Traveling with Laura

I’ve visited Zion National Park twice before, but my last visit was well over 10 years ago. My best memories of my previous visits were the oasis of green in the middle of a desert landscape and the soaring rock walls overlooking Zion Canyon. I spent several years’ worth of vacations exploring the American southwest in the early 2000s, then started focusing my travel on Europe. The pandemic has helped to renew my interest in visiting the U.S. National Parks. 

I had a full day of travel yesterday, starting in Beverly, Massachusetts at 6AM EDT and arriving in Springdale, Utah at 6PM MDT. Since the flights for vacation week were so expensive to begin with, I treated myself to first class and the extra space and service were well worth it for the 6 hour flight across the country to Las Vegas. 

I hightailed it to the rental car and immediately hit the road to Springdale. It was very windy yesterday. Like crazy, dust and tumbleweed blowing across the road windy. The drive out of Nevada was uneventful (save for trying to keep the car moving straight!) and soon I was winding my way through the high desert canyons into Arizona and eventually Utah. Springdale is a little town just outside of Zion and will be my home for the next week. Dinner last night was at Camp Zion Outpost, a small but popular counter service place adjacent to my home for the week, the Desert Pearl Inn. They have a great patio with views of the Watchman. I enjoyed a decent cheeseburger and fries and then called it a night.

This morning found me up well before dawn, with time to step out on the balcony and enjoy the full moon illuminating Johnson Mountain before heading out for the morning. 

I had a vague plan for the day, but threw that out the window early on. I had planned to grab breakfast at a coffee shop in Springdale before catching the first Zion Canyon shuttle at 7AM. However, the baked goods were all frozen (I got a scone to save for later) and it was pretty cold outside. Plan B was to take the shuttle as far as Zion Lodge and enjoy a leisurely Easter breakfast before doing some hiking. The buffet at Red Rock Grill was actually quite good (and inexpensive) and came with a lovely view of the early morning sun slowly lighting up the sheer rock faces of the canyon. 

After breakfast, I hit the trails to visit the Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Pools. The trail is somewhat paved most of the way and slowly gains elevation. At the lower pool, the trail hugs the cliff wall as water drips down from the overhang above.

After the lower falls, the trail gains elevation more steeply as it twists up to the Middle and eventually Upper Pool. 

I took the Kayenta Trail back down to the Grotto. The trail meanders along an exposed ridge and eventually drops down to the canyon floor.

My next stop was the Riverside Walk, a paved trail leading to the entrance of the Zion Narrows. The canyon becomes narrower as the trail follows the Virgin River leading to the Narrows. There were plenty of brave souls suited up in waterproof gear to make the trek upriver; I was not among them.

I tend to recognize when I’ve had enough of something, and I knew after the Riverside Walk that I was done for the day. I took the shuttle back to the Visitor Center, drove back to my hotel, and spent the afternoon lounging by the pool reading a book.

I enjoyed a BBQ chicken pizza at Zion Pizza and Noodle for dinner, then it was back to the hotel to relax on my balcony overlooking the river and catch up on YouTube videos.