Zion National Park

The next day we went to Zion. We had been warned about the tunnel into Zion.  It is a mile long, dimly lit, and a hairpin turn to the left at the end. When you come out of the tunnel you are nearly blinded by the light, good to know there is a turn at the end. We parked our truck outside the park in Springdale, then walked back into the park. For environmental reasons, amongst other reasons, cars are not allowed in the park unless you are staying at the lodge or campground there. You ride shuttle buses to your destination in the park. It is a great system. We rode the bus to the Temple of Sinawava, got out, hike the trail and caught the next shuttle back. From there, we got on and off the shuttle at each stop,taking pictures and doing some hiking. It was a full day with a great sunset on the drive back to R Rip Roaring Ride.

once again, Ripley was unable to get his portrait done with the sign

out to welcome us to Zion were the bighorn sheep

after coming through the tunnel, you are soon greeted by the granite face

as you come in through the Zion Mt Carmel tunnel

one of the mountain peaks in Mt Zion

the Virgin River gorge making its way through the park

after hiking from the shuttle stop, you come to the entrance to the
Narrows, be prepared to get wet

Guy takes a break before we head back to the shuttle

the shuttles are double buses that stop at all eight stops

water coming from the wall of rock

the cliff near the grotto

Guy on the shuttle bus, they weren't to crowded but filled

the mountain range in Zion

we saw the mountains but did not hike the Narrows or Subway

the white throne nestled in the mountains

the Patriarchs 

the Watchman near the south end of the park

the Watchman towers over the Virgin River

Zion was a beautiful park, we did not spend long enough there
To see even half of it

a few last pictures as we head back to the RV park

before going through the tunnel

after the tunnel, see how the road matches the mountains

I know many of you will appreciate this sign

sunset on the mountains

was very impressive that night

Bryce Canyon

I don't know if it is every road into Utah or just the one we took. It just blew us away. The scenery was breathtaking. There are 5 National Parks in Utah, we went to 4 of them. Our first was Bryce Canyon, so wonderful. We hiked to the bottom and of course back up, then we drove to the viewpoints in the park. Amazing simply amazing.

from the moment we entered Utah, we were enchanted

it was a bit like the Badlands

we stopped for bread and sandwiches at the new German bakery, pretty good

 we didn't take Ripley to Bryce Canyon, but he study the map

on the way, we past through Red Canyon with its many rock formations

including a natural bridge

but Bryce Canyon itself was breathtaking

each turn was more beautiful, I'm afraid I couldn't stop taking pictures

I won't show them all to you, I picked out some of my favorites

 we started our hike from Sunrise Point

there were tunnels on our way to Queen's Garden

Guy thought he would try climbing

at the bottom of the canyon were the trees

which added a new dimension to the castles

then we started the climb back up

we merged with Navajo loop trail, so it got crowded



we kept speed with a mother, daughter team from Oregon

we hiked through Wall Street along the Navajo Loop

during our travels, we have hiked so many switchback,
And I am still not sure if it is harder going up or down

this whole area is known as Bryce's Amphitheater

see we are still smiling

looking over the canyon from Rim Trail

then the ravens started meeting us at each stop, Guy thought they
were a sign for the Baltimore Ravens

I think there are a lot of holes in that theory

the amphitheater from Bryce Point

with a good view of the Cathedral

we finished the day with dinner at Ruby's Inn