Zion National Park is celebrating its centennial anniversary as Utah’s first national park. Zion was established as Mukuntuweap National Monument by President Taft in 1909 and was expanded as Zion National Park in 1919. Kolob Canyons were added in 1956. Everything in Zion takes life from the Virgin River’s scarce desert waters and the name of the park itself, Zion, meaning refuge, evokes its significance. A showcase of geology, Zion is characterized by high plateaus, a maze of narrow, deep sandstone canyons and striking rock towers and mesas.
The only mistake Hank and I made in touring this last national park on our trip was being there on Sunday of Labor Day week-end. Park visitation was 3, 692 people in 1920 and was over 2.7 million in 2008. We heard last week that Zion broke attendance records this last month and we would believe that from what we saw. No private vehicles are allowed on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. The shuttle bus system was started in 2000 to reduce traffic, congestion and pollution. The buses which generally run every 6 minutes were doubled for Labor Day week-end and running every 3 minutes!
We parked right outside the park in Springdale and walked into the park and the visitor center. We inadvertently missed checking in, but didn’t cheat the park in any way other than head count. Hank and I both have Golden Age Passports which allow us and anyone in our vehicle free access into any of the national parks and monuments. Please be sure to get yours when you turn 62—it’s one of the BEST perks of becoming a senior citizen. And it’s only $10 for a lifetime pass.
The buses were comfortable and had open vents above for fresh air and wide windows on the side for picture-taking. I took a picture of a tarantula painted on the side of a bus because we learned we were there at the height of their mating season and were told to look for them on the roadways and paths we were taking!!! Luckily, we did not see any.
Now for some of the photos we took of the majestic formations in stone, soaring thousands of feet above the floor of the Zion Canyon.
Can you just picture me hanging out the window of the bus snapping pictures of these gorgeous mountains? Hank is so grateful for digital cameras. We elected to get off at the Temple of Sinawava stop and take the 2-mile Riverside Walk along the Virgin River. Hard to believe that this little river has cut through all these sandstone mountains and is responsible for all these towering cliffs. Hard also to imagine that you must be careful and watch out for flash flood warnings. Flash floods, often from storms miles away, can present a real danger and can be life-threatening.
Trickles of water often rundown the side of the mountains and sustain a series of plants and provide what are known as “hanging gardens”—quite beautiful to turn a corner and come upon a wall of greenery tumbling down a cliffside.
We had hoped to walk beyond the end of the trail in the Virgin River itself up towards the Zion Narrows. But after having lunch alongside the river (where a squirrel joined us to enjoy the potato chip I had dropped), we decided not to take this river walk. When you see how many people were with us that day in the photos, you may understand why we changed our minds—too much company for the peaceful stroll in the river we had planned.
We had also talked about doing the short Weeping Rock trail, but found it had been closed due to a rock slide 3 days previously. It happened during the day and, miraculously, no one was injured. They are still checking for any movement in the area before they begin to repair the 50-feet of pathway that was obliterated. We stopped and shared an ice cream at the Zion Lodge and then toured the Zion Human History Museum. This may not have been the peaceful day we were able to experience in all of the other parks, but we thought the park was stunning and hope you will enjoy these last few pictures we are including.
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