Friday morning, EARLY, we made the long drive (86 miles) from our campground in Bryce Canyon to spend the day at Zion National Park. As you enter the park, you go through the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, which was built in the 1920s so it doesn't exactly accommodate oversize vehicles. People who want to travel through in large vehicles or motorhomes have to schedule that in advance so the rangers can shut down the traffic! Luckily, we were just in our SUV and pickup truck.
I haven't really touched on the special program that made this whole trip possible. Three years ago, when we traveled to Yellowstone and several other parks, we timed it in order to use Noah's Every Kid Outdoors pass. This is a federal program for all fourth graders to receive a pass that grants them (and their family!) free access to federal lands and waters, including national parks and monuments. This year, Audrey's pass saved us entry fees to seven national parks and four national monuments--that's substantial!
After going through the famous tunnel, we were officially in Zion National Park!
The beauty of this most famous of Utah parks is truly indescribable. The road into the park was probably my favorite part. The tall cliffs seem so close, and the reds and oranges of the rocks contrast stunningly with the blue sky and surrounding greenery. It's no surprise that Zion is one of the most visited national parks, and last year received over five million visitors, surpassing Yosemite and Yellowstone in annual visitors.
That said, the popularity of this park makes it challenging to feel like you're experiencing one of America's treasures to the fullest. Despite all my research, we still wasted a lot of time and started our visit with some mishaps. Upon arrival to the Visitor Center just before 9:00 a.m., we were dismayed to see that the parking lot was already completely full. We started circling, and then Chris let me out to go use the restroom and get park maps and junior ranger booklets. During that interval, he managed to nab a parking spot as someone was leaving, which I learned from Drew. Drew continued to circle for awhile but to no avail, so Jamie and Mom disembarked and Drew and Dad decided to head on into the town of Springdale to park and walk or shuttle back. Unfortunately, no one in the group happened to think about needing a park pass to reenter, so Dad and Drew headed out of the park without much cell signal and without a national parks entry pass. In Springdale, they realized that there was no free parking, even though Zion NP advertises a free shuttle but fails to mention the cost to park. Jamie and Mom went to the pedestrian entrance to wait for them with the pass, even speaking to the park rangers about meeting their husbands. Somehow, Dad and Drew managed to talk their way in with a screenshot of the parks pass and did so without spotting Jamie and Mom. Finally, after plenty of frustration, we all found each other and managed to start our Zion adventure. We caught the shuttle and headed to hike the Emerald Pools trails.
The Lower Pool trail was our first to hike, and it led us beneath a beautiful waterfall.
We decided to continue on to the Middle Pool trail, and met our first of many assertive beggar squirrels.
The squirrels in Zion had apparently been fed by so many visitors that they were almost aggressive in their begging. At several points, we feared a squirrel was going to hitch a ride on one of our bags and help itself. It was funny at first, but as our day continued, we realized what a tragic situation people have created. The squirrels don't know how to gather their own food, and many of them starve in the winter (or get very skinny, according to a ranger). Dad observed some teenagers giving a squirrel a tootsie roll pop, minus the stick. When the squirrel attempted to bite it and failed, he saw the squirrel actually swallow the entire thing--and Dad could still see the bulge in his throat from the lollipop! It was truly sickening, and despite threatening signs all over the park, people continue to feed the wildlife.
Anyway... we continued along the Middle Pool trail, enjoying the occasional breeze and rewarding scenery.
We came to a juncture where we decided to head up the strenuous Upper Pool trail. After going along for a few minutes, Mom, Jamie and Audrey decided to sit it out while the rest of us kept going. It was the longest 0.3 mile I've ever done! Very steep, hot and difficult, the trail eventually led us to the upper pool.
After resting in the shade and drinking water for a long time, we got some photos before heading back down.
On our way down, we ran into some friends from home. Audrey is in school with twins Avery and Neely, and they live across the street from Chris' brother Jimmy and Courtney. We had compared notes about our planned Utah trips and thought it might be possible to see them, but it was still surprising to run into them a couple of times in such a huge and populated place!
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| Me and Courtney |
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| Avery, Neely and Audrey |
Heading back down was the biggest reward for that strenuous hike.
Back to the visitor center we went, for junior ranger badges and to retrieve our picnic lunches from the car.
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| I got a kick out of this sign, but it illustrates the serious problem they have as a result of people feeding wildlife. |
After spending a lot of our afternoon recovering from the hike, drinking water and powerade, etc., we decided to wrap up the day in Zion by taking the Riverside trail that leads to the Narrows.
Although very busy with other hikers, this was an enjoyable hike and a nice part of the day to take it.
The sides of the cliffs were covered with lush green plant life and moss because of the water that seeps down.
The Riverside trail ends at the beginning of the well-known Narrows trail, which involves hiking through knee-deep water. In retrospect, several of us regret that we didn't plan to do this after seeing many people who did. We also learned that most people rent water hiking shoes and poles at a place just outside the park just for this hike, which certainly makes it more appealing.
Still, we enjoyed wading in the COLD water and watching people returning from hiking the Narrows.
We headed back the way we came and caught the shuttle from there back to the Visitor Center area.
From the visitor center, we decided to walk into Springdale and find somewhere to eat rather than driving in. Plus, Drew's truck was still parked there. We enjoyed dinner at the Spotted Dog, then hit the road back to our campsites in Bryce Canyon.
That night, when we got back to camp I had a pounding headache. I drank some water and took ibuprofen, then went straight to bed. I felt pretty exhausted and drained, but we had quite a full day. The next morning, I felt tired and listless and realized I had signs of dehydration. I started drinking lots of water but also took a Covid test, since I had that feeling of no energy. It was negative, but as the day progressed I noticed a dry, itchy rash appearing on both hands and up my arms. As the day went on, I gradually began to feel a bit better, and I was just constantly drinking water to try to rehydrate. As far as the rash, the anti-itch creams didn't really help but lotion provided some relief. I even got some Benadryl to take orally, but it didn't make a difference. The rash slowly faded over the next week or two, but still bothers me. I still think it's an effect of the dry climate and my dehydration. What an experience!
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