Zion National Park

Jul 8, 2018

A Garden of Eden

Sand Hollow State Park

On June 10th we drove to Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane Utah. This state park was within 40 minutes of Zion national park, and was a nice campsite right off a blue lake. We were back in the heat of the desert! Zion was nearly as hot as Moab, but at this campground we had the benefit of full electric hookups and could run the AC as much as we liked. After so long without climate control, this was a welcome relief.

Angel’s Landing

The first morning, June 11th, we drove to Zion bright and early and caught the second shuttle to the angel’s landing trailhead. We hit the trail officially at 7:00 AM. This was one of the most incredible trails I’ve ever hiked. It was challenging, the views were rewarding the entire way up, and it was truly unique.

It was also easily the most dangerous hike we did the entire trip.

This was taken along the Angel’s Landing trail.

At 8:30 AM, we summitted the mountain!

Very few views have been as scenic or lovely as this one was.

Eventually, it was time to start climbing back down. This was a long and arduous process.

The bottom of the trail had convenient access to the virgin river, and I decided to take this opportunity to grab some riverside photos.

I also got a great shot of an airplane passing by one of the nearby canyon walls.

After finishing the trail, we headed back to the camp to rest.

Self Guided Park Tour

The next day, June 12th, we basically just toured the rest of the park. We did some short hikes to weeping rock, lower emerald pool, and the court of the patriarchs.

I really loved touring this park. My largest regret from the trip is not continuing our hike to the upper emeral pools, and instead calling it quits after only arriving at the lower pools.

The Narrows

The next day, June 13th, we arrived to attempt a hike through the narrows. The narrows are a series of slot canyons following the virgin river. Hiking them requires wading through the river, and carries the risk of a flash flood. Fortunately, the river had received very little rain during our time at the park and it was safe for us to hike the narrows. I was unable to get any pictures however, for fear of tripping and taking my camera for a swim.

The Trip Home

Finally, after two weeks of travel, it was time to begin the trip back home. We had just a few more stops to complete before we could get back though!

In Paige, Arizona we attempted to stop at Horseshoe Bend. Unfortunately, the attraction was full and there was not a spot to park our camper. We had to forego this adventure in order to make our scheduled appointment at Antelope Canyon.

Antelope Canyon

On June 14th, we arrived at lower antelope canyon for a walking tour of the slot canyon. Antelope canyon is a small, unique, sandstone slot canyon on reservation property near Paige, Arizona. I got a ton of great HDR photographs from this location!

We also got some great family shots in the canyon.

Conclusion

On June 15th, after spending the previous night at Navajo Lake State Park in New Mexico, we arrived back in Lincoln, Nebraska. We reunited with the dogs and our own beds for the first time in 2 weeks.

Of all the summer trips I’ve been on, this easily ranks amongst the greatest. It seems like all of our tours in the southwest have been extremely successful. I have grown to love that part of this country. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to go on this trip at all, no less to have it act as a sort of send off before my move to Kansas City. I am sure I will return to many of these places, and I am thankful for the memories I already have of each of them.

See you soon, Colorado Plateau, I’ll be back!