Sunday, October 3, 2010

Life Adventures: ZION National Park, Utah USA



Zion National Park
Utah, USA
www.SomeThingsCreative.com
This beautiful National Park is a unique sandstone canyon forged by the
Virgin River.

Located in the Southwest corner of Utah off I-15 this park is only a couple hours from Las Vegas, 4.5hrs from Salt Lake City and 8hrs from Los Angeles. The directions are simple and the drive is enjoyable.
Gina and I took off from Long Beach, CA on a Friday afternoon. We knew we
would be battling traffic on this Holiday weekend but we were ready for an adventure!


Zion park has an incredible FREE bus system that allows you to leave your car at the campsite or even outside the park. They run every 5-10min and stop throughout the canyon near points of interest. You can hop on and off the bus as you please. First bus heads up the canyon at 6am and the last one down is at 10pm
In 2000 the bus system was initiated to reduce the number of vehicles in the park. Parking and bus access is available at the Visitors Center just inside the park.


Immediately the wildlife is present and it's a blast. These fearless
Chipmunks love to interact with the visitors and pose for pictures.
"Please Don't feed the wildlife"



The trails are really well maintained like this one pictured below. This accessible trail leads up to the tail end of the Narrows.

Ancient water that seeps from this sandstone rock.

Little creatures everywhere.

Sacred Datura (Datura wrightii) grows on the canyon floor and blooms at night. A very interesting and beautiful flower.





The Narrows is an amazing 16mile slot canyon. On this section of the North Folk of the Virgin River the water has cut vertical walls that rise up out of site.


Having the proper hiking shoes is essential for hiking the Narrows. These Keen sandals are great option for hiking in the water. Its important to have a closed toe shoe or sandal when hiking around submerged rocks. You'll be happy you did.


Waterfalls can be found in numerous locations along this hike up the river.


Having a good walking stick can be very helpful.


Sandstone walls scooped out by rushing currents.

Colors everywhere

Lunch break about three miles up stream. Gina took her Camel pack and I carried a backpack with a 1.5L bladder for water. We packed a lunch, headlamps, hoodies and camera gear.


Back at the bus stop people wait to head down the canyon

Nothing like swimming in the river after a hot day of hiking and playing.
It is a very peaceful place

Water used sandstone as its canvas and created beautiful rock features. Throughout the park examples of this relationship can be seen and its beautiful.

Hiking Angels Landing is a trip not to be missed. In this shot you see 21 switchbacks leading towards the top.

Lots of scrambling.

Certainly NOT for anyone who is severely afraid of heights or precarious situations.
This is a challenging hike both mentally and physically. I encourage you to push yourself and enjoy one of most spectacular views in the park.


Looking up canyon towards the Narrows

What a great accomplishment for anyone who takes in this view.


Safety chains give peace of mind to a lot of folks.


Photographing along the trail...





Whoa!

You see interesting formations in the rock everywhere!

In the late 1920's as part of Carmel Highway they blasted a 1mile long tunnel straight through the rock. They cut gallery windows into the face to clear the debris.


In the tunnel about to pass a gallery window.
The Gallery window!
Imagine working on this project over 90yrs ago.

Interesting stuff



South Campground is on first come first serve basis. We were able to pull in first thing Saturday morning and get a campsite. Campgrounds do fill up on popular weekends. Situated next to the river with a gorgeous view of Watchman Tower this site was perfect.

Watchman Tower

Coffee in the morning.

I must say, it's a beautiful place to spend time writing and taking photographs.



I highly recommend visiting Zion National Park. The ease of access to beautiful natural places in the canyon makes this trip all the better. The park staff are very friendly and helpful. It is also very clean with trash & recycling bins everywhere.

Check out more photos of Zion HERE

Interested in going to Zion?
Check out Life Adventures by Some Things Creative. We plan your trip and make it happen!

Want to thru-hike the Narrows, overnight backpack or just relax at the campsite campsite? We take care of everything and teach you skills along the way.



~Timothy