A Day at Zion and a Taste of Bryce Canyon

There was no hesitation once we woke up to head into Zion National Park. Driving in (not so early in the morning) we somehow managed to get a parking spot near the visitor center. Once we got our passports stamped and did a little shopping, we realized you could only get around the park by shuttle. A lot of stops on the route were closed since it was mid May at this point, however we were still in for some picturesque views. Zion became a National Park in 1919 and is proclaimed to include one of the most dangerous hikes in the United States.

Starting off on an easy hike, the shuttle dropped us off at the Lower Emerald Pool trail. This hike is about 3 miles round trip. Here, we saw some beautiful waterfall views. The plants lining the walls of rock happened to be one of my favorite aspects of the area.

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Back on the shuttle we of course had to venture over to Angel’s Landing. The hike is only about 5 miles roundtrip. That, along with 1,500 feet of elevation gain in 2.5 miles. Needless to say it was one of the most unique hikes we did on this trip. The switchbacks were brutal and the sun was intense, but the view from the first overlook is well worth it on its own. That morning we knew it was forecast to rain, but we couldn’t pass the opportunity up. When we got to the overlook about a half mile from the top, we sat down to take a lunch break and enjoy the view. Behind us we noticed the sky darkening and the clouds rolling in. Regardless, we decided to keep on the trail and traverse the rocky terrain. All I’ll say is that I’m happy those chains are there to hold on to, especially when passing people coming from the opposite direction.

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The weather turned dreary, but we hopped on the shuttle and continued to the Narrows. Prior to our trip a friend of mine mentioned how the Narrows were a must see so I figured I’d trust him and check them out. Unfortunately the timing wasn’t right and this trail was also closed. There was a light misting of rain as we walked along the river and a nice old man offered to take our photo. Taking in the views on the way back to the visitor center once again, we concluded our time at Zion.

The drive out of the park had its own perks. We left through the east side and drove through a nice little tunnel that seemed to lead us to Mars. The rocks turned from marbly looking mountains to red sandy structures. A little down the road was failed attempt #2 at petting some cattle. Now it was time to head to Bryce Canyon National Park! You really can’t go wrong with road tripping through Utah, especially through the southern half. There’s so much to see and so many fun places to explore. John was only staying with us for roughly four days so we wanted to fit in as much as possible with him.

As we were driving through some flat land, I saw something up ahead that looked fairly odd. A few more minutes and we determined what the strange sight was. All of a sudden we were caught in a hail storm. It was the weirdest thing; on one side of us it was completely sunny and the other cloudy with “hail” clouds if you will.

We drove into Bryce Canyon a little late in the day, missing the visitor center hours, so we decided to stay the night in the area. But first we had some daylight left to kill so we drove to see the Amphitheater at Bryce Point overlook. The view was incredible in the golden hour as the sun dipped lower into the sky. Again, clouds started rolling in and this time we were caught in a snowstorm. Although it was a bit of a nuisance, it transformed the landscape, showing us another side of itself. John got his camera gear from the van and went to town on taking photos. Not being a far walk from the parking lot, we headed back for a little while to make some dinner. I also ventured down the path a little bit to see the area from a different perspective, but decided to head back shortly after to grab some of the food. We went back out to the overlook, watched the sunset, and left the park. Luckily enough right outside the entrance gate was another BLM campground. After a jam packed day, we called it a night.