Utah, Glendale - Tuesday, May 3, 2016 - Zion National Park

After several cold rainy days we have nice weather again so we are headed back to Zion National Park for some more up close viewing of the sights we saw there last week.  Once you get inside park territory the roads blend right in with the surroundings.  They are made from the same red (from the iron content) rock that you see in the mountains throughout the park.

The weather today got up to 80 and was a perfect day to be out on a motorcycle.  This map shows the road we were on as we entered the park, Zion-Mount Carmel Highway is a series of twists, turns and switchbacks (see that squiggly area right before the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive) that lead down into the canyon.

The view going in is still great.  Today I didn’t take as many pictures going into the park, just enjoyed the view.

We were able to snag a parking spot at the museum so we could catch the shuttle to the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.  From April through November personal vehicles aren’t allowed on this road.  These parking spots are at a premium so going mid-week before the busy season starts in a couple of weeks paid off.

The views from the museum are spectacular.

However, the number of tourists here this morning with selfie sticks was unreal.  Why would you want a picture of yourself in every single picture you take?  Then they had to have friends take more pictures of them posing – I just wanted a big stick so I could get to where I could take the one picture I wanted.  This area is called the Towers of the Virgins.  The flat-topped mountain to the left is the West Temple, to the right of it is Sundial and the smaller flat-topped mountain to the right is Alter of Sacrifice.

We caught a nearly empty shuttle to the Visitor’s Center for a quick tour there.  This huge building is cooled and heated without the help of fossil fuels or heating units.  The two towers are cooling towers.  Dry desert air blows across water soaked baffles on top of the towers.  Cooled and humidified air sinks down the shaft and into the surrounding areas of the building.  The stone of southern facing wall is a passive solar “trombe” wall that collects and releases heat in the winter.

Scenes from our Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.  Our drive was interrupted briefly by this guy staking his territory.

This one is called Court of the Patriarchs.  Many of these mountains have names, however, I remember them about as well as I remember names of people (not good).  I need a camera that has a “note” function on it so I can type in a memo about what I just took a picture of.

We rode the shuttle to the Temple of Sinawava where we planned to get off and hike.  There is a choice of two trails that leave the Temple of Sinawava area.  The Riverwalk is an “easy” 2.2 mile hike that follows the Virgin River along the bottom of a narrow canyon.  The second choice is the Narrows, a “strenuous” 9.4 mile hike that is entirely in the cold waters of the Virgin River.  The choice was made for us – the Narrows was closed so we had to take the easier one.

The trail is wide and completely paved.  It is wheelchair accessible, with some help needed in a few areas.

The scenery is once again just breathtaking.  Pictures simply don’t do justice to the magnificent views of this park.

Note the waterfall in the center of the picture.

This cool rest area was a welcome sight.

There is a person climbing this mountain about 2/3 of the way up.  They looked like a little speck and I can’t begin to find them in this picture.

On the way back to the museum we got off a stop early and hiked another mile or so on the Pa’rus Trail along the Virgin River.

The brochure says this trail leads back to the museum.  It does eventually, but the last part of it going back to the museum is a narrow dirt path with some steep steps.  I didn’t risk trying to take pictures of that last part, I was too busy trying to stay upright.

We met very few people on the Pa’rus Trail so we could walk and enjoy the peace and quiet of some more beautiful scenery.

The wildflowers are popping up all over.

Wildlife pictures today were few.  The squirrels are all over and seem to have no fear of all the people around.

We stopped for dinner at the Thunderbird restaurant at the intersection of State Road 9 and US89.

The camera batteries were shot by this time and I was hungry so I didn’t get any interior pictures.  There is a restaurant, bar and gift shop, all very well maintained and well stocked.  The food was great.  We took home some of their strawberry/rhubarb pie (that was a diet cheat that was worth it!!).  The restaurant is known for their “Ho-Made Pies”.  The sign advertising their pies was put up by the original owner back in 1931 when because of the war lumber was scarce.  He managed to put together some miscellaneous pieces of wood but all he could fit on the sign when he was done was “ho-made” instead of “home made”.  Thinking that fit right in with the “folksy” atmosphere of the restaurant he decided that would work.  And it did until recent years when the wording got a bit controversial.  The children and grandchildren of the original owner who run the restaurant now decided to stick with their heritage and left the sign as grandpa made it.