Zion House Bed and Breakfast Springdale

... hot but plenty warm and even with sunscreen, we probably got a bit of burn. Checked into a rustic, over-priced, no frills cabin next to the lodge and even though it has no TV, we are able to use the internet. Big surprise but a welcome one! Trying to decide what to do about dinner. Not hungry for the big meals that are offered at the restaurant so we may just end up with an appetizer somewhere ...

From Grand Canyon, we continued to Kanab where we spent the night in a 70s style, western motel, complete with wood paneling and Indian chief portraits above the bed. John really dug its seedy retro flava. It was late, we were tired, and the room was clean and cheap. From Kanab, we were able to explore Zion National Park the following day. Unfortunately, the narrows (slot canyons located in the northern portion of the park) were closed due to high water levels, so we ...

... The spray of the small waterfall is hitting us, as the wind just decided to start blowing in our direction. Along with the spray is some light rain. We crowd under the cliff for a few minutes and decide to head up to the Middle Pool.

I'm sure this would be a much better trail IF we had come just after a decent rainfall. Our last stop is the Upper Emerald Pool Trail which does offer some really great scenery of the rock formations.

Zion National Park, Utah, United States kupdegra

... in the ground, which had formed a puddled wetting his tent a bit, hard luck! It was bloody cold, but layers provided a good temperature once in the bag. Our tents were within 3-4 m of the stream, it provided a soothing noise to drift to sleep to. All the back country camp grounds have been great, the chill and freshness of the air, the smell of vegetation, it really is a great experience. The stars are usually always visible on clear nights, they are stunning!

Am nächsten Tag ging unsere Reise weiter zum nächsten Nationalpark dem Zion. Der Zion ist ebenfalls ein Steincanyon, allerdings sind die Steine an einigen Orten praktisch weiss. Auch im Zion Nationalpark liessen wir es uns nicht nehmen eine kleine Wanderung zu machen um den Park besser anschauen zu können. Unsere Wanderung führte uns zu ...

... we hebben geen idee hoeveel erin kan. De verkoopster stelt voor om voor 50$ prepay te doen en als er minder ingaat, dan worden we voor minder aangerekend. Meer dan 50$ tanken zal niet gaan. We tanken vol en komen daarmee op 43$. Dan moeten we terug naar binnen om een nieuw ticketje te laten afprinten. Wat een gedoe! We maken van de gelegenheid gebruik om een goedkope koelbox te kopen (6$) zodat we vanaf nu onze picknick en drank kunnen koel ...

... but I still ended up to my waist at times! It's quite hard going, as you're constantly walking on uneven rockas and boulders you can't see in the water; that's why you need the stick for balance. Also the water current is really strong when you fight it upstream. We did the 2.5 miles up the Y, where the Virgin and Orderville canyons converge. This is how far we got last year. This year we left Tegz sitting on a rock, and Lyn and Io sped off, up the Virgin Canyon. Ci and I followed at a ...

... road in, they started these shuttles to prevent the Eco damage cars were causing and the traffic jams and road rage fights that took place when 3000 vehicles vied for 400 parking spaces. Our fist day, after we put up our tent, we took the shuttle as a guided tour. The drivers have an audio tour of the sights as you move along and they like you to ask questions. Zion is part of the Colorado plateau like the Grand ...

Zion NP was quite a different experience from the Grand Canyon and Bryce. A stunning drive from Bryce, through a long tunnel and then head down to stay in a narrow valley (which reminded us of Yosemite). Much greener here with the river running through the valley and beautiful cottonwood trees everywhere. The campground by the river was lovely. The cliffs tower above ...

... There are no words actually to describe the beauty that we saw on this road trip. I think actually there are not enough adjectives available in the English language. It is too amazing. We are all totally looking forward to doing some hiking and one of the trails - Angel's Landing - awaits us. Everything we have heard about this hike is enough to scare the absolute wits out of us. Also, with both Jude and Jacq afraid ...