Zion NP

As we said goodbye to California for the final time in our grand adventure we headed east toward the gorgeous parks in southern Utah, Zion being our first destination. It was a little too long to travel in one day so we stopped in Beaty, NV for the night.

Beaty is a tiny town of gold rush and mining fame and has burros that greet visitors to town. We also checked out an abandoned (ghost) town and an open air art museum while there.

The next day we traveled the rest of the way to Zion National Park. This was another park we had visited with the boys 20 years ago. I didn't remember it as being one of my favorites, a nice park, but not a favorite. (Of course, I'd had a fever while there and that was also where Josh, our youngest's, sunscreen allergy manifested itself. That may have colored my memories.)🤔

All I can say is my memory did this park an injustice. It is incredibly beautiful, majestic and awe inspiring. I'm so glad I've had an opportunity to go back and see it again.

We went on some interesting hikes including: "The Narrows", a hike up a narrow canyon in a river (yes, you read that right, in a river); "Angel's Landing", a well known steep climb with a famous (or infamous) series of switchbacks finishing up on a very narrow ridge up an even steeper slope with chains (for assistance) to the top; and a couple of other nice, but less infamous hikes.

We also took a quick trip to Las Vegas to take care of a few medical items. While there we went to another Cirque du Soleil show, this time the Beatles' show, Love. It was a colorful, hip audiovisual extravaganza. Such fun.

On to pics …

The burros of Beaty.

They had the run of the town and could and did go wherever they wanted.

This was one of their favorite welcoming spots. Except when they got tired of hanging out on that side of the street, then they would just meander across the road. If they felt like it… maybe they would turn around and go back. They frequently stopped traffic. Haha

That early evening, when it had cooled down a bit, we explored. We found this bottle house as we entered Rhyolite, a ghost town. The house was built in 1906. Apparently it was not uncommon for miners to build houses out of bottles as wood was scarce and expensive, but this was my first. This particular house has been used in several movies.

Rhyolite has an interesting history, like a sparkler, it started from nothing, had a brilliant burn and then, very shortly, petered out and died.

Gold was discovered in the area in 1904. By 1905 Rhyolite became a town. By 1906 there was indoor plumbing and electricity. There was also a train station, a school for 250 children, stores, hotels, a three story building and a bank. By 1911 the mines closed and by 1916 lights and electricity were turned off. And everyone, I mean everyone moved out. All over a twelve year period …

The remains of Rhyolite

The rail station

A three story building

The grocery store sign

We also visited an open air art museum as the sun was setting. Made for some great pic opportunities.

artist with palette

Statue against the mountains at sunset

The last supper

The next day, we drove to Zion NP

Even the approach to this park is stunning.

Hiking

Our first day we hiked a canyon to a double arch.

It's hard to really fathom the scale of depth of these canyons, but this might help. Those itsy bitsy little people in the center are Martin and I under the first arch. Then there's a second arch and hundreds of feet of canyon wall above it.

It makes you feel very small and insignificant.

Heading back out

There were two cabins along the trail. Must have been a pretty isolated existence.

It was hot, really hot, so we decided our next hike should be in the evening. Some views on the way to the trailhead.

They built a tunnel to go through this mountain. The rectangular dark spot in the lower right is one of the windows in the tunnel.

Our evening hike started with desert bighorn sheep (sorry, no pics), then we found petroglyphs

and then moved on to slick rock (it's what they call sandstone and it's not slick at all 🤷). The slick rock was beautiful, layers of marbled pink and cream with potholes, some of which still had water in them.

The last bit of sun catching the top of the butte and reflecting in a pothole.

Flora

Paintbrush, Wyoming paintbrush

Acorns ripening

Hackberry butterfly

This prickly pear cactus was loaded with fruit, "tuna". The indigenous peoples used the tuna for jam and syrup.

sacred datura, aka moonflower, Zion lily, jimsonweed

"Infamous Hikes of Zion"

The Narrows

This is a super popular hike. After hiking a mile along the North Fork of the Virgin River in a canyon that increasingly narrows, you come to a point where the river and trail are one. After that, you hike up the river, beside the river, crossing the river and fording rapids. It typically ranges from ankle to waist deep, but it's deeper in some spots, (especially if you are vertically challenged, which fortunately, neither Martin or I am.) The river is cloudy to opaque and the bottom not only has ledges but is also mostly rocky some loose, some solid, some big and some not so big. So, you ask, is this fun? Why on earth would you do this??

Well, it is great fun. It's a hoot. It is one of Zion's most popular hikes and is perfect on a hot day. You do need good water shoes and a wooden pole, but they rent them so it's ok. I was a bit nervous considering my "stability and balance" issues. But I just took my time and only fell once. That was when Martin tripped, fell and I "helped" him up by rushing over, and instead of giving him a hand up, I ended up pushing him back down and then fell on top of him. He suggested I not help anymore. Haha 😂

Not only is it a fun hike, it's beautiful.

Here I am striking out at a good pace with my double poles.

For perspective, that blue and black little thing in the bottom left is a person

We're definitely not alone, but there is camaraderie in facing the challenge together.

I'm crossing to a spit of land

It is stunning in this canyon. Love the stripes along the wall.

Humm, not sure if this was before or after I pushed Martin under … but as you can see, this hike is one of a kind and is amazing.

Angel's Landing

Some background: Angel's Landing is a permitted hike through a lottery not only for a specific day, but for a time slot as well. So if you get a permit, you want to go. It's not a long hike, 2.5 miles to the top (and of course 2.5 miles back down) but the elevation gain is 1500 ft (in that 2.5 mi). That is pretty steep. Of course, if you look at it, it looks pretty darn steep!

There is one super steep section that has a series of switchbacks, 21 to be exact, called Walter's Wiggles that lead up to Scout's Lookout. A lot of people end their hike at Scout's Lookout. A remarkable spot in its own right. The last 0.5 mi is hard, lined with numerous sharp drop offs (on both sides) and the trail is narrow. It has chains to assist in climbing up the steepest sections or for staying steady on the narrowest parts of the trail. We did this hike 20 years ago with the boys and wanted to try to do it again, on our anniversary, our 39th anniversary. ❤️ Sounded like a cool plan, a great way to mark our relationship and marriage. Except…the day we had the permit for, the day of our anniversary, Sept 1, was raining. I wasn't sure that I really wanted to do this hike in the rain. Let me rephrase, I was quite sure I didn't want to do this hike in the rain. I didn't want a repeat of Glacier Point in Yosemite where you hike all day and can't see anything. 🙄 And, besides my camera to worry about ( last fall I had inadvertently fallen into the Pacific Ocean which curtailed my photography until we got home 🙄), I had some concern about our lives. Just sayin'.

Don't I look like I'm thrilled with this choice? Tee-hee. That's Angel's Landing behind me and my camera et al zipped up under my jacket.

But, as we hiked on, the rain disapaited and became more like "damp air" and the Navajo sandstone walls were so fascinating that I forgot that I had thought this was a bad idea …

It's one thing to see all this from a distance, but when you are hiking next to it and really see it…it's amazing. It takes your breath away (literally and figuratively 😂).

Interesting sandstone formations along the way

Mountains, clouds and the Virgin River

A little waterfall from above. The added benefits of rain. Bonus waterfalls!

The famed Walter's Wiggles

(They are very short switchbacks and did I mention they were steep?)

Scout's Lookout

The view up Angel's Landing from Scout's Lookout. The trail goes up the skinny spine of that ridge to the right of center.

The rain picked back up, the rock and chains were getting slippery and we hadn't seen anyone for a bit. So, one or two more good climbs from the top we decided we should call it a day and head back down. While a part of us wanted to push on and complete the climb, the more sensible parts of us said, "ARE YOU CRAZY??? TURN AROUND NOW!!!" So we did. Here we are, nearly to the top.

That is the trail we had already hiked to get to where we decided to turn around. (Right along that skinny spine)

Everyone we met was much younger than us (like 20-40 years younger). But they were all really sweet and very supportive of us crazy old folks trying to do this hike in the rain. Especially if we mentioned that it was our anniversary. ❤️