The Kingdom of Zion

I had the most incredible experience entering Zion National Park. After leaving Bryce Canyon early in the morning (not a bad little drive!) we drove in through the Northern entrance, little did I know that this way is the most magical! As you enter the park the landscape begins to look a little Dr. Sues-ish, the road has long curves following the richly striated blobs of mountain that look like they're melting this way and that. It's beautiful. Then suddenly, in front of you, is a huge dark tunnel. Inside the tunnel there are big archways called 'galleries' cut out of the rock so as you're driving through you can catch glimpses of the canyon - at each gallery I couldn't help but gasp and the excitement grew! Finally, we come to the end of the tunnel just as Vedder's "The Wolf" starts playing and there it is - Zion. So magnificent that even at the time all I could think was, WOW. The song is so fitting for the journey into Zion that I couldn't help but keep it on repeat as we zig-zagged on down through some of the most spectacular imagery I've ever seen. The photo below (1) shows the galleries and road winding into the park.

Zion was absolutely amazing, and so much fun that we ended up staying an extra day in the park. Since we arrived so early we snagged a campsite by the river and set out to explore the park. Zion is designed to be eco and visitor friendly - the main road down through the canyon is closed in the summer to personal vehicles but the shuttle system is flawless. Shuttles arrive every few minutes and take you to all the trailheads, the lodge, visitors center, museum etc. with a narration track that explains each point of interest. One of my favorite 'little' things about the park is that at each shuttle stop are spring tapped, drinkable water stations! This seem's like a "duh" but it's surprisingly uncommon. Needless to say that it was sweet relief knowing that you could drink as much water as you needed on each hike and more cool water would be happily awaiting your return. Below is the view from my tent window, the "West Temple."

The most rewarding experience I had in Zion was hiking the infamous trail to Angel's Landing. The best parts of the hike were the most challenging - the notorious 'Walter's Wiggles,' 21 steep switchbacks up to Scout's Lookout, and the last 1/2 mile which follows a sandstone ridge out to the 'Angel's Landing.' The sandstone ridge is no joke! Chains are bolted into the ridge to guide hikers up, a steep 1,400' drop on the right and frightening 4,000' drop on the left. Yeah, I hiked that!!

The first photo looks up the ridge to the top, the second photo looks down the ridge from the landing - if you look closely you can see the path towards the top right! - and the last photo (2) is of the notorious wiggles. Being atop the Landing is empowering and life-affirming, with a spectacular 360 degree view of the canyon, the whole hike was rewarding, physically and mentally, and I'm so very grateful to have experienced it.