Utah Adventure 4: Zion National Park, Part 2

“All this is the music of waters.” – John Wesley Powell, 1895

The Court of the Patriarchs (Click on picture for a larger view)

The rest of my Zion National Park experience continued on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. Wow, what an experience that was. The magnificence of the canyon and the color landscape can only be described in that highly overused word that’s come to lose some of its meaning due to its omnipresence in today’s language, that tritest of words – awesome.

Truly, Zion will strike awe into your soul, awaken your spirit and as we say in Hawaii, whop your jaws. If you’ve been to the Grand Canyon, it’s something like that, except that instead of looking down and across, you’re looking up and all around you.

The best thing to do is stop at the shuttle stops, get out and walk around a bit, camera in hand, heart a-pounding in your chest. The air is brisk and the sun is bright, bringing out the colors of the canyon walls. There is no sound save perhaps for a babbling brook and the muted voices of your fellow tourists. Mostly what you’ll hear is nature in the raw.

Along the way, you’ll see the famous 7,157-foot-tall Sentinel, the familiar Court of the Patriarchs, take a potty break at Zion Lodge, rest your tootsies at The Grotto, view the 6,744-foot tall Great White Throne, and in one of my favorite stops, develop a crick in your neck at Weeping Rock.

Continue on a little farther and you reach The Bend, where three of the landmarks can be viewed from a single location – Angel’s Landing, The Great White Throne, and The Organ. At the terminus of Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is the Temple of Sinawava and Riverside Walk. I recommend you take the walk, at least partway.

If you want to drive the scenic route yourself, you’ll have to visit during the winter season, as it’s closed to vehicular traffic from spring through fall, due to the volume of tourists. That’s when the shuttle buses run.

A day trip to Zion should prove exciting and adequate. However, if you’re in good physical condition and want to get a little more intimate with the park, you can stay there overnight and do some hiking. Heck, there are enough trails to keep a hiker busy for a week.

All too soon, it seemed, I reached the Temple of Sinawava and had to drive back to the park entrance. It took me a while to get back, however, as I couldn’t resist stopping at pull-offs on the other side of the drive to stop and reflect, gaze and photograph.

Here are some of the pictures I brought back to share with you:

Click on picture for larger view

Click on picture for larger view

Coming Up: Enroute to Las Vegas