Amazing on all Scales

Thursday morning started with an unwanted trip to the airport, as we dropped Dan and Lynn off for their return home.  Great catching up with you two, so glad you came out to join us!  From the airport, we drove a few hours northeast into Utah for Zion National Park.  With mile after mile of incredible cliffs and rock formations, the drive passed quickly.  John, Brendon, Lysa, thanks for sharing your photos.

The drive through Zion was an amazing ride along a river cutting through huge rock formations.  Driving high up on a bank, John spotted several deer in the river below.  With no zoom capability on my iPhone, I attempted to get as close as I could to get some photos.  The deer were fearless, I managed to get really close before they started walking further down river.As veterans of the park, Brendon and Lysa pointed out several amazing hikes high up on the cliffs and way back where the river gets pinched between narrow cliffs.  Sounded great, and I would have loved to have spent more time in the park exploring, but my leg limited me to a very short walk down to the river bank.  While Brendon waded out into the ice cold water, and John and Jarred threw rocks into the water, Shannon and I were checking out some of the parks smaller scale features.

After following the river all the way north along Floor of the Valley Rd, we cut up the mountain on Zion Park Blvd.  That’s where we came across an awesome cliff with several strange holes…perfect for climbing.Toward the top of the mountain was a mile long tunnel that followed the contour of the mountain.  Along the way were several window openings that revealed incredible scenic overlooks.  And on the other end of the tunnel at higher elevations…snow.

Timing couldn’t have been better as we drove back toward the entrance to the park.  The sun was setting causing the valley to get darker and darker, while the peaks continued to shine.