*Birds we’ve seen on our 2010 trip so far: white-wing dove, Gamble’s quail, western tanager, roadrunner, violet-green swallow, California condor, great blue heron, mountain bluebird, wild turkey, black-chinned hummingbird
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2010 trip so far: 12
*State Parks visited on 2010 trip so far: 2
*Total number of Jr. Ranger badges so far: 13
[Click on any picture to enlarge…then arrow back to the blog]
Last year when we visited Zion National Park (www.nps.gov/zion), we only stayed 3 nights, and even though we felt like we had seen everything, we still felt like we had short-changed ourselves. This year we booked 10 nights in the same campsite…a large pull-thru, shaded most of the morning by the cliffs, shaded most of the afternoon by tall cotton
wood trees, but still providing satellite reception. Towering in the background was a gorgeous view of The Watchman, a giant rock formation so named for its location as it seems to watch over the entrance to the canyon. The first day a couple across from us pointed out something that we definitely didn’t notice last year…The Watchman reflected in our front window!
We had hoped to walk in The Narrows region of the Virgin River again this year, but it was not to be. The National Park Service had the area closed because the river was running too high and fast. When we arrived, it was at 254 cfs (cubic feet per second), and it must be at 140 cfs or lower before the public is allowed access. Now if you wanted to kayak the river, you simply had to pay for a permit at the backcountry desk. This seemed kind of odd, and Russ said to the r
anger, “so you’re saying I can go to Wal-Mart, buy a couple kayaks, pay for a permit, and get in the river, and that’s ok?” To which she replied, yes, and added “it’s your right to die in a national park.” She was trying to make a point that they do what they can to keep the public safe, but people are going to do stupid thin
gs at times. We found this kind of humorous and totally explains why there are so few railings or barriers at the Grand Canyon and on most of the trails here at Zion and everywhere else. By the time we left the river was only down to 171 cfs, so no walking in it this trip. But if you missed last year’s post or want to relive the experience again, go to this link: August2009HikingtheRiver. It will also describe our trip to the east side of Zion which we didn’t take this year due to road construction.
As we’ve mentioned before, all the parks have ranger led programs, and one at Zion that we didn’t remember from last year is called Ride with a Ranger. It’s a 2-hour ranger-led shuttle bus tour from the visitor center up to the top of the canyon with 3 – 5 stops along the way. It’s offered at 9am and 6:30pm every day, and each ranger creates his/her own individualized program. Seating
is limited so signing up the day before is highly recommended. We decided to check it out Tues. morning and enjoyed it so much that when we returned to the visitor center, we signed up for the next morning, too. And the next day we signed up for the Thurs. evening tour! The first stop for all 3 was the Human History Museum, I think mainly because there’s outdoor seating with an incredible view. Each tour was informative, and each ranger brought their own personality and knowledge to the program. Ranger Sally focused on the geological aspects of Zion as well as the smallest creatures in the canyon to the largest and how they’ve been affected by nature, people, and the circle of life. Did you realize that a mountain lion can grow to be 6’ – 9’ from nose to tail and weigh up to 200 lbs.?? We never realized they were that big! Nice kitty!
Ranger Leticia’s focus was more on the people who had lived in Zion and how their lives affected and were affected by the canyon. However, she also pointed out some things that are normally missed by most people. One of her stops along the way was at Menu Falls, a place where the normal shuttle bus ride does not stop. After climbing a small flight of stairs, we were standing on a wooden deck in the middle of a small alcove amidst the trees, lush foliage, and lovely little waterfall. The area has also been known a
s Larry’s Grotto but got the name Menu Falls because a picture of it appeared on the lodge menu many years ago…how creative. Water flowing from this waterfall has been carbon dated to more than 4,000 years old...guess it takes awhile for it to trickle through the sandstone. At one point she encouraged us to close our eyes and just listen, to soak in the sounds of nature around us. What a beautiful hidd
en gem! On another stop she pointed out Cable Mountain and at the top are the remains of the cable draw works that were built in the early 1900s. They were used to supply lumber from the pine forests to the Zion canyon floor, a job that would now take a couple of minutes as compared to days. And on a nearby ledge behind us was a small rebuilt sandstone granary used by the Paiute Indians many centuries ag
o. From this vantage point we also had a great view of Angel’s Landing, a strenuous hike that ends at a summit of 5,785 ft. There’s a series of 21 switchbacks called Walter’s Wiggles that you can see in the picture Leticia is holding. The last half mile follows a steep, narrow ridge only 5 feet across with a drop of a couple thousand feet on both sides and a chain in the middle for folks going both ways to hang onto. We could actually see people walking along the summit (enlarge the picture below right and you'll see them, too). We’ve heard the view is spectacular...guess we’ll just take their word for it.
On the evening tour, Ranger Adrienne also focused on the people of Zion but with a slightly different emphasis, more of a personalized account by quoting many of the first European and Mormon settlers who had actually lived there. Many of the quotes were from J.L. Crawford, who was born in the park in 1914 and whose grandfather was one of the original Mormon settle
rs. J.L.’s life is intertwined with Zion in many ways having grown up in the canyon, having worked on the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel, and eventually even becoming a park ranger. The quotes were mainly of his life being a kid back then, not only of the back-breaking work but of the joy and freedom of having this incredible place
be his backyard and playground. Adrienne also made a stop at Menu Falls and at the very first visitor center built of sandstone. When the park opened in 1909 there were only a few hundred visitors annually…today there are over 2,000,000! You can see how small it is, and we didn’t go inside but rather stood outside as she further described life in the canyon for the early settlers.
Today we decided to hike the Emerald Pools Trail since we didn’t last year. It’s divided into 3 sections: Lower, Middle, and Upper. The trail to the Lower pool is paved, winding through the shade of the tr
ees along the river, ending at an alcove with twin waterfalls flowing from over the rock above. The trail continues behind the waterfalls onto an unpaved trail leading to the Middle pools at an elevation gain of over 100 ft. It was another quarter mile uphill to the Upper Pools, and Russ decided to enjoy the views from here while I continued on. Probably just as well as the trail became more rugged with some steep drop-offs. This trail ends at a secluded oasis surr
ounded by the massive cliffs of Zion with another waterfall coming from above…absolutely beautiful! There were about 50 people resting, relaxing, enjoying the beauty, and watching a couple guys rappelling from the cliff above! I’m glad I went the whole distance, but we agreed that our favorite part of the trail was walking behind those waterfalls.
We did more this trip than we had imagined as we had more time and found more to discover. In addition to the above, we explored the inside of the Human History Museum, watched the 22-minute film on Zion NP, and attended a few evening ranger le
ctures held at the campground amphitheater. Tomorrow we move on to Bryce Canyon, but we want to leave you with this quote from J.L. Crawford: "Rare is the visitor who leaves Zion without being uplifted by its magic." ...And we were.
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