Zion Canyon

I have decided to write about our travels with a very underused blog rather than lengthy Facebook posts. Hope this works for everyone....

On October 6th we drove from our little campground (8 sites) in Mount Carmel to Zion Canyon National Park. Before we left town we had to take a pic of a local business that loved to advertise its "Ho-made Pies". Interesting marketing strategy!

It was a beautiful drive through steep red coloured cliffs and ranch country. To get to the main part of Zion Park we drove through the east tunnel It was built in the late 1920's when vehicles were much smaller. As a consequence traffic must be stopped at either entrance to allow larger RV's, 5th Wheels, travel trailers etc to be escorted through in a convoy that drives down the middle of the road. Luckily our trailer was below the size limit so we were able to drive right through. It was one of the most interesting tunnels we have ever driven: 1 mile long, much of it downhill with curves. There were no lights, only the occasional "window" that we later found out was the means by which the tunnel diggers got rid of stone and debris.

After setting up at the campsite we quickly donned our hiking duds and headed out to the trails. After a quick consultation at the Visitors Center we decided to hike the Angels Landing Trail to Scouts Point. We jumped on a shuttle bus for the trip up to the Zion Lodge and the trail head. The shuttles included very good informational announcements of the sights from the windows. We started up the trail and consulted with a couple of older gentlemen who confirmed the decision to only go to Scouts Point. They said the trail to Angels Landing was a scramble up a steep rock face using chain railings. They told us that "it was not so much about your falling as much as someone falling on you". So we climbed 
the steep trail up 600 feet to Scouts Point while taking time to enjoy the spectacular scenery (ie a few needed breaks). Once we got to there we understood what the gentlemen were talking about. Lots of folks were attempting the climb and most of those coming back down were doing so on their butts. Thanks but no thanks. The view from Scouts Point was spectacular with rose coloured cliffs rising above the canyon floor. We could see the Virgin River wending its way through the canyon floor - it is hard to believe that this relatively small river carved out Zion Canyon. 

After a relatively easy and faster hike down, we took another shuttle up to the end of the road to the Riverwalk Trail. It was a pleasant hike along the Virgin River. Walked up and back then another shuttle to the campground. 

We arrived back in time to enjoy happy hour watching the sun set on the rock cliffs behind the campground. Definitely the best campsite so far in terms of scenery.