Zion National Park (Utah)
If you directly come to this post, you may want to catch up on my prelude note here.
We drove from Vegas (Click here to read about Nevada trip post) to actually reach Arizona, but enroute Utah. So, visit to Zion national park was just like a drive through fast food place. There was absolutely no mercy in terms of heat. We had to continue taking those beatings from the sun.
With innumerable pit stops to cool down with sweet ice tea, icecreams, milkshakes, it was hard to keep a check on the scandalous belly area. But who is weighing?
By the time we reached Zion's entrance dusk was setting in. As we made the incline it was almost dark and what was barely visible to the naked eye was difficult to capture in camera (without a tripod). So, the onward journey was more like window shopping kind. Of course we did not have any remorse for not being able to see the place properly or not being able to take pictures because we were going to take the same route back to Vegas and then move on from there to our next destination.
Keep in mind that there are numerous hikes and trails to take advantage of at the park, but the caveat is that many of these trail heads are reachable only via the hop on hop off bus (no private vehicles are allowed after a certain point) that runs at a frequency of every 15 min (at least in summer). You can get off at the predetermined stops and enjoy the view or take the trail or may be even picnic (something very similar to Denali National Park in Alaska).
There is an entrance fee but the good thing is, the park's entrance fee (charged per vehicle not per passengers) includes the bus trips and also the fee is good for a solid whole week (multiple entry). Remember, you WILL have to pay the fee even if you are just simply driving through the park to get on to the other side with no intentions of hiking or riding the park bus.
At the base of the park there are RV parks, Camp sites, Hotels and Inns, Log cabins for you to stay and enjoy the colors of the natural beauty at leisure. There is a mini township good enough for your evening strolls, shopping and dinner.
Since our visit was a drive through visit we took no effort to ride the bus and go see the actual internal part of Zion national park. May be another visit is soon in order? But here are some shots from my drive through visit.
Setting sun/dusk is the BEST time to see the actual drama in this place. The red sand and stone spruces up its true color with the last rays of sun for the day. The bright golden glow just at the tip of the hill will render you spellbound.
I found these glittering things very enchanting. It says its "Man Made" and you can clearly see it says "Glass".
They were looking so precious under the basking sun. Would be a great addition to my back yard.Wish I could have carried it back all the way!
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| Ok, I am just adding this pic for fun - Look at my shadow, I couldn't stop laughing. I look like some stick figure. This is exactly how my son makes in all his drawings about me. |
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My neon outfit |
