Zion National Park

Sandersons' Summer RV Tour Home to Alaska 11-Apr thru 8-July 2019 (Alaska Travel Log) (Previous Location) (Summer RV Tour) Click here to send comments.

29-May-2019, Zion National Park Today we went to Zion National Park. It was much closer to St George, only 45 miles. We has been told that we would not want to drive into the park because we would have problems parking. After the nice tour yesterday at Bryce we were hoping Zion might have the a similar tour. Zion has a very good shuttle service and it covers all of the park but there was no tour. (Driving into the park you are limited to only a small section of the park.) To see Zion you must ride the shuttle and hike on the trails, not just stop at the view points, so keeping out cars and providing good shuttles is a real Plus. We wanted to see the Virgin River Narrows so we rode the shuttle to the last stop and then walked the Riverside Walk, about 2.2 miles and very beautiful. The trail ended at the but entry into the Narrows was closed. The river flow rate was well above the limit where people are allowed to proceed further into the Narrows because this area would have required walking in the river with solid walls on both sides. Next we rode the shuttle to the Emerald Pool Trail. This trail was much shorter but required more energy to walk up and around the mountain to reach the falls. Here having a larger than normal spring runoff resulted in the falls being much more active than normal and well worth the effort to reach them

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28-May-2019, Bryce Canyon National Park    `Today we went to Bryce Canyon National Park. After a 2 hr drive we arrived at Bryce Canyon City and enjoyed a Cowboy Buffet at Ruby's Inn. After lunch we procedded to the Bryce Canyon Shuttle for the Rainbow Point Tour. This is a 3.5 hour tour of 40 miles stopping at many of the view points. The bus driver provided a very interesting naration during the trip. The weather was not too friendly with overcast sky, intermittant light and snow flakes. Rainbow Point     The first stop on the tour is at Rainbow Point. Here there was several inches of snow on the ground and light snow flakes. We were very glad that we dressed for cold weather. Agua Canyon     Here we were met with a friendly Raven that wanted to pose for photos. Additionally the view was beautiful. Natural Bridge     This is a very photogenic location. In the past many people have been photographed under the arch, no onger allowed, and even riding a horse on top. Red Canyon     Just outside the park is the Red Canyon. On our way home from the park it was in the sun and showed the famous RED rock colors that we missed in the park due the the overcast.

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26-May-2019, St. George Area    `Drive a local 70 mi loop seeing two very interesting parks and varying country side and small towns. Snow Canyon State Park, UT.     Here we saw fields and mountain sides covered with rows of Black Rock. Stoping at one view point we learned that this area was covered with lava fields that are the remains of a long-ago volcanic eruption. The rock is the result of lava tube formation created from the valcano. Gunlock State Park     Gunlock State Park contains a 266-acre reservoir and a rare water fall. The falls only exist when perfect weather conditions allow. Most days these are just a pile of dusty sand and rocks. Several years can pass between showings of the waterfalls. This is a desert area and the waterfall will only appear when the snowpack is large, how much rain has fallen, and in the spring. We were lucky and the Elks RV Park Host told us to be sure to see this event.

Gunlock Falls

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18-May-2019, Capital Reef National Park - Capital Dome - Grand Wash Road We walked 2.4 miles round trip. - American Indian Petroglyphs. Petroglyphs carved on rock walls by people who lived here aboot 300 to 1300 Common Era and earlier. The stories told on these rock walls depict maps, journeys, clan symbols, deities, animals, and Calendars.

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Last Updated: 31-May-2019 Copyright © 1997-2019, Gary Sanderson, All Rights Reserved