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.

Day 15, Monday, August 29, Salt Lake City, Nephi, Zion National Park

We rose this morning, scrambled some eggs and packed up to leave Salt Lake City. We left the hotel at 9:00 am so that we could be at the opening of the Botanical Garden. It is at the University of Utah and it is a nice garden. Not in the same league as the Missouri Botanical, but it is well worth the visit. We got some good ideas for our back yard.

After leaving the garden, we went to the Whole Foods Market at Trolley Square. T really wanted to find some pate. We did not find any but did pick up some essentials for our next four days in the "wilderness". We then proceeded to our favorite Utah State liquor store to get a couple more bottles of champagne. By that time it was 11:30 am and time to head toward Zion.

It was just over 300 miles and we stopped in Nephi for lunch at Michael's. This guys obviously has a toy train fetish as there were trains running all through the restaurant. The food was good and T actually was able to order some liver and onions. It made her day.

Trains at Michael's

The rest of the trip was uneventful. The scenery was desert, cedar and sage, with peaks on both sides. We passed a fire up on the west range.

Upon entering Zion, everything changed. We drove to the Lodge and got settled into our cabin.

Turn off I-15 toward Zion

At Zion Lodge

The elevation here at the lodge is about the same as Salt Lake City, around 4,300 feet. The temperature is 95F, but it is very dry and comfortable in the shade.

Our Cabin

Welcome to All

We took dinner at the lodge. T had trout and I had bison meat loaf. Both were very good.

Bison meatloaf

Trout

During dinner, we observed deer along with a herd of turkey crossing the grounds outside the restaurant. After dinner we strolled back to our cabin. On the way we crossed paths with the faun we had seen on the way to dinner. It had nestled down and was cleaning its fur. It showed no fear of us at all.

We took a couple more pictures as we walked back to our cabin.

We sat out on our porch for awhile, after returning to the cabin, until the flys became overly annoying. Tomorrow we relax and explore the Zion Park.