Zion on Memorial Day Saturday - good planning Dave. Well it is when were are here. Plus I did not realize Memorial Day was this weekend. Oops. Still we were up and out by 6:20 for our one hour trek to Zion. We entered from the East side with no delays, through the crazy rock hewn tunnel (built in two years starting 1928 - some of our current building projects should take a lesson). We arrived at the VC at 7:28 - there were zero parking slots! However, I recalled that there were a very few, maybe 30 spots, at the Human History Museum. And guess who got the last one! We shuttled back to the VC and got in line for the bus to the end of the canyon. Only took 35 minutes to get a bus. At the hike to the narrows, it was not too crowded but very busy. Still enjoyable. We veered off the trail and walked along the river a couple of times. Then back on the shuttle and a stop at the Weeping Rocks. This is a place that I have often had to myself, not today. Lovely spot however. Then to the lodge for a cold drink and the hike to the Emerald Pools. They were neither emerald or pools today, not enough water to make a pool of any color. Back to the bus stop and return to the car where I gave up my spot to a very grateful family. We stopped just before the tunnel and perched on the edge of the road - safely - while we ate our picnic lunch. We made it through the tunnel in pretty good time but the wait on the other side must have been over an hour.
I was glad to visit Zion with Jill but I took only a few photos. Crowds were a factor, heat a bit and lack of opportunity to walk easily in certain places. Plus, I have four other trips worth of scenic shots and this was not the best day for taking time for good photography. We returned to Kanab, had a nice walk in town, ate a very good dinner at the Wild Thyme Restaurant and settled in for the night.
Oh, I almost forgot, since they are not open on Sunday, Jill and I managed to share another scoop of the delicious Bobbie and Nate ice cream from the Brown Box. The amazing Lemon-lavendar is one we will try and recreate once back in Knoxville.
Jill and the start of the Narrows along the West Fork of the Virgin River.
The meager drips of the Emerald Waterfall.
Along a hike