Day 17: 3 hikes in Zion

We must have slept in, because we didn’t get into the car to head out for our first hike until 11:30. Many of the other campers had already left. In fact, many of them had cleared out for good. We weren’t sure why, because the bad weather had passed, and the forecast for today was good: a high of 54 and a low of 34. The visitor center posted a very handy 7-day weather forecast for both Zion and Bryce Canyon every day. Our original plan was to spend 2 nights in Zion before heading north to Bryce Canyon, but after watching the weather pattern, we decided against it. Bryce Canyon is double the elevation of Zion, so lows were below the 20s at night. Zion really has a lot to offer, so we’re not too disappointed. Now we just have to come back to visit the other parks.
We decided to stay another night in Zion, but as there was a 40% chance of rain for tomorrow, we had a lot of hikes to get to. The three hikes that we were interested in depended slightly on good weather: Angels Landing and The Watchman for the clear views, and The Narrows for avoiding flash floods.
We packed a lunch and headed first to Angels Landing.

The good weather and the late start perhaps, brought all sorts of people out. The hike up was just over 2 miles, but there was some good climbing. The rock is just so incredible here. It looks the same as at Observation Point, and yet different.

There seemed to be more cavities in the rock, but the terrain was similar.

The guidebook says that this hike is not recommended for acrophobes, but since it said the same about the Observation Point trail, I thought nothing of it. Wrong. Angel’s Landing is no joke.

After 2 miles, the path turns into a rock with some chain mail nailed into it. Our new guardrail was the only way we knew which way the trail went in some spots. My heart raced from anxiety instead of from fatigue.

The views were beautiful, but I’ll take the safer, albeit longer, Observation Point trail.


The way down was scarier than the way up, but we were back on solid trails before too long. We stopped for lunch about a mile from the bottom, and enjoyed a view of the river before the sun hid behind a mountain and we got cold.


Our next hike was only 2 miles round trip, and was really more of a flat amble than a hike. The Narrows trail started just a few miles down the road from the Angel’s Landing trail.

It was a pretty walk, but after a few minutes we noticed that other people had something that we didn’t. In fact, it was beginning to feel like Yellowstone all over again. You know-where everyone has a tripod and a ridiculously large pair of binoculars and we have mini pocket size ones? Well, everyone on the way back from the hike is wet from the knee down and most of them also have special shoes on.

It turns out that the exciting part of the hike is off of the trail and through the river. The Narrows is in between two towering rocks and must be stunning, because people are crossing the river 2 times to get there. 4 times if they wanted to come back. And don’t forget that the high for today is in the low 50’s.


Clint and I learned that people were renting gear in Springdale for $35. This pertinent information wasn’t listed in our guidebook or at the hike’s entrance. Regardless, we had a good time ambling about.
We headed back to our campsite and after a brief brake, decided to try out the Watchman. This hike was recommended to us by the campsite hosts, and started right behind our campsite. The Watchman wound up a mountain with a great overlook after only about 2 miles.

From the top, we watched the sun set and could just make out the campground at which we were staying.

We probably would have needed some of those large, fancy binoculars to find out tent though. We made it back to our campsite just before we lost all of the light and started our dinner. We were having sautéed habanero sausages with macaroni and cheese. That probably sounds gross. It was delicious and warm though; especially after 3 hikes. We enjoyed it out by Clint’s big fire; the sky was clear and we could see millions of stars. It was a very good day.

Road Trip Day 16: Zion NP: Observation Point hike

We woke up early to an overcast sky. The weather was cold, but really had nothing on the chill we experienced at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone. We made coffee and oatmeal and were able to enjoy them outside without getting wet. We packed sandwiches for the day and made sure everything was covered before heading out.
The hike that we chose for the day was just 8 miles up the road.

It was cold and a bit rainy out, so the trails were pretty unpopulated. Observation point was 4 miles up, with about 2500 feet of climbing, and 4 miles back down.

We climbed up through fall colors, smooth rock walls, and stunning narrows.



Parts of our hike were hot, as rock walls protected us from the wind, and we were able to strip down a few layers. As we assented, however, light rain turned to hail, and gusts of wind made us wish we had brought gloves. The view from the top was worth the cold and the climb and then some.



We looked down on the winding Virgin River and countless rock formations, including the White Throne; a light colored plateau atop red and orange mountains.


The foliage at the top of Observation Point was mostly short, dry looking brush. But, there were also a few trees, and their roots twisted around the rock to hold on. There were also a few purple and yellow wildflowers. In short, the terrain was overwhelmingly awesome. Neither of us could hurry our way up, there was just too much to take in. It is unlike anything we’d ever seen. We were definitely experiencing sensory overload.





After descending, we headed back to camp.

 It was not yet 5, but we were tired and wanted to make dinner before it got dark. We arrived to lovely campsite 71 to find that the sun was back. The mountains behind our campsite were aglow an awesome shade of orange.

We made some quesadillas and pozole soup (from a can, we’re not that impressive) for dinner, and enjoyed it in the setting sun.  We retired to our tent early, and were finally able to crack open our books. Clint is reading On the Road again, and I’ve just started my book club book, The Help. It really feels like vacation when you get to read outside. I’m not sure why. We’ve been enjoying ourselves so much on this trip so far that we’ve failed to open our books, despite the amount of free time we have.

Road Trip Day 15 - Provo, UT to Zion National Park

We ate the free breakfast provided by the hotel and loaded the cooler with ice before starting the drive to Zion. The landscape got increasingly beautiful as we headed south. The sun was shining and we made sandwiches in the car so we could get to Zion in time for a short hike. Just outside of Zion, we picked up some fresh apples at a cute, albeit touristy, town called Springdale. Springdale mainly had bed and breakfast places and rock and gem shops, but it also had character. We stopped at a cute barn for some local apples before continuing into Zion NP.
Zion is stunning.

There was way more foliage than either of us had expected.

Our campsite was right on the Virgin River and surrounded by jutting red mountains. We were really lucky to get such a nice campsite; it was on a path, so we had to park a few hundred feet away and carry our stuff down. We did not mind at all since this meant that we were not very close to any other campers, or to the camp road. There were more campers out than we anticipated as well. It makes sense when you think about it: it’s unseasonably warm for fall, and summer has got to be horribly hot. We set up camp before heading out on a short walk behind the campsite. We didn’t finish the hike, as the sun was setting, but we were so impressed with the landscape that we had to check some of it out before settling into the campground.

We headed back to make dinner before we lost all of the sun. We had the last of our salad and huevos rancheros and were even able to sit outside to eat. The low for tonight was only 48! We love Utah so far (minus Provo)! No bear boxes, or raccoon problems at Zion. Without a campfire, the wind just cuts right through to your bones, so we took this as an opportunity to get to bed early and read the guidebooks. We were both so excited to check this area out that we wanted a good nights’ sleep.

Road Trip Day 14 - Jackson Hole, WY to Provo, UT

The next morning, we followed the receptionists advice and headed to The Bunnery. This place was jam-packed, so we opted to get some of their homemade pastries and eat in the park. We had our pastries on a park bench in the sun and people watched for a while.

It wasn’t too hard to spot the locals-they all seemed to dress the same: leggings and a sporty down jacket and flats for the girls, jeans and a brightly colored down jacket for the men. We walked around and checked out the shops after our breakfast. Everyone was really friendly, but the shops were pretty pricey.
We left before the Christmas tree ceremony, which we thought was some strange local event, I mean, it isn’t even Thanksgiving! We found out later, however, that it was a 6-ton tree cut down from Teton NP for the White House. The tree’s first stop was downtown Jackson. Wyoming is very excited that their tree will be gracing the White House for the first time.


After noon, we got some burritos and hit the road. We’ve seen a lot on this trip so far, so we’ve started playing the game, "where would you rather live?" So far, Idaho Falls is at the bottom of both of our lists. There are many parts of Idaho that must be beautiful; Idaho is covered in National Forrest land. Idaho Falls is not one of these places.
We drove until we hit Provo, which is where we stayed for the night.

Provo is a college town (BYU), so we were hoping for some good eats. However, people don’t seem to use Yelp in Utah, so we were kind of on our own. The hotel was within walking distance from a strip of restaurants and we chose Rice King Provo for take out. Bad choice. I guess you can’t win them all.

Day 13: Yellowstone to Jackson

We woke up warm and cozy in our hotel before driving the 5 miles into Yellowstone. Once inside the park, we set up for a camp breakfast outside the Albright visitor center. We boiled some water for oatmeal and coffee right there on a park bench. It was still cold out, but it was peaceful-plus, food just tastes better outside.

 After our breakfast, we loaded back into the car and headed south through the park.  Along the way we had to wait for a bison to cross the bridge before we could pass.  He walked right past the drivers side door, but didn't seem as interested in us as we were in him luckily and just passed right by.


We stopped for a four mile hike after Madison Junction. The hike passed through several hot springs, but overall wasn’t the prettiest hike we’ve ever done.






We did see a very large herd of bison though, including a few young ones. We passed through several different landscapes on the hike, and it was cool to see areas that were still recovering from the 1988 fire.



After our hike we continued south to Old Faithful. We figured we couldn’t leave Yellowstone before hitting up the biggest tourist attraction there.

Our timing was impeccable. Old Faithful goes off every 90 minutes, on average (according to the guidebook that Bobbi leant us). We sat down and waited less than 5 minutes before it erupted. It really was impressive, and this is the time to be in the park.


There were still people around, but you could really imagine just how crowded this whole park gets during the summer months. We had front row seats for the geyser show, and so did everyone else there. Perfect!
We continued our drive south after the show. The climate in the south end of Yellowstone is completely different from the northern end. All of the animals seemed to be in the north, probably because the southern part is covered in snow. We realize that it’s November, but it was still surprising to the drastic climate change within a few miles drive.



We exited Yellowstone into Teton National Park just before dusk. Teton National Park was really stunning. We were able to see the silhouette of the Teton Mountains over the lake before it got too dark, and they really were breathtaking. Our timing today was really working out!
Jackson Hole is just south of Teton National Park, and it was here that we were staying for the night.
Jackson Hole is certainly a tourist town; hotels, motels, flashy bars and restaurants line the streets. We had no problem finding a hotel for the night despite the fact that it was a late Friday night. We chose the Antler Motel, which seemed to be just a few blocks from the main drag.

This turned out to be a good choice; the receptionists were friendly and the blanket and pillows were down. We changed out of hiking clothes after checking in and headed out to diner. Snake River Brew Pub was recommended to us by the staff, and they did not let us down. This place was crammed with young, out-doorsy locals who all seemed to know each other. They had good beer and good food to boot. I had french onion soup ollowed by a mushroom and veggie pizza (can’t get enough veggies out here!), and Clint had a buffalo burger. We were able to walk there from our hotel, and it was off of the touristy strip.