7 June

We left Hurricane (a great RV park) and headed a short distance to the Zion National Park arriving at 10:00am. We were lucky to secure one of the last “first come first served” sites in the camp. As it happened it is a beauty at one end of the camp and a great view of the Canyon. Zion is like the Grand Canyon but the other way around. Instead of being on the rim (GC) we are in the floor of the Canyon with huge red peaks all around. We can sit at our camp site and marvel at these peaks as they change colour as the day passes. We walked back down to the visitors centre and got the low down on what to see and do. After lunch we caught the free shuttle the 7 miles to the

end of the Canyon. The shuttles run every few minutes and is a bus and trailer setup stopping about 8 times at various points where trails start. The short walk we had chosen was to the “Narrows”. The Virgin River flows thru the canyon. The trail followed this river on a paved track for about 1 mile before we waded up the river. There were with many others wading upstream and eventually

came to an area called the subway where the river had undercut the cliff. A great sight. Back at “Ernie” we watched the sun set on the peaks as a family of Elks wandered passed.

8 June

My Birthday! Val gave me a lovely card. Had intended to set off early and climb the famous trail to Angels Landing but as this trail is exposed and there was a strong wind we decided to change our plans and caught the shuttle to the start of the Hidden Canyon Trail. We climbed up the side of Zion Canyon on a zigzag track and followed the right-hand trail towards the Hidden

Canyon. The trail followed some ledges in the cliff with chain hand rails and huge drop-offs. Eventually we emerged into the canyon which got narrower and narrower. This is called a “slot canyon” and at some point was only about 3m wide but 1000s of feet high. Very spectular! Back down the trail and this time we took the left-hand trail and climbed up into Echo Canyon. This is another “slot canyon” and we squeezed thru a very narrow section before stopping for lunch and then returning to the trail head and the return trip in the shuttle to “Ernie”. It was very hot so we walked thru the camp to the Virgin River and joined many others having a cool down in the water.

9 June

We have decided to stay another night so had a relaxing morning around camp. After lunch we caught the shuttle to the Zion Lodge and walked an easy trail to the lower, middle, and upper Emerald Pools. The upper pool was the best but few bother to go to it! Another hot day so after a well deserved ice cream at the Lodge and the return trip on the shuttle we had another dip in the Virgin River. We will do the Angels Landing trail tomorrow.

10 June

Up with the birds and down to catch the 7:30am shuttle up to “The Grotto”, the start of the Angels Landing trail. At 8:00am we started the first part of the hike which was along the valley and then up an amazingly engineered zigzag track out

of Zion Canyon. We then followed a beautiful little canyon until a second zigzag climb to “Scouts Lookout”. Here many people turn back as the rest of the climb is along rock ledges and exposed ridges. Parts of the ridge were only 3ft wide with 1400ft drop offs either side. There were still many people climbing to the top some even crawling. It was a bit like climbing Mt Everest as there were long waits at various times for slow traffic. Why some people attempt it is a bit baffling. It all felt quite safe as there were chains and hand holds wherever needed. The top, where the Angels were supposedly to land, was about 20ft wide and 100ft long. We sat with many others enjoying the view in all directions of Zion Canyon. One Belgium guy asked me the All Blacks score. Fortunately Claire had texted it to us! We completed the round trip in 3 hours and were back at “Ernie” with our lunch which I had carried all the way. After a rest we still had some energy so we rode our bikes to the museum (4 miles) on the only bike track in the Park.

11 June

We decided not to exit Zion N.P. via the tunnel road as we would have required an escort so headed back the same way we had come and turned onto the I15. After a short distance we re-entered the National Park via Kolob Canyon and enjoyed a 5 mile walk up Taylor’s Creek to a fascinating double arch alcove. It was enormous and like most of these sights is virtually impossible to capture in a photo. After lunch we left Zion

N.P. for the last time and headed down the I15 to Cedar City for a small shop and to get some propane. We left the I15 and climbed into the mountains of Dixie National Forest. The road kept climbing and we reached 9,950ft our new altitude record. Our camp at Duck Creek was just down the other side and we enjoyed a cool evening and night. It has been pretty hot in Zion especially at night.



12 June

We are in the part of our trip where we cannot decide to go slower or quicker. It is very hard to judge how much time you need to see stuff you really do not know about. As we had decided to stay an extra night at Zion we thought we would catch up a day by driving straight to Bryce Canyon National Park today. After nearly missing out on camping site at Zion, we got on the road early and were at Bryce Canyon camp by 9:30am. No problems getting a camp site and we headed back to the visitors centre to plan our visit. The rangers are very good. You tell them how long your stay is and your fitness level and they come up with a programme for you. Bryce Canyon is more like the Grand Canyon in that you are on the “rim” of the canyon looking down but the rock formations are totally different with shear jagged small peaks in all shades of red and white. We caught yet another free shuttle to a view point and walked a great trail following the rim all the way back to “Ernie”. It was a great introduction and we could see a lot of the trail we will follow tomorrow.

13 June

We walked to “Sunset Point” for the start of a 7 mile hike along the Navajo, Peekaboo, and Queen’s Garden trails. The first part was a zigzag track down thru some slot canyons to the floor of the Bryce Canyon. The trail then meandered up and down and past many Hoodoos. This is the name given to the huge slender spikes of red rock that rise up. It was an amazing walk and we took many photos. Some of the hoodoos are white, some have holes or

windows thru them and some have unusual shapes and are named, like Queen Victoria. Half way thru our walk we stopped, in the shade, for lunch. It was not too hot however as there was a nice cooling breeze. On the way home we stopped at the store on the rim for an ice-cream. The red dust of the tracks is like talcum powder and a thorough foot/leg wash is required when we return. After a rest and a beer we hopped on the bikes and rode back to the rim to watch the sunset.

14 June

Our plan was to drive to the end of the canyon (14 miles) and then follow a trail that the ranger had suggested. Val unfortunately was not feeling the best (sore stomach) so we spent the morning relaxing (me) and Val hopping in and out of “Ernie”. After lunch we went for the drive and a short walk. Val still is feeling a bit delicate.

15 June

Val is feeling much better! We drove about 50 miles to a one horse town called Escalante where there is an RV park with good internet. We managed to Skype the kids and Lynne and Paul, publish this blog, and transfer some money. I took the opportunity to give “Ernie” a thorough clean inside and out. We have been on some dusty camp sites!