Zion National Park, Utah 6/5/2013

JUNE 5, 2013 (Wednesday)

Got up around 9 AM and lazed around drinking coffee and having breakfast. We left for Zion around 10 AM. It was a lovely drive to Zion. When we got there, we showed Michael’s $10 senior lifetime pass and we got in. Love that card. It costs $25 to get in normally. We ended up driving the short highway 9 route, through the tunnel and all the way to the east entrance. A snake path turned into a roadway. Switchbacks, double-backs, triple-backs and spectacular geology all along the way.

A window in the tunnel. 1.1 miles long with 3 or 4 windows. Built between 1927 and 1930. An engineering feat!

One of the tunnel windows from the outside.

We drove back to the little town of Springdale, just outside the park entrance and had lunch at the Whiptail cafe. Good but expensive. Mike had his first $16.00 Burrito. A lady on the shuttle asked us how lunch was and Mike said the burrito seemed like a Frenchman’s interpretation of what a burrito might be.

The Whiptail Cafe. Nice food, a little expensive.

Mikes Chicken Burrito with salad and black beans: $16.00

Edies petite Blue Cheese Burger with fries, in fairness, she didn't eat it all. — Edies petite Blue Cheese Burger with fries, in fairness, she didn’t eat it all.

We then took the shuttle to the park entrance, walked into the park and then took the park shuttle down the valley.

At the end of the line, where you can hike to “the narrows,” we got out and walked a mile or two. Lovely paved walk along the river. The trail hugged the canyon wall and amazing plants and mosses clung to the side, lived on dripping water, and wind. Such majesty everywhere. Very spiritual. There were lots of people throughout the park and on the trails, and it isn’t even the busy season yet.

The river was so beautiful in so many places.

Looking up the shear cliff face and clinging plants, so gorgeous.

The end of the walkway for us and the place where the real hikers walk out of the "Narrows", 16 miles and your path is the Virgin River. Sometimes you walk, sometimes you swim. — The end of the walkway for us and the place where the real hikers walk out of the “Narrows”, 16 miles and your path is the Virgin River. Sometimes you walk, sometimes you swim.

Edie, cooling her heels in the Virgin River, Zion National Park, Utah

Great walk back to the "narrows." — Great walk back to the “narrows.”

Zion National Park, View up the trail leading to where the 16 mile "Narrows" walk comes out of the canyon. — Zion National Park, View up the trail leading to where the 16 mile “Narrows” walk comes out of the canyon.

We saw a group of climbers, looked like little dots on the massive canyon walls. We heard languages from France, India, Japan, Korea and many others. Nice to know other countries have heard and want to see the beautiful parks in our country.

Everywhere you look there is an unusual gorgeous canyon, peak, cliff, etc. etc..

The hills looked like a thick batter that had been poured and set up quickly on an angle.

Ancient sand dunes turned to sand stone, What an ocean of time we are moving through!

Peaks in back of cliff faces, So beautiful.

Zooming in on where the "Narrows walk" ends — Zooming in on where the “Narrows walk” ends

There is a trail along the top ridge and we saw hikers up there.

Oh look! Another majestic peak.... — Oh look! Another majestic peak….

We got back to our car around 5 PM. We were exhausted and wanted a nap. We drove to St. George and stopped at Dairy Queen for a snack. We were bad but it tasted so good. Good thing we don’t do that too often.

Drove to the Nevada Welcome Center in Mesquite looking for Internet access, no luck. Lovely day but we’re pooped and called it a day. We went back to our resort, watched TV, and called it a day.

Zion National Park, Utah 6/5/2013

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