Boy, can a hot day turn into a cold night in the desert! Walked Angie through the clean campground in the coolness of the evening and she was a huge hit! Everybody knew her by name. We had a leisurely breakfast (for us) and hit Zion around 8 AM. We had to leave Angie in the RV, because Zion gets so crowded, they run shuttles every 10 minutes to cut down on traffic, and no doggies allowed.
It is a huge hot spot for hikers, bikers, climers and photo-takers. Zion got its name from the early Mormon settlers who chose it for its peace and beauty, almost heaven-like. Many of the cliffs and monolyths have religious names. The Three Patriarchs, The Throne, The Organ, Angels’ Landing, Tabernacle Dome and Altar of Sacrifice. Gazing up that the enormous color, its easy to see why the early Mormons chose this place, and why they felt close to God here. It feels safe inside the warmth of the colored rock walls. I heard from one fellow visitor that the highest point of Zion is the lowest point of The Grand Canyon.
Bill was anxious to get to the poker tables of Vegas, but not after we took Angie for a swim in the Zion River. She kept finding little brightly colored lizards as we walked.
We decided to save Bryce for another day and headed for Vegas and still another time zone. Highway 15 in the southern portion of Utah is an incredible drive. Weaving between polka-dotted red and orange canyon walls, climbing and coasting. It felt like a crazy new world, with different polka-dotted layers at all angles, that go so high up, it feels like there is no sky. Makes one dizzy. When we emerged from the crazy canyon world, the road went flat and everything opened up. A few cactus popped up here and there. The red clay turned to yellow and white sand. Huge cliffs subsided to hills and then went flat, always with the mountains on both sides in the distance. Power plants with wires strung ahead to pump their power to the city of lights.
We began this day in canyons named for Heaven and ended up in Sin City. Some days are like that, I guess.
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It is a huge hot spot for hikers, bikers, climers and photo-takers. Zion got its name from the early Mormon settlers who chose it for its peace and beauty, almost heaven-like. Many of the cliffs and monolyths have religious names. The Three Patriarchs, The Throne, The Organ, Angels’ Landing, Tabernacle Dome and Altar of Sacrifice. Gazing up that the enormous color, its easy to see why the early Mormons chose this place, and why they felt close to God here. It feels safe inside the warmth of the colored rock walls. I heard from one fellow visitor that the highest point of Zion is the lowest point of The Grand Canyon.