Zion National Park

I guess I have gotten pretty spoiled living in Colorado, because I have forgotten what severe thunderstorm weather is. After the harrowing drive from Monument Valley into Page, AZ, I pushed on to Hurricane, UT. Headed for Zion National Park in continuing severe weather. Pretty much a white knuckled ride all the way. Not able to go the speed limit for fear of hydroplaning off the side of the highway, I elected to spend another night in a hotel.

The next morning after sleeping in for awhile and gathering supplies, I headed up the road into Zion. The weather was beginning to break and I was anxious to get into the park and see the scenery. I had been to Zion only once before, just out of High School with my girlfriend Diane Radley.

The first order of business was to secure a campsite for the night. I was in luck and had no problem finding a site in the South Campground along the Virgin River.  It was a very large campground and tightly packed with very little privacy. I got camp set up and then hiked over to the shuttle. How things have changed, when I was was last here thirty years or so ago you could drive the canyon valley in your own car. Now you have to take a convenient shuttle bus, as there are too many visitors for the canyon to handle.

I took the shuttle to the end of the canyon with the hopes of hiking a ways up through “The Narrows”. This is the coveted hike where you follow the Virgin River through the narrowly carved canyon. Pretty much hiking in the river all the way. Unfortunately because of the recent heavy rainfall, The Narrows was closed at the end of the paved trail.

The trail is very beautiful, and I had forgotten how lush it is along the river. There was moss and hanging gardens clinging to the sheer cliffs all around. In areas water was seeping out of and dripping down the cliff faces. How could this be…maybe I should read more of these pamphlets they hand out!

I had a hard time shooting in the depths of the canyon. Skies were overcast cloudy and the canyon was dark, and no lens wide enough to get the full perspective of the grandeur all around me. But as the day went on the skies began to break and exposures began to fall into place.

On the way back down the canyon I took a nice hike up to a spot called the Emerald Pools, Where beautiful little waterfalls were spilling over terraced cliffs into aptly named emerald pools where the sounds of birds, frogs and gurgling water created an ethereal setting.