Unbelievable drive up the mountain and through the tunnel. I have to admit that it was one of the scariest drives I ever taken, but the scenery is outstanding. We saw mountain sheep on the cliffs right next to the road. Around every bend, you just keep saying oh wow!!

We left Bryce a little after 5 pm and headed down HW 89 to HW 9 where we turned west toward the Zion National Park. Entering the park will cost you $25 but with our senior pass the cost was zero--- Make sure you get one of these when you turn 62!

This road HW 9 goes through the heart of Zion where you drive along but always looking UP rather then down into canyons. There are two tunnels along the way, one short and one long. The long one is a very narrow two way road BUT will not handle all these new wide campers, so they have a stop at each end when one of these beast come along. They charge those wide campers a $15 fee to pass thorough the tunnel. The long tunnel is a good mile long and very exciting to travel through with openings along the way (addits like we experienced going down to the Colorado river a few days ago at the Glen Canyon Dam) that were used to dump the mining slag out to the mountain side.

As we exited the West side of the park the sun was setting directly into our eyes (not the best driving environment). Within our drive on HW 9 we came across two groups of Long horn mountain sheep both on the road and up on the rock side = very impressive video and pictures (Yvonne put on another 100 pictures today).

We went on to St George; staying there as our base for the next two nights at another free Marriott (4 hinge Tom rating). We did not arrive until 8:30 pm so it was a quick salad at the eatery next door and then time for bed ie-by by for tomorrow’s exploration of the hiking heart of Zion National Park. If it was not for our free night stay at a Marriott in St George we most likely would have stayed in the park or at the many motels just to the West of the park in Springdale and eliminated the next days backtracking of 30 miles.


Monday, September 16, 2013

Up at 7 and on the road back to Zion at 8 am. Started the day with an outside temp of 75F. Zion National Park restricts all personal car traffic into the dead end canyon heart with the exception of those staying in the lodge (FYI - approximate lodge cost this time of the year is $195). What the park utilizes = you park at the visitors center and take a bus into the canyon. Because you travel on a road at the bottom of the canyon you do a lot of looking up (verses looking down at other parks) so your neck gets a little work out but the view out the bus windows is not exceptional. We first went to the end of the bus run at the Temple of Sinawava and walked the one-mile walk along the river. This walk is very easy on paved paths but much crowed with PEOPLE but only to the point where the pavement stops and you have to cross the river (about 2 ft deep), which we did not take. We then went to Weeping rock and the short ½ mile hike to the falls (don’t forget to bring soap and a towel). On returning (around 12 NOON) we found NO Bus’s running (later we found road work had stopped the traffic at 12 noon till 1245), so we walked the road down to the next stop about one mile away. This walk was very interesting in that instead of viewing the big rocks out the road path bus window we got to take our time and view then as we walked. We eventually made it down to the Lodge and then walked the 2-mile run up to the three Emerald pools. The first pool was the best and easiest to access as the rout has a paved walkway, but pool #2 and #3 were way up high in the box canyon via a very difficult climb but well worth it. We left the park around 5 pm as the outside temp was now up around 95 F (but very dry) and settled into our hotel in St George (about 25 miles from the park) and then out for a great supper.

Opinion on Zion = Way too many people and can only imagine that the crowd must be unbearable during the summer. The map you get at the entrance gate is TERRABLE, as it poorly displays the hiking routs (very small print on the map). With human factors in mind; we complained at the ranger station during our exit and found = Yes they agree the map is poor and have been trying to get it fixed; in the interim time they have a news paper at the ranger station that offers a only slight better map showing the hiking trails.

This is going to be the end of our canyon touring for this vacation so from our perspective we would like to list the places we have visited in order of our BIAS like:

#1 The drive through Zion canyon on HW 9 = Simply fantastic for the passenger and the driver that likes a challenge!
#2 Bridges National Monument = Not many people find this park location, but it is simply beautiful with great walking paths.
#3 Sedona Arizona = Jeep tour make this one as a must do activity, plus a great trip up through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff.
#4 Bryce Canyon National Park = The small heart of this place is simply beautiful.
#5 Canyon Land National Park = Nice very easy walking path at the far end stop to view the arches
#6 Monument Valley = Excellent reference to a lot of old movie settings and great look at recent American Indian history. Just unbelievable scenery that can’t explained beyond pictures!!1
#7 Capital Reef = Nice historical area for the main road path, but we were not able to take the dead end road into the park because of washouts. We can’t comment on this because of the horrific rain that came down while we were going through it.
#8 Zion National Park (inside the park dead end) = BIG stone bluffs, but WAY Tooooooooooo many people. With it only being 135 miles from Vegas this is understandable. Tom was “Canyoned” out!!!
#9 Jerome = Unique abandon mining town but the only real value is in all the vintage build’s art shops.

Even if you have no time to stop and tour the park, the scenic drive cutting from one entrance to the other is absolutely breathtaking. I've traveled to most of the larger, popular US national parks and Zion remains my favorite. Absolutely worth the drive, and only a short two-hour cruise from Las Vegas.

The scenic drive through the canyon is absolutely breathtaking. If you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse (or even a photo op) of the big horn sheep that live on the slick rock of east zion.

I saw another review that mentioned having to pay for this road, but that is inaccurate. The drive is free unless you are traveling in a motor home. If in a motor home or truck (semis are def NOT recommended) you'll need to buy a tunnel permit. Today's motor homes are too large for the circa 1930 tunnel. Rangers have to stop traffic both directions to allow an RV to use both lanes to navigate the tunnel. The road is well worth the permit price and the detour is looooooong!. Don't miss it.