Zion National Park – Beauty Everywhere

The massive mountains hover over you like giant sentinels guarding the ancient tribal lands that surround them. Their tops point toward brilliant, blue sky except for the occasional periods when clouds dip below them, often filtering the sunlight and enhancing their beauty even more.  We arrived late and set up in near-dark conditions.  When I opened the door the next morning, the sight to my front almost took my breath away. That view was our welcome to Zion National Park.

We were prepared for something special because friends and family had insisted that we visit Zion as soon as we began planning our trip to the west. I’m glad we listened and made reservations at Zion Canyon Campground as soon as the reservation window opened. By this time, our Lucy Does the Desert trip had made the turn back to the east and time was marching by all too quickly.  We intended to savor the moments even more now.  Zion presented plenty of opportunities.

Zion Canyon Campground and RV Park is in the middle of Springdale, Utah.  While the view from the campground is incredible—you almost feel as if you can reach out and touch the mountains—the campground is tightly packed.  The RV parked next to us was no more than six feet away, and the tent campers to our rear seemed right outside our windows. I might as well add that the volume of campers made it difficult for the staff to keep up with shower cleaning—an unpardonable sin.

Nevertheless, the staff was very friendly, the town of Springdale is charming, and we weren’t there to sit in the campground.  We were there to hike. A shuttle bus carrying visitors the short distance to the National Park entrance stopped in front of the campground about every 10 minutes. Helen and I hopped on one of the early buses that the first morning.

Thinking we would beat the crowd proved to be an error in judgment.  The place was abuzz with activity.  We presented our National Park Senior Pass to the attendant and stood in line for the next bus to the Visitor Center to pick up a trail map and plan the hike for that day. Feeling pretty frisky, we chose two trails.  We would hike the Emerald Pools trail in the morning, then hike to Weeping Rock in the afternoon. Before our morning hike, a fellow hiker pointed out some rock climbers scaling the face of the mountain towering over Zion Lodge. I had to admire their bravery (or lack of smarts).

The Emerald Pools get their name from the green appearance that develops when algae forms in warm weather. The trail is rated as moderate and takes about an hour to complete. The Virgin River flows to the west side of the trail. The highlight of this trail is the ponds (not yet warm enough for algae) and the opportunity to stand behind a small waterfall to view them. The wildflowers along the trail were amazing and Helen took a lot of pictures for her wildflower picture collection which we hope to post at the end of our trip. I took a picture of a very friendly squirrel we met along the way, as well as a group of ladies, probably from a religious order, enjoying an outing in the Park.

The Weeping Rock Trail is an easy hike to the side of a mountain where water flows through the porous sandstone and provides moisture to a variety of plants and flowers. At the base of the mountain, large patches of a flower named Shooting Star grew in abundance. On the face of the mountain, freshwater flowed from rock pores and bathed the leaves of a fern-like plant cascading down the wall.

Returning to the Zion Lodge, a large crowd of gawkers gathered to watch the rock climbers still working their way up the face of the cliff.  I wish I could have sold tickets.  Helen and I waited for them to complete their climb and watched as they rappelled back to safety.

The next morning, we drove into the Park and parked Butch (truck) for a hike to Zion Canyon Overlook. Again, an early start gave us no advantage because the parking lots were full. We parked along the road and walked a considerable distance to the trailhead.

The Canyon Overlook Trail is a hike rated as having casual difficulty. I don’t know what casual difficulty means.  The trail was not strenuous, but the path was only about 10 inches wide in places and had almost no handrails. To the side of the trail, hikers faced a drop of several thousand feet straight to the bottom of the Canyon. I would describe the experience as exhilarating to the end. A few hikers joined us and one of them, a lady from New York, made it almost to the end, but could not make herself cross one of the narrow points and turned back.  I took this picture just before she departed. (One brochure recommended this hike as perfect under a full-moon…ain’t no way).

In the end, the challenge posed by the footing proved worth the effort.  The trail opens up to an extraordinary view of the Canyon. Helen and I peered carefully over the guardrails to a stunning view of Pine Creek, the Streaked Wall, and the Altar of Sacrifice. We both agreed that this hike and view is the highlight of our trip so far and we lingered long at the overlook before returning to the trail.  The narrow path was not as concerning this time. After three hikes, we have more experience 😉.

That evening, we went to dinner with Tom and Linda, a couple from California that we met in the campground. They own a trailer similar to our Lucy and spend a lot of time on the road.  Tom is a retired Navy officer and Linda works in the legal profession. After dinner, we walked back to Lucy for trailer talk and a lot of laughs. We enjoyed their company greatly and made promises to meet again somewhere on the road less traveled.

Zion National Park is a wonderful gift to an appreciative nation. I asked a Park Ranger about the crowd numbers and he told me that during June and July, the numbers swell to 500,000 visitors each month.  Those planning a trip there in the busy season should know it’s worth it. Words can’t describe the beauty. If you want a preview, the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a wonderful movie filmed there in the 1960s, is a good place to start.

We loved Zion. It’s time to be Easin’ Along, but we’re gonna leave very slowly.