Zion National Park

On the way from Salt Lake to Zion National Park we stopped in Beaver, UT for the night at Beaver Canyon Campground. The lady said she had one spot left, but it was kinda narrow……. I can get MzDazy into anyplace!

Most of the sites seemed to be more permanent in nature. They had built cool living spaces along side their RVs. This one across from us appeared to be a bar. Too bad nobody was home!

A couple of spaces over was this one that was Gambrel shaped and the entire end was glass. They had a wood burning stove and an unobstructed view of the mountains.

In Virgin, UT we passed this cool tourist trap. Before we leave, Martha will get me in there!

We arrived at Zion NP later in the afternoon. Parking was full for miles. After getting turned away from the RV parking area by a great employee, we went and checked in with the 2 campgrounds in the park to see if they had any cancelations. No luck. We decided to drive by the RV lot on the way out and the attendant ran out waiving at us to pull in. I think he was more excited than we were that a space had opened up. That gave us the opportunity to go to the visitors center and make a plan for the next day. See MzDazy hiding in the back?

One benefit of poor planning is that it forces you to find better places. This is a section of BLM land we had passed on our way to the park. There had been a thunderstorm and flash floods we drove through leaving the park. The views here beat any in the park campgrounds by a long shot.

You could not turn in any direction without a spectacular view.

And then the sunset started lighting everything up, no wonder they call it the Golden Hour.

Since it was muddy after the storm, we spent some time adding to the Halloween decor.

This one will probably stay all the time as it seems fitting on the toilet seat cover!

MzDazy’s fancy hiking boots came in handy when all that red dirt turned into slimy mud. A less well equipped Sprinter van got stuck right behind us. Silly Vanlifers, you can’t keep up with MzDazy!

Martha had a great idea to get us a parking spot in the RV lot for the next day. We got up early, grabbed a cup of coffee, and enjoyed the sunrise on our 20 mile drive back into the park. Once we had a spot secured, we made breakfast and got ready for the day ahead. Our National Parks are not dog friendly at all. There is one paved trail in the park that Ruckus was allowed on. Other than that he had to wait in MzDazy while we went hiking. That is why it was important to us to park inside the park where we could get back to him sooner.

We rode the park shuttle to the end of the line and set off on a hike along the Virgin River to the area they call the Narrows. The scenery is awe inspiring. The Narrows is a section of the Canyon so narrow that you have to walk in the river to pass through. We were not properly equipped so I guess we will have to come back in the future to do that.

Martha makes some of Mother Nature’s best things better!

The sandstone walls make the neatest shapes when they fall. I was trying to figure out how the plants grew out of the cracks like that.

Everyplace you look, you just can’t get enough!

I know you can’t make them out, but the tiny ants at the top of the cliff are people walking a trail that is very narrow and has 1000 foot drops on both sides. Those of you that know me, know I won’t be one that trail!

Our second hike of the day was to the Emerald pools. There are 3 of them at different elevations and distances. Being our second hike, we opted to just do the lower one.

I was able to climb behind part of the waterfall. It was nice and cool back there.

One of my favorite things to photograph, Martha.

My other favorite things to photograph, AIRPLANE!!!!

Ruckus did get to go on a short hike after lunch. Mom and Dad were getting pooped.

Check out that cool sandstone arch up there.

See, I told you we would stop into that tourist trap. It was kinda fun though, don’t tell Martha I said that.

After nearly 8 miles of hiking in the park, relaxing with a view is defiantly in order.

Ruckus was a trooper today mostly snoozing in MzDazy, so he got to finish off the ice cream.