From A to Z - ion!

We are staying in the Zion RV park.  It is a very nice park complete with pool a nice office with pool table, gift shop etc.  There is a gold panning set up and park for kids as well.  We had one day warm enough for pool ( I need HOT weather to enjoy pools) and it was full of yelling kids so I thought I would pass and let them enjoy their Easter break.  Zion was very busy with families so it was a lot more crowded than we thought it would be.
There are about 3 small towns in the 12 miles from our RV park  to the park entrance.  They have a very good shuttle service to and within the park to eliminate traffic jams and it is very well organized.  We went early every morning and easily got a place to park right in the park but if you come any time after 10 it is not likely you will get a spot.  Once in the park you can take the shuttle buses to a number of stops and hiking areas.

These are just some pictures of the pretty flowers and trees that we saw in Springdale, which is right outside the park entrance.  The top ones are wisteria - I have never seen them before and in a few days this bush will be amazing.  The red bud trees are the prettiest trees ever

 We saw this wild turkey and a couple of hens across the river.  There are lots of wild turkeys here.  We were also lucky enough to see some California Condors flying way way up!

The first day we were here it was really cold and we wore both layers, fleece and windbreaker the whole time we were there.  We were also wishing we had gloves.  Today it was 2 layers for about an hour, and as we had a more strenuous hike as well as some really nice sun lost both layers really fast.We walked along the Virgin river along a paved path.  It was really interesting and nice to see both water and trees.

The big trees are cottonwoods and they also have ash, elder and some pine trees along with cactus.  Such an interesting ecosystem.

This morning were disappointed because the trail that we had decided to take was washed out.  However, we managed to see what we wanted to see and it was awesome.

We crossed the river on a bridge but these people were doing a trail by horseback.

We took a trail that connected to 2 others.  This one was the lower emerald pool trail and it felt like you were in a rain forest at some points.  The water was misting and falling off the cliffs above.  I just loved this area.

Some parts of the trail were really easy, some had rugged steps and were fairly steep.

Some parts to the upper trail were very steep and a little scary too.  The walking sticks are just the best things ever with the pokey tips for walking on hills.

 How can it be that the cactus, big trees and pretty waterfalls are all in the same area?

 Once we got to the top of the trail we were rewarded with a beautiful serene pool of water.

We just rested on this rock and enjoyed for a few minutes before we started back down and joined up on another trail.

 This rock looks like a giant clam shell.

 We saw quite a few mule deer in the park.  This female was obviously pregnant.  There were lots of squirrels and lizards but I was afraid to take any more pictures as, um, Don had his stick too and he was behind me.

 We were about half way down at this point, my attempt to show how far up we were was not that successful.

After the hike we hopped on the shuttle bus and went to the museum that is in the park.  We watched a 20 minute video that explained how the canyon was formed and history of the people that lived there over the centuries.  We decided we will get up early and come again tomorrow morning so we can drive through the 1 mile tunnel and see some other parts of the park before we check out of here at noon.
We are headed to Cedar City for 4 days.  We haven't made any concrete plans as the weather looks rainy and we want to stay off the roads until all the Easter break travelers are back home.  From Cedar city it is easy to drive to Bryce or Kolob canyons so we have options!

Quote of the day:  Where there's a will, I want to be in it