Very busy day starting with a visit to Zion National Park. Logistically I was not looking forward to visiting this park, but the hour long drive was nice.
We entered the park from the east. To get to the main part of the park you have to pass through a tunnel. The Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel is a 1.1 mile-long tunnel in Zion National Park that cuts through a stone mountain. The tunnel was built between 1927 and 1930 and was the longest tunnel of its kind in the U.S. at the time. The tunnel is part of the Zion Mount Carmel Highway, a scenic drive that connects the South and East entrances of the park. There are height and width restrictions to the tunnel, especially since it was built so long ago. Our truck meets the criteria of being an oversized vehicle, so normally we would have to pay $15 and they would stop traffic so we could drive down the middle of the tunnel. We were lucky today that there was another large vehicle ahead of us, so we just followed behind without having to pay the fee.
We waiting in line for a while and then traffic began to move. It was not long and we emerged from the tunnel and were headed to the park.
After you emerge from the tunnel headed west there is a series of switchbacks before you arrive at the park visitor center and parking area. We were fortunate to have found a parking spot in the large vehicle area quickly and then we walked to the shuttle bus area.
Only shuttle buses are allowed up the road into Zion, unless to you have a special permit or are staying in the lodge. From there, though, only buses are permitted. They simply do not have enough parking areas to support people driving into the park.
A short walk from the parking lot and we were aboard the shuttle. We got off at all three of the nine stops it makes headed into the park.
- Stop #4 was Court of the Patriarchs. There are three distinct peaks here, and the hike to the viewing area was reasonable.
Next stop was #7 Weeping Rocks. Again, a nice hike with some elevation but nothing crazy.
Next stop was #9 which was the end of the line. Here was the "Riverside walk" and the "Narrows". We did not have a lot of time by then but we walked along the river walk and to the narrows trail before heading back to the bus. All along the way the scenery was great!
The bus stops at all nine stop on the way back, so it took about 40 minutes to get back to the visitor center and the parking lot. Once there we headed back east and, again, ended up behind another over-width vehicle so we did not end up paying the permit fee.
Zion National Park was nice but we have been to others that are nicer. To me it could be better managed. Scheduling disruptive road work in the middle of the season was crazy. This caused significant disruption in traffic flow today. It is a difficult park to visit due to it's physical layout. Their web site was lacking information that would have made the visit better, such as the interval between buses. The 1930's tunnel is quaint, but they need to fast forward 100 years and improve traffic flow into/out of the park. We are glad we went, but would not go back.
Back at the campground we spent some time with Liberty and researched other things to see and do in the area. The farmer's market in Kanab was running from 5-8pm today so we drove south 30 minutes to Kanab. There were several tables there and we bought some vegetables, but also noticed this unique honey display that included live bees working in a hive. I sent this to our friend and Air Guard Security Forces Defender Katie Flynn as she is also a bee keeper!
From the Farmer's market we diverted south and west to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Here there are huge sand dunes that we formed from the Navajo sandstone eroding over time. These dunes can take on a pink tint as the sun sets, but generally they are tinted orange/red with iron.
We arrived at the parking lot adjacent to the observation deck and walked up the walkway to the deck. There we found a great view of the sand dunes.
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That is where we should have left it, but no, the dunes called our name and we embarked on a journey that resulted in a not so good outcome.
We walked and we walked, and that was OK, but the heat of the sand on our feet became incredible.
I knew my feet were screwed by the time we got back to the truck. The calves and legs were screaming from walking through the sand dunes, but my feet were on fire. We made it back to the campground, hit the shower, iced the tootsies and had a Captain Morgan with Dr Pepper Cherry Zero. Maybe two. The Chicago Cubs were on and we had a pizza while watching the Cubs beat the White Sox in the bottom of the ninth on a Morel walk-off. My feet are burned, blistering. Damn it, I should have known better. Doreen's feet are tougher than mine.
Tomorrow is up in the air right now. We have info on a cave adventure and a western movie set/museum that sounds interesting.. Friday we have tickets for a UTV ride into the Red Slot Canyon/Peek-a-boo UTV tour, which should be fun. Saturday is our last day here and then Sunday we launch out for Salt Lake City area.
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