Bruce and I took a 4-day mini-vacation to Zion National Park before my engineering conference. Normally I like staying in historic lodges, but June turned out to be an extremely popular time for visitors and the Zion Park Lodge was booked up. Luckily I found a room at the Cable Mountain Lodge in Springdale, UT right outside the entrance to the park. I think this place turned out to be even better than Zion's own lodge. We had a corner room with a deck that overlooked the swimming pool, a full kitchen (not that we cooked, but it was a good place to store restaurant leftovers), a huge bathroom with a whirlpool tub, and a fireplace (which we didn't use given the 105 degree desert temps).
All we had to do was walk across the pedestrian bridge and we were right at the shuttle bus that took visitors to the different trail heads in the park (you can't drive your car in summer). Lots of campers were sunbathing in the Virgin River as a way of cooling off. I even did some drawing while sitting at one of the picnic tables. Normally you can inner-tube down the river, but the water level is very low right now. I think they are afraid of people banging their tail bones on all the rocks.
The first day we hiked the Watchman Trail - a 3-mile trail that climbs into the lower canyon.
It was much, much greener than I expected with the high temperatures, but they told us there are a lot of springs that run underground and carry water to the vegetation. I saw a lot of flowering plants along with cactus and sagebrush.
This trail had a few steep drop-offs, but the trail was fairly wide Bruce loved to walk right up to the edge, and look down (nerve-wracking). We found out later there was another popular trail in the park with steep drop-offs on both sides of the trail (not just one), and in some sections the trail was only 28 inches wide. A chain runs down the middle of the trail for you to hold onto so you don't fall off into the canyon. That's like trying to walk down your kitchen countertop without falling off. There's no way I was getting on that trail, especially given the mass of people that were out hiking that day.
The second day we hiked the Narrows trail. This is a deep gorge cut out of the rock by the river. The walls are very tall (almost 1,000 feet), and the farther you get into the canyon, the closer the walls get. In some spots, the walls are only 30 feet apart. Luckily we had nice sunny skies, because there is a threat of flash floods when it rains.
The park rangers recommended that we rent rubber hiking boots and neoprene socks. That sounded a bit strange until we actually got up to the trail. For most of it's length you are hiking in the river. We only hiked about 4 miles (it's 9 miles long), but that took a long time. The river bottom is covered with big round rocks and the current is really strong. We never got into water deeper than our knees, but it was really tricky to keep your footing and not fall down into the water. Luckily we had our all stuff in Ziplock bags.
I frequently see people from St Louis when I travel (usually wearing a Cardinals shirt), but I rarely see anyone I know. However, one of my teacher friends was in the airport and then in Springdale at the exact same time we were. She and I often celebrate our birthdays together which are only one day apart. She was there with a group of girlfriends celebrating her 50th birthday and bemoaning how "old" she felt. (Wait until she hits 65!) I admired her and her friends for their ambition. I doubt most of my friends would dream of celebrating a birthday with a hiking trip, even when they were 20. (Notice my bright blue and green rubber boots in the picture?)
The third day, I bowed out of another rigorous hike and went into town for breakfast and sketching. I found a nice place serving huevos rancheros on their outdoor patio. It was extremely peaceful, because almost everyone was over at the park. Early in the morning, the line for the shuttle bus usually extended clear across the pedestrian bridge.
In the afternoon, I walked back over to the park to hear the ranger talk. Even though the temperatures were over 100, it didn't feel that hot, because there was NO humidity. I think Zion ranks as one of the best national parks I've ever been to. Even if you don't hike, it's a gorgeous place to just sit and look at the red rock mountains and the quirky sculptures.
