One of the rangers suggested a hike on one of the trails in a quieter more tranquil area of the  park.  We set out early to beat the heat and after reaching the community of Virgin we drove the steep Kolob Terrace Road to an elevation of 7,000 feet.  At that elevation the air sure felt cooler early in the morning!  From there we hiked the Wildcat Canyon Trail to the Northgate Peaks Trail, a lovely tranquil hike that took us to a beautiful view of the Kolob Plateau.

We then decided to drive to the north entrance to Zion N.P. to take the scenic drive past spectacular canyons and red rocks to the Kolob Canyons Viewpoint.  The views from the top and along the drive were amazing.

The next day we rested and decided to go see the new Mission Impossible movie which we really enjoyed.  Sadly this was our last day in Utah after over a month of amazing  national parks and breathtaking scenery.  Utah far exceeded our expectations and we can’t wait to return in the future!

Everything in Zion takes life from the scarce waters of the Virgin River which over time has helped shape the landscape of the park.  As in other Utah national parks, there are signs everywhere warning of the possibility and danger of flash flooding in the narrow canyons.  Visitors are warned to keep a close eye on the weather as storms far away can produce flash floods in the park.  At the trailhead of the Riverwalk Trail we took yesterday there was a sign indicating what the likelihood of flash flooding was in the park for the day.  The signs are similar to Smoky the Bear signs you might have seen indicating fire danger, except these signs warned of flash floods.   The sign for yesterday indicated the moderate “Flash Flooding Possible” warning. This was especially important for those hiking into The Narrows where flash flooding is especially life threatening.  Every year there are visitors to the Utah parks killed due to falls from cliffs and flash floods.

Trivia:

It is believed but not documented as fact that the Virgin River was named by Spanish Catholic missionaries in honor of the Virgin Mary.  Others say it was named for Thomas Virgin, a member of the first American party to see it in 1826.  John Fremont, an explorer and mapmaker named it after Thomas Virgin.  This seems to be the more historically documented explanation though my research found more references to it being named for the Virgin Mary.  The 162 mile river runs through parts of Utah, Arizona and Nevada.  The North Fork of the river begins north of Zion at Cascade Falls which comes out of a cave near Navajo Lake, elevation 9,000 feet. The north and east forks of the Virgin River run through Zion National Park and empties into Lake Mead which then empties into the Colorado River.  The Colorado River then empties into the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez.  The Virgin River was designated Utah’s first wild and scenic river.

Our last national park in Utah is Zion National Park.  We stayed about thirty minutes from the park in the town of Hurricane, a larger town than previous towns with a Walmart, restaurants  and a movie theater.  Unfortunately we were back in hot weather with no shade at our campsite so we shortened our stay from seven to four nights.

Legend has it the town was named one windy day in the 1860’s by Mormon leader Erastus Snow when a gust of wind blew the top off his buggy.  He said it was a hurricane and decided to name the area Hurricane Hill.  Because of Hurricane’s 2,000 acres of excellent farmland, orchards and vineyards, this area is nicknamed “The Fruit Basket of Southern Utah”.  While we were there they had their annual “Peach Days”, a local celebration with street vendors, farmers markets and fireworks.

Zion National Park was first designated a national monument in 1909 by President William Howard Taft and later became a national park in 1919.  Zion was named by Isaac Behunin, the first permanent European-American settler in the canyon.  Behunin built a one room log cabin in the canyon in 1861.  Behunin said, “A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as in any man-made-church this is Zion”.

Zion is known for having some of the most scenic canyon views in the United States with high plateaus, narrow, deep sandstone canyons with 2,000 feet high walls in some places, and huge rock towers and mesas.

One of the park’s most impressive construction projects and considered an engineering marvel is the 1.1 mile tunnel which was blasted through solid sandstone between 1927 and 1930.  A really neat feature of the tunnel are lookout galleries cut like windows into the tunnel rock so drivers can have views of the canyon as they drive through the tunnel.  There is no stopping allowed in the tunnel so it was hard to get good pictures of the canyon from the windows.  We drove the twelve mile scenic Zion-Mt Carmel Highway which took us up six steep switchbacks and through the tunnel to the east side of the park.  We stopped at various overlooks including one of a large checkerboard mesa, a naturally sculpted rock art.  The horizontal lines are evidence of ancient sand dunes and the vertical lines are from erosion due to rain and melting snow.

In May, 2000 the park began operating a mandatory shuttle bus on the 6.5 mile long Zion Canyon Scenic Drive in one part of the park, making this part of the park accessible by shuttle bus only.  We rode the bus and found it very enjoyable with enough buses running so there was never a long wait.  Our only complaint would be the windows on the bus only partially opened making it really hard to take pictures from the bus windows.  The park instituted the mandatory shuttle bus to

• eliminate air and noise pollution
• eliminate visitor stress from traffic backups and limited parking spaces
• to preserve the area and vegetation from being damaged and eroded by cars parked on the road shoulders

Research shows that 150 years of farming, grazing and recreation has changed Zion’s environment.  The park is working to restore some of the ecological diversity in the park.

Unlike Bryce Canyon where you had to hike down to the canyon, in Zion you are actually driving in the canyon with steep sandstone walls around you.

We rode the shuttle to the last stop, the Temple of Sinawava, a huge natural amphitheater which is the narrowest part of the canyon accessible by vehicle.

Visit this link for a 360 view video: https://youtu.be/stzCNHsVTkM

There we enjoyed the Riverside Walk which followed the Virgin River.  Along the way we saw rock walls with dripping springs and lush vegetation.  At the end of the trail you could enter the river and follow the river up to “The Narrows” where the canyon walls narrow in around you.  The ranger told us earlier that the water level up the river to the Narrows would go from your knees to your thighs to your waist before eventually reaching the Narrows.  Since the water temperature was 60 degrees and we did not have a change of clothes or shoes for the bus ride back to the car, we decided not to hike to the Narrows.

On the way back to the car we saw four climbers scaling the canyon wall.  They looked like tiny ants in the distance.

Tomorrow we plan to take a hike recommended to us by a ranger and take another scenic drive in another part of the park.

As beautiful as the area is, we were glad to leave Moab and head to Torrey where we would visit Capitol Reef National Park (NP).  Torrey is at a higher elevation than Moab, making it at least 10 to 15 degrees cooler.  We arrived at our campground in Torrey, a short drive from the park.  We settled under some trees which still allowed us satellite reception and we immediately noticed the cool refreshing breezes.  Quite a relief from our last campground with no shade.  Only complaint was no Verizon and the WiFi provided by the campground was spotty and unreliable.  At night we were able to sleep with the windows open and needed a light blanket!
Capitol Reef NP gets its name from the large sandstone domes that have eroded and resemble the U.S. Capitol building. A one hundred mile long wrinkle in the earth’s crust created 65 million years ago is filled with cliffs, gorges, canyons, arches and domes and is called the Waterpocket Fold.  This fold forms a reef like barrier limiting access in the park.   There are many dome like sandstone features in the park but one has been given the name Capitol Dome.

Capitol Dome

Castle

One of the prominently named landmarks in the park is The Castle.

There is an eight mile one way scenic drive that takes you down into the canyon where the temperature climbed to over 100 degrees.  Along this road are several dirt or gravel spur road that take you to overlooks or access to hiking trails.

This is the first national park which has its own fruit orchards of apple, peach, cherry, pear and apricot trees left over from the days of the late 1800’s Mormon settlement called Fruita. Historic and heirloom fruit is grown here like the pioneer days.   In season you can enter designated orchards and eat for free as much fruit as you can hold.  Any you pick and take out of the orchard is $1.00 a pound.  While we were there apples were available for picking.  In the park are several historic pioneer settlements, still maintained as they were for 100 years, including farmhouse, barn, smokehouse and schoolhouse.

We walked the Grand Wash Trail which was a delightful flat trail with shady spots where the canyon walls shielded us from the sun.  We hiked to “The Narrows”, a really neat spot where the canyon walls closed in on us, making for some fun echoes.  After the hot steep trails in the other two parks, this trail was a welcome surprise with breathtaking canyon wall views.