Day 54 - A Drive into Zion National Park

I was up by 6:30 and got ready to go to Zion.  Ken arose at 7, we cooked breakfast and ate it outside.  It was so sunny and beautiful.   Ken had packed our lunches last evening while I did the blog, so we put it in our cooler bag and the 4 of us left in our CRV at 8 to drive 35 minutes to the entrance of Zion National Park.

Ken and I had been here in 2010 when we did a road trip with our friends, Dan and Jackie Hagy.  But, we were only here for 2 days and there is so much to see.  We drove through the town of Springdale, a cute little community where we had stayed in a motor in 2010.  Traveling in a motorhome is such a nice way to see all of these national treasures!  Melissa and Chuck had been here before, and we plan to repeat some of the things we have done before, but also add some new adventures.

After stopping at the Visitor's Center, we decided to drive on the windy but beautiful scenic road, drive through the tunnel, and then hike the Canyon Overlook Trail that begins on the other side of the tunnel.  Both of us had hiked that trail before, but it is so worth repeating. 

This is the Visitor's Center.  All of the buildings here are
so nice and fit in with the landscape!

Quite a view from the parking lot!

These photos are taken while driving on the scenic road to the tunnel -

All the different colors in the rocks are still breathtaking to us!

Nice to see lots of green on the hillsides and not just desert!

Looks like a building on the top of that cliff.  Oh my,
maybe I am dehydrated and hungry again!

The views into the canyon from the Canyon Overlook Trail are spectacular and the terrain is so varied.  It was as good as I remembered.  Unfortunately, we didn't see any of the desert mountain goats on the ridges.

I wanted to see some desert mountain goats, but
they were "hiding"!

It felt so good in the shade!

The guys had to "duck" to get under these cliffs or be near
the edge!!!

This is what is highlighted on the previous photo!

This is such a fun hike with the steps, overhanging cliffs,
spectacular views, etc.

We stopped in Springdale to enjoy our packed lunches, getting back to the CG around 2:15.  We had made plans to skype with Jamie, Bria, and Cali at 2:30 our time, and we didn't want to miss that opportunity. We had such a terrific time talking to them and being able to see their smiling faces.  We talked for 45 minutes and loved every second of that time.

I started working on my post for our blog and Ken took a nap.  5:30 was our Happy Hour time outside under the shade tree where we planned our activities for tomorrow!  We grilled dinner and the 4 of us ate outside under the same tree.  After doing dishes we did our card playing in the great outdoors.  Sunset here is 8:45,so we played 7 Up (w) and Skip-Bo (m) ending at 9:45 and we were still outside enjoying the 84 degrees, 10% humidity, and the very light breeze.  What a perfect way to end a perfect day!