Friday, April 13, 2012

Zion National Park


We left the Grand Canyon in the afternoon to drive to Zion National Park.  On the way, we stopped at Lake Powell.  We finally arrived in Zion National Park very late at night. Zion National Park is located in the state of Utah. Utah is Mountain Time which is one hour ahead of Pacific Time. Zion National Park is a rocky steep park. North of Zion Park, rain falls on the 11,000 high Colorado Plateau races downhill, creates the Virgin River, which then forms the beautiful Zion Park. The rocks at Zion are red and have white and brown streaks going down on the rocks.    At Zion you are at the bottom of the park and are looking up at the tall steep rocks.  In the Grand Canyon, you are high up looking down at the gorgeous giant canyon below.  



We woke up early in the morning and took a shuttle to our first hike that day.  Our first hike was to reach the three Emerald Pools.  We first went to the Lower Emerald Pool and there was a beautiful water fall.  It was very hot and it felt really nice as the water from the waterfall rained down on us. After the Lower Emerald pools we went to the middle pools. There wasn’t much water at the Middle Emerald Pool because the snow has not yet melted to create a large pool of water.  We were so hot and we all soaked ourselves before we went to the Upper Emerald Pools. On the way we saw two huge boulders that were on either side of each other.  The rocks were called the Refrigerator Rock because it was big and cold.    The pool at the Upper Emerald Pool was very big and my siblings and I took off our shoes and splashed in the pool.  The water was very cold, about 30 F. After getting wet in the pool, we had lunch on the rocks near the water.  After lunch we trekked up the steep trails and back to the start of our hike.  We were all extremely hot, and my dad bought us ice cream. I got a delicious peach smoothie. 


Lower Pool
 

Middle Pool














Upper Pool















Refrigerator Rock







 

When everyone was cooled down we went on another hike alongside the Virgin River that created Zion Park.  The river goes very fast in some places, while in other it is slower with a lot of rocks.  At the end of the mile long hike, we came to where the trail ended and the only way forward was through the river. Many hikers had special suits and walked on through the river. It is an extremely difficult hike and the water in some places is 5 feet tall. We didn’t hike any further, and just took off our shoes and jumped on the rocks in the river, and sometimes falling in. It was so much fun in the river!  We didn’t bring swimsuits so we just jumped in with our clothes on!   It was so hot that we dried off right away.  My feet were numb after wading in the frigid water.  
Playing in the Virgin River



















After the hike, we went back to our RV and got ready to go to our next destination, Bryce Canyon.  On the way out of the Zion Park we went through long tunnels made into the mountains. It was very dark in the spooky! 





 What is your favorite vacation spot?



6 comments:

  1. Dear Miriam,

    Reading your fabulous post took me back to 2008 when I visited Zion National Park. The giant granite walls were spectacular!

    I took the tram up to that hike to the Virgin River. However, Mr. Yollis and I hiked in! It was summertime and very hot, but the water was still pretty cool. We hiked in our bathing suits and at times, I took a dunk to refresh myself! The water was fairly low and only came up to the top of my legs. The hike was called "The Narrows" because at one point on the hike the canyon walls...narrow. It was one of the most exciting hikes I've ever experienced.

    Here is a link to a photo of me hiking The Narrows!

    Once you're home, I'll be curious to hear which national park was your favorite! I have mine, but I'll have to wait until we talk!

    Happy Trails!

    Mrs. Y♥llis

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Mrs. Yollis,

    I loved the photos of you walking through the Narrows. My family and I only went to the beginning of the Narrows because it was our second hike of the day and we were tired. We saw other hikers come back from the Narrows and they had a wet suit on top of many layers of warm clothes. The hikers also said that the water came up to their chests and was as high as 5 feet in some places. However, we had a great time jumping on the rocks in the river.

    It is really hard to choose a favorite park because they were all so beautiful and different. I think I had the most fun at Zion National Park because it was warm and we got to swim. However, Bryce Canyon had the most unusual rock formations and surprised me the most.

    Which National Park do you want to visit next? I will stop by on Monday to see which was your favorite

    From,
    Miriam

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Miriam,

    Once again another super post. I have really loved reading and learning all about your wonderful holiday that you are having with your family.

    What beautiful places you are visiting as I know one thing is for sure I really will make it a point of visiting a couple of these place which you and your family have visited if and when I come to the USA.

    Miriam what is your all time favourite place that you loved the most on this holiday? National Parks are just beautiful for the are truly a place to visit.

    From your friend down under,
    AA

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Miriam,
    What a beautiful pictures of Zion. I wish I could be there and not at work. It looks so relaxing and beautiful.
    You learn a lot by visiting new places and you describe it well in your blog.
    We all glad to see you back and hug you.
    Love,
    Grandma Tanya

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Miriam
    I love your blogs would you like to be pen pals

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Miriam,

    This is Mrs. Glover's Class in Arkansas. We would like to share some of our favorite places to vacation. Donovan said, "New York". Arieyuna said, "Florida". Jaxon said, "New Orleans"! We love your blog! Thanks for sharing.

    Your friends,

    Mrs. Glover's Class

    ReplyDelete

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