In the second installment of my little getaway extravaganza, I hit the road to Zion National Park. I've technically been there twice before, but I've never had the opportunity to really soak it up. The first time, we drove through under the cover of darkness. We were making our first trip up to Sedona to drop the boys off for school and find jobs. It was roughly 3 am, Sam and Dagwood were fast asleep, and I told Lincoln that I bet it was really gorgeous out there...if only we could see anything. Then, Sam and I did a quick drive through and a short hike on our way back. I just remembered thinking that I needed to go back. So, Tuesday morning, I packed up early and made my way north.
It was dark and raining out, and I really wasn't in the mood to drive another 5+ hours after having just come back from California, but when else was I going to get the chance? About an hour in, I settled in and started really enjoying my little road trip. One of the advantages to traveling alone, I've found, is that you can stop whenever you feel like it and you don't have to stop if you don't feel like it. You can listen to the same song 8 times over if you want and have all of the cup holders to yourself. So, once I got to Lake Powell, I decided to stop and check out a couple of spots.
I remember wanting to see the view of Horseshoe Bend when Sam and I had gone there for our first wedding anniversary over 6 years ago, but it was so hot and windy that we passed on the opportunity. Well, I finally made it (along with a few busloads of tourists) and it did not disappoint. It was still very windy out, with the kind of strange weather where one moment is pouring rain and hail, and the next, the hot sun is beaming down on you. Though they were inconsistent, it certainly made for some cool photos!
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| Equipped with only my phone and amateur phtotography skills on this trip, I was't able to capture the view in it's entirety, but I still dig em |
I think that kayaking around it will now have to be added to my bucket list :) Somewhere along the way, my debit card weaseled it's way out of my back pocket and I'd have never even known if I hadn't seen it laying in the trail on my way back to the car. That certainly had the potential of being a very sucky situation, but boy did I luck out!
Farther down the road, I found all sorts of cool little spots to go 4-wheeling, like this one:
I ended up getting to the park just as the sun was starting to go down. A big storm was rolling in, so there wasn't really anybody around...just the way I like it :) Within the first 15 minutes of wandering around, I saw deer and a snake...and I didn't even freak out!
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| How rad is this picture? I mean, really. Not to toot my own horn, but "beep, beep" |
I walked around down by the river for a while, but once the rain started really coming down, I decided that being in a a known flash flood area probably wasn't the best idea, so I took refuge in my cozy little SUV and got my fort set up for the night. Later on, I headed into Springdale to see if I could find a juicy burger and a place to park for the night. With a solid cell signal (for the first time in 6 hours), a full belly, and the rain pouring outside, I slept like a rock that night.
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| The peak on the left is what I climbed to the tippy top of :) |
Just when I was starting to feel pretty cool about myself, I looked down and couldn't help but think of the men that engineered the 21 switchback trail, laid the stones, and paved the entire thing in 1924. I can't even imagine how they pulled it off...it's like something from ancient Egypt!
It was at this point that I began to notice a familiar rubbing sensation developing on the inside of my left heel and decided to switch out my fancy-schmancy workout shoes with the Chaco's I'd packed just in case. Never underestimate the ability to do amazing things in sandals :)
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| The perfect reward for a morning's hard work! |
Like so many things, this hike for me was more about the journey than the destination. Sure the views were spectacular, but the trail itself was pretty incredible and I sucked up every ounce of the experience. I couldn't help but worry about getting back down though...
After making it down, I hopped back onto the shuttle and rode down to the Weeping Rock trail head.
After that, I rode into town, grabbed a smoothie, and wandered in and out of the little shops and galleries. I finished off my evening with a trip to the Imax theater to watch a film about rock climbing in Zion.
I woke up pretty sore the next morning and decided to take the shuttle up and down the canyon, jumping on and off at various trails and ranger stations seeing what I could find.
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| Court of the Patriarchs |
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| Lower Emerald Pools |
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| Upper Emerald Pools |
This cozy little spot reminded me of something a group of fun-seeking spring breaker's would find on a weekend excursion through the wilderness, only to have the pristine waters poison them or some kind of plant choke them or a creature from the depths hunt them in a Friday night Sci-Fi channel movie special.
I started back home later that afternoon and made it to Flagstaff in time to go to a Sage Francis show at the Green Room that I'd had my eye on for a couple of months. Being back in civilization (surrounded by College Students nonetheless) reminded me of why I love being out in nature so much. Even though I hadn't showered in 4 days and had been sleeping in the back of my car coated in several layers of sunscreen and dirt, I still looked, smelled, and behaved better than 99% of them...which is pretty pathetic. I think that Sage Francis himself was the only person in attendance older than me, and that made me feel just a little bit better (it's so fascinating to me to think about being 18 or 19 when I started listening to his music and all of the little turds in the audience were still chewing Lunchables with their baby teeth). In fact, while walking to an ATM downtown, he pulled up beside me and asked me for directions...which I'll take as a compliment. I must have looked like I had my act together enough to glean valuable information from. Anyway, he was as amazing as I had hoped and played all of my favorite songs and I made it home safely to a sweet husband and a cozy bed just before midnight :)