Roaming with Beau - Day 5

Virgin, UT and Zion National Park

Morning at North Creek Dispersed BLM Campsite. Virgin, UT

Ansel Adams said it's all about the light. Enjoyed this view with my coffee at the trailer. Temperatures were near 40 degrees this morning and it was much easier to get going. Beau had his walks and I some breakfast and I scooted up the road, without the trailer. It's a 15-minute drive to the town of Springdale where I caught the bus into Zion. While the town has lots of nice restaurants, shops, rentals, tours, and the like, one of their biggest money-generators must be parking. While the bus to the Zion Visitor Center is free and comes by frequently, parking is all over town and includes street parking at $20 with pay centers conveniently located everywhere. Once you get to the Park Visitor Center the entry fee is also $20 per person unless you have an interagency or NPS pass, then it is free! Yea! I have an Interagency Senior Lifetime Pass! Such a great deal.

Falls at the Temple of Sinawava, Zion NP.

From the Visitor Center I took the FREE Zion Canyon Scenic Drive bus and rode to the Temple of Sinawava at the end of the canyon. From here there are many options for hiking up into The Narrows which can include hiking partly in the Virgin River. There were numerous signs warning people to be aware of the possibility of flash floods. At this stop were the falls pictured above and periodically chunks of ice would break off and bash against the rocks. The sound would echo through the canyon and sound like a cannon going off.

Wall at the Temple of Sinawava scenic stop. Zion NP.

The second stop heading back down was called "Big Bend" where the Virgin River made a sweeping turn after coming out of the Narrows. On a perch above the stop sat a huge Condor. A gentleman with a scope identified it as "Z-8". While I didn't get a picture of it, a young lady on the bus air-dropped a photo she had just taken (see photo below) of Condor "Z-7" she took on a hike up "Angels Landing" shortly before.

Condor Z-7 near Big Bend in Zion NP. Photo credit to anonymous.

Also at the Big Bend stop were a couple of people climbing. If you look closely in the photo below you can see the two of them. Nearly all of the climbs in Zion are rated for experts. I didn't have time or I would have joined them.

Climbers near Weeping Rock and Big Bend, Zion NP.

Don't remember but it looks cool (except for the guy with the motorized cat wheelbarrow). This was near the Zion Lodge stop.

Crossing the Virgin River near the Zion Lodge.

At this stop I crossed the road and then the bridge crossing the Virgin River. The river itself originates high up on the plateaus from rain and snow melt, seeps down through the layers of porous rock, then, as it comes onto denser rock, moves laterally and weeps out of the canyon walls and waterfalls. I did the short hike to the "Lower Emerald Pool" trail which was actually an easy paved walk on a fairly crowded path. When I crossed the river and noticed how murky the water was from the snow melt I wondered how the "emerald" pool would be. Well, as you can see, it's not so emerald.

Falls feeding the "Lower Emerald Pool". Zion NP

The not-so-emerald "Lower Emerald Pool".

Court of the Patriarchs, Zion NP, UT.

The Court of the Patriarchs, named after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by a Methodist minister and two boys from southern Utah in 1916.

Back at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center I took a walk through the gift shop but got out of there fairly quick as there were so many people. It was packed and the line of people waiting to enter the park was huge; maybe 300 people now compared to the maybe 10 when I came in at 0900. It was a good time to leave. It's a beautiful park and I could see visiting again and getting out of the canyon and on to any of the many trails. Some require a permit, like the trail to Angel's Landing. The challenge would be doing them without the crowds. It's still fairly early in the season and already fairly crowded, from my perspective. From further up in the Canyon I could see the flocks of people moving about on top of Angel's Landing.

Riding the shuttle back down to Springdale there was a young boy, he was a junior ranger, telling the bus driver he and his mom were going down to get some food. That sounded like a great idea to me. I drove the short distance back to the trailer in Virgin and greeted a very happy tail wagger and took him for a walk before sitting down to a late lunch. There is a light breeze, the sun is shining, and the creek beside us gurgling its way on to meet the Virgin River.