Zion Revisited (Day 14)

Last night I was sure there was going to be no sunrise expedition in Zion for me tomorrow. I'd become strangely zen with the idea of a mediocre hotel breakfast and a slower start. A relaxed final day on vaca.

But at 5:30am I found myself with new energy for the new day and waning enthusiasm for that extra time at the hotel! Up and at 'em!

Almost impressive. Until you factor in that I'd done no planning. I inputted Zion National Park to the nav system as I exited the parking lot and gave it no more than a moments curiosity that today's route to Zion was looking different to yesterday's route from Zion. 

.... And that's how I found myself at Kolob Canyon - technically part of Zion but for all practical purposes, about 30 mins from where I thought I'd be when the sun peaked over the horizon. Shoot! 

Parking at Canyon Overlook was easy today. Still early of course but also it was now Monday. The hike warmed me up and I did get a few post-sunrise pics.

Perhaps the highlight of this hike was a very beautiful Japanese couple and their 8 year old daughter.  He carried his daughter over a particularly narrow and icy section with dangerous drop-off. I said "Me too. I want to be carried!" His wife giggled but his look was of utmost discomfort. He was caught between a rock and a hard place; Carry me (rock) or say No to me (hard place).  I wish I was this polite! Many people do. LOL

The second lesson from them came when I descended back to the trailhead. I actually don't remember passing the narrow, icy spot - so no feeling anxious about it or watching anyone else squirm at the thought.  That 8 year old with her powers of persuasion!!!

This was a good reminder of something I already knew. "Be careful who you surround yourself with and how you let them influence you!" For better or worse, we are all a little bit emotionally absorbant.

I guess today was a hiking day despite figuring out that my glut-hamstring pain was definitely in the category of injury. I guess the stiffness had been masking that for a couple of days. Ibuprofen and soldier on, baby! I was literally told by two young Rangers that there was no parking left at the trailheads and hiking was not in the cards for me and then as I arrived there, a car pulled out and let me have his spot! It was meant to be. 

I hiked to Upper Emerald Pools. All up, about 3 miles of temperature-regulating challenges; up and down, sunny and shaded, windy and calm. It was still pretty bustling here but less frantic feeling - Or perhaps my reintegration into 'normal' levels of human interaction was just going really swimmingly.

A family of 6 followed me the first mile. The parents were giving First Aid lessons to their littles (6-10 year olds) as they hiked uphill. The kids were NAILING the 'how to stop bleeding with pressure' quiz! Gosh I was impressed. Faith in our survival might have just been restored. 

I gave up my valuable parking space at the Grotto trailhead and headed off to the Visitor Center to talk to myself about tomorrow's plan. That's when I discovered, to my own delight, that I get back an hour when I cross into Nevada to catch my flight home. (Discovery happens when you try to checkin for your flight tomorrow and Southwest tells you you're too early - come back in an hour!)

The next day I beat a path to Vegas and gave Beast the spa treatment I had promised him all across the southwest. Red dust flowed in a river from his body and everything from Death Valley sand dune to rice cake crumbs got vacuumed away... like I had never been there. 

It was bittersweet to hand his key fob back to Fox Rental Car and walk away. We shared many a fond memory these past two weeks and 3000 miles...  But it was time for me to go home.

They named it Zion for a reason (Day 13)

Just when I thought it couldn't get any colder, -2°F greeted me this morning. The hot water pipes in my hotel were frozen and I microwaved a little cup of water to splash my face awake with. Hearing this made the hotel owner giggle!

Beast got a decent warm up then we hit the road. It was a lovely morning for a drive... the turkeys agreed.

Above me towered cottonwoods. Host to a golden eagle; my first sighting and really one of the rare opportunities I had to use my long lens this trip.

After 12 days of not seeing a whole lot of people together, or close to me, Zion came as a bit of a shock. Not awful, just the sudden realization that I'd adjusted to and appreciated, a crazy amount of alone time, a quiet environment and SPACE.

Every pull-out and parking lot was full. 43°F was the high temp today, the sky was blue and it was Sunday - before Martin Luther King Jr day. Not to mention the 'day of rest' is taken quite seriously in these parts. Lots of stores and restaurants were closed and a ton of those National Park visitors had Utah plates on their cars. 

For the first time since I'd left Denver almost 2 weeks ago, I found it hard to motivate and there was a decidedly absent flow of thoughts and feelings. My journal got Sunday off too. (Clearly I caught some wind in my sails on Monday to fill in the blanks.)

Instead I spent time wandering and sitting.  Observing and doing good deeds. (Good deeds here all come in the form of taking peoples pictures for them.) Then I took an hour out to bathe myself in some Visitor Center cell signal and got a real estate deal under contract. It felt good and right!

Day 13 was the day I began to mentally embrace going home. My body was tired no matter how well I slept and those Spooky Canyon torqued limbs were still complaining and stiff. As cute and friendly as last night's hotel had been, I made the decision to upgrade for my last 2 nights on the road.

Tub ✓         Breakfast onsite ✓        Memory foam mattress ✓

No sunrise effort for me tomorrow... this train is sloowwwiinnnngggg down. It's a good thing. I have come by my exhaustion honestly.

Hypothermia at Bryce Canyon (Day 12)

 Leaving Escalante at 5:30am, it was a balmy 26°F. I'm not being sarcastic! The difference between 18°F and 26°F when one is starting the car, is noticeable and appreciated.

In the darkness, along the road toward Bryce Canyon, I saw 'glitter' in the trees ahead. Two dozen pairs  of little deer eyes watched me approach. By the time I got close enough to put down my window and give them a good morning greeting and thank them for their wisdom and self control 20' feet from the road, they were no longer in the headlights and were barely discernable as anything but deer silouettes. 

Five minutes later, an owl (supposedly wiser) did a low fly-by in front of the car. I braked in time to spare his life and he flew off into the pre-dawn open space, all feathers still intact but perhaps a poop left on the road?!  It's nice to be back in areas so rich in wildlife. 

Bryce Canyon sunrise: 12°F and blowing like the Dickens! Despite gloves and hand warmers, the cost of early morning photography here was PAIN - like fingers shut in the door, pain! It took a good 15 minutes to become bearable in the car but an hour later they still felt bruised and tender. 

I ate my breakfast of fruit and cereal and drank my coffee at Farview Point. Elevation 8819'. Crazy cold. Blowing long since fallen snow up from the ground and into the air again. So pretty... and so inhospitable! I listened to Pandora and watched the clouds fly by at a clip. Beautiful!

At 11:50am the temperature had risen to 18°F. The wind was still howling at something close to 35mph. Each picture was a hard fought victory at the cost of significant core body temperature. As most humans tend to do, I too shall value the pictures according to what I paid for them, rather than how pretty they are.