Memorial Day weekend marked my first time ever going to Zion's National Park in St. George. My friend Terrance had never been either so we planned a day and went for it.
Since we wanted to get an early start in Zion's, Terrance and I decided to go down and spend the night with my aunt and uncle. Jan and Frank took us on a lesser-known Petroglyph hike that night. The area near their condo has a lot of little hikes and sites BYU has used for geological digs. There is a lot of stuff just waiting to be found. We started off walking up the standard tourist walking trail. Then, Frank took us off-roading down among the rocks and cliffs into the hidden stuff you have to be an adventurous local to know about. We saw some AWESOME history down there!! Each Petroglyph we found prompted theories and questions about what the people were doing and thinking as they scratched the surface and marked the rocks. Pretty neat stuff! I'd never seen Petroglyphs in person (Disney's Pocahontas being my only source) so I was fascinated.
The next morning, Terrance and I got to the BIG GUNS --- Zion's National Park. We decided on various hikes and just took off. The park is closed to traffic so you have to take park-provided shuttle into the park, then pass through the entry gate, and THEN take another shuttle to the individual hikes and formations. Lots of work, but well worth the waiting. AND...it was nice to sit down and be out of the sun in parts. I was surprised at how un-busy the park was on a National Holiday, but I wasn't complaining. Of course the busiest hike in the park was Angels Landing (but you DEFINITELY will not catch me doing that one). Other people on the shuttle who came from that hike said they could only take a step or two before having to stop because the path was so crowded.
It was really nice to wander and hike at our own pace, and just enjoy and take pictures any place we wanted. The first hike we did was called the "Emerald Pools". It's one waterfall broken up into three separate sections. You walk under the first waterfall, on top of the second, then to the third..
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| 1st section |
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| 1st section |
At the second section, there's a little pool about ankle-deep at its deepest point and then flows out and over the rocks to form the first section (the one you walk under). On this one, I lost my balance trying to walk over the pool on a log, and got one ankle full to last all the hot day.
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| between 1st and 2nd section of the waterfall. |
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2nd section -- here is where it flows over the rocks to
create the 1st section |
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| 2nd section -- this is right where I decided to dunk one foot |
I think the last section of the hike and waterfalls is my favorite. On this one, you actually hike down into it. The rock walls open up to, what feels like, a little oasis. There's a little beach on one side beside a lake, and on the other area there are huge rocks to climb on, and that's where there's a knee-high bundle of rocks with water flowing over them back down the mountain to the first two waterfalls. My favorite spot of the day!!
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| That tree was determined to grow |
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| From the shuttle |
One of the other hikes we did was Temple of Sinahwava. This was the easiest "hike" I've seen. It was a paved walking road the whole way to a gathering spot. You can get water gear and keep going through the river to the actual Temple of Sinahwava, but we didn't plan to do that. The walk was nice and cool, but still really pretty.
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| From the shuttle |
Overall, the trip was AMAZING!! I want to go back again soon -- maybe next summer!
