Day 36 ~ Zion National Park
Here is the thing about Zion National Park……I didn’t read
about this park until after we had made reservations for camping spots. So this park was going to be back tracking west
in order to see it. It was rather far
from our campground. Like 2 hours one
way. Additionally, it is a VERY crowded park.
As luck would have it, we would have to see it on a busy Saturday. And….the trail we wanted to hike was going to
be the biggest physical challenge we had ever undertaken. We would need to have
our lunches packed, and we were running out of stuff because it is so hot, I
threw away our perishables. It has been
115 degrees during the day here. You have to rent shoes, socks, and sticks for
140.00 for 4 of us, to hike the Narrows, which is a river through a steep sided
gorge. You have to hike, swim, and wade through
this trail. It is breathtakingly
beautiful. You can’t park your car in
Zion, so you have to take a shuttle from a nearby town. All of these things meant we would have to
leave very early in the morning. After a
late night last night, it didn’t seem wise to undertake this today. And did I mention it has been 115 degrees
here????…….Hard to think about hiking. It was hard for me to let this one go, but I
had to take one for the team. Now we
have missed The Road Going to the Sun, The Hollywood Sign, The Needles Highway
at Mount Rushmore (it was under construction), and hiking the Narrows.
Who knew there could be yet another National Park that
looked so different after all we have seen!
Even though we just drove through the main road in this park (in air
conditioning) and then turned around and drove out, it was still a wonderful
experience. I am sure we missed lots of
wonderful things to see off the main road, but there was absolutely no where to
park. The shuttle lines were unbelievable. There were throngs of people everywhere.
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| Checkerboard Mesa |
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| Up Close |
Harrison and I drove to Zion because Mike and I woke up with
headaches. I got rid of mine, but Mike
was still suffering on the way. So I
drove to the park, giving him a chance to shake it off. Then Harrison asked to drive through the
park. Then we really did try to vie for
a parking spot, in which Mike took the wheel at that point. Even the King of Drive couldn’t ascertain a
spot.
I am NOT stepping here! According to the signage, you will break your foot if you step here!
One of Three Tunnels
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Interesting Texture on Inside of the Tunnel
|
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| Looking down to where we came from..... |
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| The road is red because they used the red rocks to make it! |
I said: Look at that rock! It is going to fall on us!
Mike said: No. Wiley Coyote put that little rock under it with a string he is going to pull when the Road Runner comes by.
Harrison: I don't think there is anyplace that makes strings like that.
Mike: Acme does. I know it is true because I saw it on a cartoon.
The kids didn't get it because they don't watch Looney Tunes! Disney all the way!
Now this is where something funny happened......We were the only people on the trail. For miles. And miles. So since Mike's pants were slipping down as he walked, he let them down over his rear end and farted. He told me he had to let a fart out. (The kids were far ahead on the trail.) As soon as I laughed, his pants slipped a little more......So when he got to a plateau before the next hill, he undid his pants and repositioned everything and tidied up......Facing forward. As he was finishing......He saw the 30 plus people standing on the Look out overhang above us. Yep! They saw it all! Clapping ensued. The worst part was walking up the steep hill we could barely climb with all the people now watching and laughing. It is a good thing Mike has a GREAT sense of humor!
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