Driftwood Lodge Springdale

... were very freaked out. During our drive, we drove through Capitol Reef National Park, Dixie National Forest, and Bryce Canyon National Park. At Bryce, we went to several viewpoints and looked down at the Bryce Amphitheater, which was awesome. Lastly, we ended up at Zion Lodge in Zion National Park. The road to get here was filled with switchbacks, and really nice views. We had dinner at the Red Rock Grill, which was pretty tasty.<br>

... to stop and smell the flowers.<br><br>Zion's west entrance is thru Springdale on Route 9. If you haven't been here before, you would be convinced that once you hit Hurricane you were already in Zion. The rock formations you are driving thru attract a lot of photo-taking tourists. <br><br>Don't miss the photo op at Virgin, on your left side. <br><br>Lots of B&amp;B's in Springdale, the southwest end of ...

... recht omhoog gaat. We nemen de shuttle terug en stappen aan een aantal uitzichtspunten uit om foto's te nemen en dan de volgende shuttle te nemen om onze weg verder te zetten. De wandeling naar de Wheeping Rock doen we ook. Deze wandeling is maar een halve mile (0,8 km) maar gaat ook weer flink bergop. De Wheeping Rock is een zandsteen rots. Als het regent, sijpelt het water in de poreuze zandsteen en gaat dan traag ...

... were too exposed to our surrounding campers. After setting up our tents and getting everything situated, we set off to hike up the Virgin Narrows. In order to prevent the traffic congestion that is problematic at other national parks, Zion has established a mandatory shuttle system to transport visitors to the various sights. It starts at the Zion Visitor Center, right next to our campsite, and continues deep into the canyon where it finishes at ...

... with the hike. Unlike Half Dome, however, there is only one set of cables (i.e., no parallel set of cables like on Half Dome), and the cliffs literally drop off on both sides over a thousand feet. The Leap of Faith is a small section of the hike that is only a few feet wide with sheer drops on both sides. Scary. This one really got the adrenaline going, and the summit provided unreal 360 degree ...

... seemed foolhardy) We all had dinner in the camp dining room, a nice but basic roast meal. The next day we packed up and got ready to head off. The girls did a last ride on the ATV"s and the zipline and then we leapt into the van and headed off. On the way we took our first true look at the park. Another incredibly inspiring scene filled park that would be great to have more time to see We drove through an amazing mile long tunnel through ...

... br><br><br ><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><b r><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>< br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> On Sunday we headed back towards Colorado. We spent the night in Moab and took the river road to Cisco - a beautiful route! We spent a night in Steamboat with Suzanne and then headed back to Boulder and Welmoed headed back to Holland.

... heights ...! We are planning though on doing that hike on the last day we are in the park - Friday. We had planned on doing the Virgin Narrows tomorrow morning however when we called into the outfitters to pick up wet water hiking gear, we were told they were expecting rain and therefore flash floods. Not a good idea to go hiking through a canyon when flash floods are expected. So, we shall make another plan for tomorrow.