Tuesday 5th May – Zion National Park

We drove from Springdale, Utah to Zion National Park, Utah, then on to a Walmart Supercenter near Page, Arizona The park in Springdale where we slept

Day

Bronwen and I got up early in a very foggy car as it had rained during the night and I’d had to shut the windows. We drove to a service station and bought off chocolate milk, which we swapped for the more traditional Australian-style non-off milk. Unfortunately, being American, it wasn’t very nice.

After our unpleasant milk we drove to the Zion National Park visitor centre, parked, got some advice, and caught the shuttle bus up the canyon.

First stop was The Narrows, where we waded up the river a little until our feet went numb. Cleverer people had hired waders.

After recovering from our frostbite we slowly made our way back down the canyon on the shuttle bus, stopping at each stop to have a look around and do some short walks.

Bronwen went on a longer walk without me at one stage (I’m trying to rest my knee by avoiding anything that’s too steeply downhill) while I rested on a log in the sun.

Rock feature in Zion National Park Rock cliffs in Zion National Park Another small animal we met The river flowing down from “The Narrows” A poison ivy warning sign Bronwen finding that the water is very, very cold Walking into “The Narrows” A slightly less hyperactive small animal The cliffs for which Zion National Park is famous Looking around at the cliff walls One of several butterflies we saw A colourful butterfly Zion National Park Zion National Park’s Weeping Rock Looking into Zion Canyon Zion Canyon Zion Canyon from up high. Note the tiny cars Bronwen overlooking Zion Canyon Zion Canyon. Note the tiny cars The walkway to Hidden Canyon Looking down into Zion Canyon A panorama showing the pathway to Hidden Canyon Looking down onto the pathway to Hidden Canyon Bronwen climbing towards Hidden Canyon Looking down into Zion Canyon Virgin River flowing through the canyon Virgin River flowing through the canyon There were lots of red and yellow cactuses Bronwen walking through Zion National Park Ned in danger beyond that point Rock faces in Zion National ParkBronwen walking through the park A pathway through Zion National Park Cliff faces along the edge of Zion Canyon America’s #1 Rock Squirrel Diet One of the many cactuses in Zion Canyon Zion National Park A “little planet” of Zion National Park A possibly ferocious lizard Rock features in Zion National Park An archway with a way still to go Rock features on the road out of Zion National Park Close up of part of the rock feature above Another interesting rock on the road out of Zion National Park

Evening

We left Zion National Park early evening and drove through some heavy rain and lightning to Page, where we—along with about 15 RVs and a handful of other cars—slept the night in the car at the local Walmart, while it rained outside. We also tried to buy some warm clothes but Walmart has moved into summer mode and doesn’t sell anything warm anymore.

Bison doing whatever it is that Bison do The view looking back at Zion National Park Every small town has a main street