Zion- Utah

Zion National Park is located about 45 minutes away from St. George, UT at the gateway of a cute town called Springdale. It is a beautiful majestic and spiritual place. I strongly recommend putting it on your list of places to visit if you have not done so already.

Springdale- and where we ate dinner one night at the Pizza and Noodle Co.

Originally inhabited by the Paiute and Anasazi Indians, their cliff houses and rock art can be seen throughout the park. Eventually the area was settled by a group of Mormon Pioneers, led by Nephi Johnson. He named the area Zion for the Hebrew word meaning ‘a place of peace and refuge’. The Indian name is Mukuntuweap.

Zion National Park is home to a diverse collection of geological wonders, including formations such as the towering 2,200-foot Great White Throne, the park's most famous landmark; the Court of the Patriarchs; the Watchman; Kolob Arch, a 310 ft. long arch and the world's largest known natural span; and the Narrows of the Virgin River, where a person can walk upstream to places so narrow that both sides of the canyon walls can be reached with outstretched hands.

When we first visited Zion three years ago the monkeys were not old enough to hike the Narrows in the Virgin River. Dr. J and I were eager to get back to Zion and do this incredible all day hike.

The town of Springdale has a handful of restaurants, motels and B and B’s. Most importantly it has several rock and crystal shops. Dr. J and the monkeys love these kind of shops. I love the glass rocks- I have some from our previous trip in our back yard- at three dollars a pound it can be sadly deceiving. I imagine that if I get a few every time we visit, in ten years I might have the glass garden I envision.

After a LONG day of hiking:

A cool Dragonfly photo Dr. J took:

I can really go on forever with info and photos- There are two visitor centers, a lodge and museums- we also did the Watchman hike but I'll leave you with 'extra' info if you are interested in The Narrows Hike:

The Narrows is one of the most unusual hikes on the Colorado Plateau. Hiking is done largely in the river, as for a third of the route, the river runs canyon wall to canyon wall. The walls are vertical and sheer, and often red in color. While water levels change from season to season, most hikers will wade at least waist-deep, and many will swim a few short sections. The hike is 16 miles (26 km) long and is very tiring because it is in the river itself. Permits are required before hiking the Narrows from the top and can be obtained at the Zion National Park Backcountry Desk. Hiking in the river is strenuous. The water is often murky and the bottom of the river is covered with round, basalt rocks about the size of bowling balls. This makes foot protection and use of trekking poles or a walking stick essential. In the spring, The Narrows might be closed due to flooding while the snow melts off the upland areas to the north if the flow rate is higher than 120 cubic feet per second.

http://www.zioncanyon.com/

Have you ever been to Zion?

Where is your favorite place to hike?