Just a Hole in the Ground

I guess most of us at one time or another have used an outhouse that lacked plumbing. Y’know, the kind that’s just a little shack with a wooden bench that has a hole cut into it, and you plop your butt down over a deep hole in the ground to do your business?

One of my first experiences with an outhouse was at Volcanos National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. I think it was at the Volcano House, but I could be wrong. Nice wooden structure a short walk away from the main building, really smelly.

Most recently, I encountered one at Zion National Park, at the Weeping Rock shuttle stop. It’s a magnificent area, with huge rock walls streaked vertically with dark marks. I remarked to a nice lady there that the scene was incredible, and her reply was “Awesome!”

Zion Weeping Rock Outhouse

Before I left, I decided to take some business travel advice I once read in a little book: “Never pass up an opportunity to empty your bladder.”

Luckily, there was a nice restroom there. But there was no running water. Nope. No water, no pipes. Just some anti-bacterial lotion.

And, there was a beautiful … hole in a bench. A hole with apparently no bottom. But y’know, it was the cleanest, nicest, classiest-looking outhouse I’ve ever seen in my life. But all I can say is, I’m glad I didn’t have to do a Number Two.

Hmmmm, I wonder how those rock walls got their dark streaks anyway?