Fire and Ice

We're back! We've been having such a wonderful time, but since there hasn't been a reliable internet signal for Verizon (here in Southeastern Utah) while we were exploring Zion, Bryce, the Escalante Staircase and Capitol Reef, we've been unable to update our blog until now.

Nearly two weeks ago (Monday, May 5th -Thursday, May 8th), we visited Zion and Bryce National Parks - two of the original and most popular of Utah's red rock wonders.

Huge red sandstone monoliths of Zion towered over the Cottonwoods

View from the Zion Emerald Pools "walk" over the canyon

We stayed in Zion for three days and because of its popularity, we camped right outside the park in a private campground 1/2 mile from the entrance. We were fortunate to obtain a nice campsite right on the Virgin River (the mighty force that created this beautiful canyon) and we relaxed to the sound of water rushing over rocks every evening. Accessing the park and town was easy - the free shuttle system there is excellent - the park service and town have done a great job managing cars and crowds.

Virgin River - the innocent architect of the Zion canyon

Zion is immensely popular right now - not only because it's Spring, but also due to its unique geology (there is simply nothing like it in the world), so there were many international as well as US tourists there enjoying its beauty - a bit of a surprise for us after visiting lesser-known parks where crowds were never an issue. We appreciated the many languages and different nationalities, but we didn't like the crowds (just not our "cup of tea") so we only spent a few days there exploring the beautiful canyon and marveling at the towering rock cliffs.  Even though it was surprisingly cold and windy (in the mid-40's - 50's), we took two short hikes/walks: 1) up to the three emerald pools and 2) up to the narrows - at the end of the canyon (about 7 miles total).  Both were ultra-easy and paved, but quite scenic. With warmer off-season warmer weather and fewer people, hiking the narrows would definitely be worthwhile - so we added that to our "to do" list for the future.

Looking up and up and up!

Passageway through the rocks

Waterfall shower

Small seeps in the rock wall enable gardens to flourish

Much like Yosemite, our favorite part of Zion was the high-country surrounding the valley, with its fantastically twisted and eroded  yellow and red striped sandstone formations.  The contrast of these monoliths - their earth colors offset against the rich, dark green pinion-juniper forest, as rain clouds formed a backdrop on the horizon, was stunning. Green contrasted against red/orange/pink/yellow - marvelous!  The promise of rain was fulfilled.  It poured that night and dripped the entire next day - throughout southwestern Utah and we knew that the reward, in the days following, would be wildflowers - everywhere!

Pinion pine persistence - cake topping?

A storm is threatening

"Petrified" sand dunes of rock

Water everywhere but nowhere to paddle - yet.

On Thursday, May 8th, we packed up and headed for Bryce and Capitol Reef National Parks (Hwy 89 East, to Hwy 12 North, to Hwy 24 East). The drive was spectacular!  The highway twisted and turned through farmlands, pinion pine covered mesas, sheer red-rock cliffs, sandstone canyons, and over a 9600 foot mountain pass of snow and barren aspen forests. Freezing cold, but lovely!

We stopped at Bryce to picnic, quickly view the sites, and take pictures, but chose not to camp there, due to the snow and cold (it was in the 30's).  There were tons of campsites available - everywhere! Who would've thought?  But we had forgotten how high it was, so we continued on. The park lies at 8000 - 9000 feet elevation and the snow sparkled on the tops of the eroded spires of rock. We added it to our list of places to return to  see in the Fall - when it's warmer, yet not so crowded. It's a lovely, magical place with tons of interesting hikes available for exploring the area. "We villlll return!"

Bryce Canyon spectacle

Our new BFF

From Bryce, we could see to the Colorado River

Nature's window

That night we arrived in Torrey, Utah - the small town set next to Capitol Reef National Park. We stayed at a small, private RV park there in anticipation of the rush to "grab a campsite" first thing in the morning in Fruita (the idyllic fruit orchard campground) in Capitol Reef...our favorite campground ever! We'll provide more details on our next blog.

Beauty amidst the "beasts"