…nope. That’s it." We decided to leave it for another trip. The highway (US-160) did skirt the south side of the area. We took some pictures of the type of structure we might find in the park.

We continued on US-160 through Four Corners to Cortez, CO. Mesa Verde National Park is just east of Cortez. We entered the park and drove 20 miles (most of it was switchback up) to the lodge. The lodge is at an elevation of about 8,000 feet, about 2,000 feet above Cortez. The highest point we passed on the way up was 8,376 feet. We checked into our room and enjoyed the view.

Our room with the door open

The Lodge

A panoramic view from our hotel room.

Tonight we ate at the lodge restaurant. Started with a rattlesnake/pheasant sausage. T had the elk wellington and I had the prickly pear pork belly. For desert, we split a prickly pear creme brulet. Tomorrow morning we have scheduled an early morning (8 am) tour of the Puebloan civilization during the time they occupied Mesa Verde (550 AD to 1300 AD when they abandoned the area and moved south).

Day 16, Tuesday, August 30, Zion National Park

The mileage total upon our arrival at the Zion National Park yesterday was 3,887 miles. Per our trip planner (which just estimated miles between major destinations), we should have logged 3,008 miles. Looks like this will turn out to be a ~6,000 mile trip overall.

We awoke to a beautifully clear and cool morning.

I was having a cup of coffee on the front porch when I kept hearing an intermittent tapping sound. I discovered it was a turkey pecking at the front bumper of a shuttle bus which was parked last night in the parking lot outside our cabin. The turkey was obviously enjoying a breakfast buffet of bugs smashed on the front of the bus from the previous day.

We had breakfast at the restaurant and then walked over the Virgin River and up the trail to the Lower Emerald Pool. It was about a two mile hike though fairly steep and rocky at points. The Virgin River is very muddy. It is the reason the canyons are here today. According to the Park Service, the Virgin River erodes one million tons of sediment out of the canyon each year. 

Virgin River

Lots of Datura

Lots of prickly pear

Water Fall at the Lower Emerald Pool

Lower Emerald Pool

Another Water Fall 

Weeping Rocks

Prickly Pear Seed Pod

 

Virgin River

 After hiking back, we rested in the cabin for a couple of hours and then took the shuttle up to the top of the canyon. During the "peak" seasons, you cannot drive your own car up their. There are four stops along the way and you can get off and back on at your leisure. The shuttles come by every ten minutes or so. We went to the last stop (Temple of Sinawava) and then hiked the two miles to the entry to the Narrows. We opted not to go into the Narrows this time. We did during our last visit and once you have experienced the first couple of hundreds yards, that is essentially all there is to it.

A weeping wall with vegetation

Mouth of the Narrows

T's Little Friend

Pulpit Rock at Temple of Sinawava

T wanted to walk the short but steep trail up the Weeping Rock canyon, but it was so hot, we decided to postpone. We might try to do it before we leave tomorrow.

Tonight we dine again at the Zion Lodge. Tomorrow we check out and head toward Mesa Verde in Colorado. We will be traveling from Utah, through Arizona and then into Colorado. It is about 360 miles and a seven hour drive.