Zion National Park

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Day 16 - August 20, 2006

We left Page and two-and-a-half hours later we were in Zion National Park, Utah. This is another rocky canyon park, good for hiking and rock climbing. But it was incredibly hot (well into the nineties), so we didn’t hike. (This also kept us on schedule, very important to Scott.) We saw two mule deer in the park, major points on those antlers. They were about five feet away from the RV. They were serene and beautiful. This is a place that would be great in late spring or early fall (would be beautiful with all the trees that are in this park.) Zion has full-grown trees that look full-grown; not the scrawny ones we’ve seen in Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, and Page, and even the Grand Canyon. Rain in these canyons can easily turn to floods, because the ground is so dry and arid. In Slot Canyon, some areas have sand running down the sides during rainstorms. Zion also has a couple of tunnels. One of these cannot accommodate a vehicle the size of a RV. We had to pay a special fee for the rangers to stop oncoming traffic so we could proceed through the tunnel without smashing everyone else.

On the drive out, we saw many places with interesting names: Lizard Jewelry, Bit Spur Bar, and Red Cliff Inn. There are many houses made of stone, mostly to help keep the heat out. Some of these houses are very old. We also spied a Blue Heron fishing in a creek. Hurricane, UT was one of the towns we saw on the way. (I’d like to know the origins of that name!) One of the signs we saw declared it the home of “World Famous Old Nauvoo Jam”. Scott declined to stop for a taste.

St. George, Utah was the next stop. We ate supper at Ruby River Steakhouse. It was very good. Shayla, our waitress, said her dad had been to MI once for two years as a Mormon missionary. She didn’t know where in MI, though.

We arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada after dark. Vegas is garish by day, but it could almost be called beautiful at night. It is interesting at least. There is a lot of construction going on, especially at night. It was HOT! Even at night, at the Circus Circus KOA Campground (with about 500 camper slots, no tents).

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Photos

The Tunnel
Oversized vehicles (like our RV) require that traffic from the other direction is stopped before proceeding down the center of both lanes in order to squeeze through

Inside the Tunnel
Driving down the center is the only way to make it through