Cable Mountain Lodge Springdale

... dry heat. Good reminder of how severe the elements can be. Apart from a 5 minute walk up to Zabriskie Point, we spent the whole time in the car - it was just too hot. Mammoth Lakes is a ski resort - and still active at this time of year - up to 10 ft of snow in some places. Went for a walk and decided it would be a pretty cool place for a snow holiday one day. Craig got excited about the bear crossing sign but no bears sighted. Boooo...... Next Stop: Yosemite

... Middle Emeral Pool trail which connects with the Upper Emerald Pool Trail. <br><br>If you are looking for an area to swim...it's not gonna happen. These are very shallow pools, and swiming isn't permitted. <br><br>Lunch stop at the Zion Lodge. Typical food. Hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, fries. Still cheaper than lunch at Disney World! <br><br>Then up to the The Temple of Sinawava, the furtherst stop on the bus.But we decided to walk up from the ...

... 3 times that name has shown up on this trip so far. First as a funicular in LA, and second as the new name for the Julian Center.) What a beautiful hike. It was only 5 miles or so, but basically straight up a 1500-foot tall free-standing formation in the canyon. Up at the top, I met a guy named Micah who recommended the drive through Utah that I would take the next day. Not feeling tired enough, I continued to hike another two trails ...

... b. Het is er niet goedkoop maar wel erg lekker. De ober die ons komt bedienen is duidelijk geen Amerikaan en wanneer we vragen of hij Fransman is, blijkt dat we juist gegokt hebben. De rest van de bediening verloopt dan in het Frans en we worden extra in de watten gelegd. (dat wordt dus een vette tip want bediening is hier in de VS nooit inbegrepen ...) Na het eten wandelen we terug en gaan we slapen want morgen gaan we een stevige wandeling doen.

... Before the trip I had rented rubber boots, a wetsuit, a hiking stick, and a dry bag for the camera - essential investments if one wanted to get the real experience without putting oneself in unnecessary risk. All this was back in October of 2006, and I recall very vividly having to wake a very grouchy friend out of bed before the sun was out, and taking the very first bus to the start of the Narrows, fingers numb and hands still shivering from ...

... sand (from the sandstone!) it's heavy going, especially climbing over rocks and boulders all the time. On the way back the kids went on ahead of us. When we got to where the trail from the upper pool met the main trail there was no sign of Tegz! She's gone the wrong way, and had gone back down the way we had come, instead of carrying on the loop! Luckily Lyn could spot her, and shouted her name. Io went haring after her, but she heard Lyn, and had to trace her steps back uphill! She ...

... gas powered shuttle buses at frequent intervals from the wee hours of morning 'til quite late at night. This is the only way to get around the main section of the park-the heart of Zion Canyon. But the park is actually much larger than this would lead one to believe. There are vast areas of the park to be discovered to the east and the north as well. We did some of the short hikes along the shuttle bus route, as well as day trips on the motorcycles to ride or hike in the other ...

We arrived in Zion during a thunderstorm - funny how Zion does get not get much rain and they did the day we got there. We stayed at a fantastic resort that had a Buffalo Reserve right in the middle of the resort. We toured Zion National Park - it was Spectacular!! Absolutely breathtaking! The first 5 minutes through the park we came up on a herd of Mountain Goats. We took another Jeep tour - it was not as ...

... big my wide angle lens needs to be wider. We got to the park around 4 in the afternoon and the park campgrounds were already filled (its spring break this week...not cool) so we drove through the park to the South entrance and stopped at a campground right outside the park. We set up our tent and chris built a fire (he has amazing fire skills, Les Stroud would be proud) and we hung out and watched the sun set over the canyon walls, and then saw ...

... people take walking sticks to help them. There were 5 walking sticks laying against the cliff wall at the start, just meant for us. We all absolutely loved it. It was amazing to see the cliff walls towering thousands of feet above us. It was also interesting to see the variety of people hiking it, from the serious overnighters with all the gear, to girls in bikinis and flip flops. We also saw an Amish group, and a group of nuns hiking in the water. We were all knackered at the end, so ...