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Category: Zion National Park

11 January 2016

Snowy drive through Zion

SR89 north UtahHaving a cold kept me in for almost a week, and I had cabin fever.  Bill had cabin fever.  Even Sasha had cabin fever.  Needed groceries in St. George because local options are limited.  So we took a snowy drive through Zion National Park on the way to town.  WOW!  The snow is pretty much melted here in Kanab making things rather ruddy—that’s red mud.  But Zion, a totally different story.

Zion in distance SR89 north UtahHeading north on SR89 under partly cloudy skies the sun highlighted the white Navajo sandstone cliffs of Zion in the distance.  Patches of white contrast exquisitely against the coral  pink sand dunes as we whized by.  Only 11 miles up the road we turn west on SR9 and already there’s a bit more snow on the ground.

SR9 west UtahThe short drive to the park entrance is delightful and it seems there were hawks roosting on about every fifth telephone pole.  In fact we saw a large gathering of what looked like ravens on the road and I figured there must have been a dead creature providing a meal.  As we got closer a huge bird lifts off among the others and appeared to have something gut-like in its talons.  I don’t like to see death but do understand the circle of life.

A few ranches, tourist traps and campgrounds along the way with the later two being mostly closed under a blanket of white.  So very different from the packed summer crowds and constant lines of traffic.  In fact there was hardly any traffic on this early Sunday morning (suppose all the good Utah Mormons were in church).

Entering Zion National Park SR9 west UtahI love how the color of the road changes from black to deep red when entering the park.  I also love that Bill’s geezer card got us in for free.  Only a few more months and I’ll make that awesome $10 for life investment.

Snow on mesas Zion National Park SR9 west UtahCheckerboard Mesa didn’t quite live up to its name wearing a six inch coat of white and without snow boots there would be no hiking onto the slickrock.

Snowy Zion National Park SR9 west UtahI took hundreds of photos, through the windshield, of this winter wonderland looking like marshmallow frosting on orange chocolate cake.

Desert Bighorn Sheep Zion National Park SR9 west Utah

 

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better we rounded a curve and saw Desert Bighorn Sheep.  With so little traffic we could stop and just gaze at their magnificence.  A couple cars coming the other way barely slowed down to go around them.  What is wrong with these people.

Desert Bighorn Sheep Zion National Park UtahPlus there were more on the snowy hillside looking for forage.

Frozen spring water Zion National Park SR9 west Utah

 

 

Natural springs provide water to wildlife but they’re not always easy for us to spot in the rock plus they’re not always flowing.  This time of year frozen falls and icicles show better where water may sometimes flow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tunnel window view Zion National Park SR9 west UtahThe drive from east to west in Zion is made even more exciting with the historic tunnels blasted through 1.1 miles of rock.  When built in the 1920s and 30s the smaller than today’s vehicles  were allowed to pull into small areas where windows for ventilation allowed glimpses of scenic views.  These are now blocked off and with traffic and obvious safety reasons you are no longer allowed to stop in the tunnel.  However we did because there just wasn’t any traffic.  Not for long mind you.  But it was a first to actually be able to take photos from the car and I like the way the window frames the view.

Snow Zion National Park SR9 west Utah

Once out of the tunnel the road slowly drops into the Virgin River Canyon in long sweeping loops providing more amazing views and decreasing snow on the ground.

Junction to Virgin River Canyon Zion National Park Utah

Virgin River Canyon Zion National Park Utah

My first time being able to drive up the Virgin Canyon as that road is only open to shuttles, bicycles, hikers and Lodge guests during the summer.  Yet there are limited places to park and the trails are not dog friendly so I just continued to click away through the windows until we got to the end at Temple of Sinawava.

Virgin River Zion National Park Utah

The Virgin River flows strong between its snowy banks.  This was a brief stop because a light breeze made it too cold to be out very long.

Virgin River & canyon Zion National Park Utah

Snowy Virgin River Canyon Zion National Park Utah

Then back down canyon between towering cliffs dusted in white.

Visitor Center Zion National Park Utah

And a quick stop at the Visitor Center with no problems finding parking.

SR9 west Utah

Before we continued west to town.

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National Parks and Monuments, Utah, Zion National Park winter drive 32 Comments
24 August 2015

Drive through Zion National Park

SR9 W Zion National Park UtahAfter driving to Orderville to check out a German Bakery, which BTW is excellent, we decided to take a drive through Zion National Park.

SR9 W Zion National Park UtahThat didn’t necessarily mean we’d be stopping anywhere and I know the Virgin River Canyon where shuttles run has been slammed busy this summer at a 33% increase in visitation.  Not our thang.

SR9 W Zion National Park UtahIn fact Bill says this means we need more parks and wilderness for people to experience.

SR9 W Zion National Park UtahI truly love the drive on the east side of the park past all the marvelous sandstone cliffs.

Big-horn sheep SR9 W Zion National Park UtahAnd although it was almost bumper to bumper we did get lucky and see Big-horn sheep.  At first very far away.

Big-horn sheep SR9 W Zion National Park UtahThank goodness for zoom.

Big-horn sheep SR9 W Zion National Park UtahThen right next to the road munching away.

View from tunnel SR9 W Zion National Park UtahPlus the drive through the tunnels is fun.

SR9 W Zion National Park UtahAnd the scenery is superb.

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Utah, Zion National Park 35 Comments
14 July 2014

Zooming to Zion from the North Rim

When visitors arrive at the North Rim of Grand Canyon they’ve usually already been or are headed to Zion National Park.  Guess my guests are no different.  In early June fellow blogger, Pat aka Bibi, from Belgrade but visiting family in Settle flew down to Las Vegas, rented a car and drove to the North Rim for a visit.  We hadn’t met before other than online many years ago.  But as usual we bloggers were already friends and hit if off fabulously.

01 DSC_1824 Zion NP UT g (1024x678)Pat had explored the North Rim scenic overlooks on her own and again with me so we hit the road for the three hour drive, zooming to Zion, for a different perspective of the Colorado Plateau.  The North Rim view for most is from the top looking down but at Zion the main canyon roads provide a neck wrenching look upward.  Although the east entrance road begins up high, after the historic tunnels sweeping switchbacks quickly dropped us to the canyon floor with spectacular views along the way.

02 DSC_1694a GRSE NM from LeFever overlook SR89A AZ g pano (1024x212)Part of the Grand Staircase Escalante NM along with Bryce NP and Cedar Breaks NM.  Geologically speaking, the exposed rocks get younger heading north.  Grand Canyon’s upper young rock layer of 270 million year old Kaibab limestone is found on the canyon floor at Zion as the oldest deposit topped with 6600 feet (2011 meters) of 225 to 150 million year old sandstones.

03 DSC_1709 Old wagon Red Pueblo museum Fredonia AZ g (1024x678)On the way we stopped at Red Pueblo museum in Fredonia.  First time I’d seen it open.  They have displays of Native artifacts inside and early white settlers outside.  Pat felt right at home on the wagon stoop and if it hadn’t been for a replacement tin roof we’d have both claimed it for our own.

04 DSC_1713 View from SR89 N of Kanab UT g (1024x678)The drive north on Hwy 89 provides teasing views of what’s to come passing towering ancient sand dunes turned to stone.

05 DSC_1715 Zion NP UT g (1024x678)A short drive west on Hwy 9 welcomes us to Zion National Park.  Entering at 5700 feet (1737 meters), Checkerboard Mesa overlook where everyone stops and this is the opposite view.

06 Desert Bighorn Sheep Zion NP UT collage (1024x576)Desert Bighorn Sheep, exciting to see in such numbers and lots of folks stopped to photograph them looking at us looking at them.  Previously extirpated then reintroduced to the park in 1973, the herd size has grown to more than 500 animals within their habitat on and off of Zion National Park.

07 DSC_1760 Zion NP UT g (1024x678)

08 DSC_1816a Zion NP UT g pano (1024x869)The rocky views are stunning and we’re barely into the park. I couldn’t stop myself from taking 100s of photos.  OK, so it will be a long post even though it was a rather short 6.5 hour visit.

09 DSC_1835a Tunnel window in rock Zion NP UT g pano (1024x484)Then came the historic tunnels, built in the 1920s, a true engineering feat.  Pat’s little rental car sped right on through but if you have an ‘oversized’ vehicle you’ll have to pay $15 extra for two trips through which stops oncoming traffic so the large rigs can ride down the middle of the road.  The first tunnel is very short but the second one bores through 1.1 miles (1.77 km) of rock and includes windows for ventilation that we drove by too fast to get more than a quick view.  No stopping in the tunnels.

10 DSC_1840a Curvy road Zion NP UT g pano (1024x360)Once through the tunnels descent begins drastically almost 2,000 feet (609 meters) to the floor of Zion Canyon.

11 DSC_1862 View out shuttle windshield Zion NP UT g (1024x678)We parked at the Visitor Center and boarded a shuttle for the canyon ride, all the way to the end is 6 miles (9.6 km) to Temple of Sinawava but there are lots of opportunities to stop along the way for trails into and up.  A quick hotdog lunch so we can do the 2 mile (3.2 km) round trip paved Riverside Walk at the end.

12 DSC_1880 Virgin River Zion NP UT g (1024x678)

13 DSC_1975 Columbines Zion Canyon River walk trail Zion NP UT g (1024x678)Most of the landscape so far looks dry and desert like but the cool shady moisture along the Virgin River gives life to many flowers with water dripping from seep springs on the canyon walls, ferns, moss, monkey flowers and columbines.

14 DSC_1934 Shoes on stone wall end of River walk trail Zion NP UT g (1024x678)

15 DSC_2005 Late light on Zion Canyon walls Zion NP UT g (1024x678)We didn’t continue the actual walk in the river, which I’ve done before, as the sun was slipping behind the western cliffs.

16 DSC_2032 Sunset Zion NP UT g (1024x678)And we still had a long drive home.

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Hi, I’m Gaelyn, the Geogypsy

I retired after 29 summer seasons as a Park Ranger, traveling solo for 40+ years. My passions include travel, connecting to nature, photography, and sharing stories.

I started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a seasonal Park Ranger.  I’ve lived full-time in a RV for 30 years working summers and playing winters.  I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow old, other than grow up.

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