September 18, 2019

The temperature was a brisk 5°C for our short walk to the main Ruby’s Inn restaurant. The sun was just rising. Today’s departure time was 8 a.m. and everyone was on time.

We drove back to highway 12 through the Dixie National Forest into Red Canyon before turning onto highway 89 that very gradually descended toward Zion National Park along the Virgin River. To pass part of the drive, Matt showed a video about Zion National Park. At Mount Carmel we turned onto highway 9 to enter through the east gate. The first stop was a short photo opportunity to see the petrified sand dunes, like those which we had seen in the Arches National Park, called the Checkerboard Mesa which is 2,030 meters above sea level. The sides are naturally lined resembling a checkerboard to the early settlers. Jose slowed the bus almost to a crawl, for people to take pictures, when a Big Horn Sheep was spotted grazing by the roadside. We passed through a 1.7-kilometer tunnel then steered through three descending switchbacks to arrive at Zion Lodge.

Here we were told we had three hours to explore the park using the free shuttle to transfer to and from the different areas. We chose to ride the shuttle to the end of the route, about four kilometers, to the “Temple of Sinawava” stop and then walk the one-mile Riverside Walk to where the canyon narrows and the route continues into the shallow water for 2.5 to 4 miles. The canyon rims are over 1,700 meters high. Many people rented waterproof hiking boots and walking poles to walk along the water route. There were lots of trees along the river and areas where you could walk over to the river shallows while craning your neck to see the cliffs towering above you. Because ground water seeps into the rock and then leaks out lower down, there were plants growing on the rocky sides and water drips from cracks. Although a bit windy in places, the sun was shining and the temperature was 17°C. As we returned along the paved path, we encountered other members of our group and also saw two mule deer peacefully gracing by the riverside. We had logged 6,814 steps by the time we waited at the shuttle stop to go to the next stop called “Big Bend”.

At “Big Bend”, there were four mountain peaks to view - “The Organ”, “Angel’s Landing” with the “Great White Throne” and another peak opposite the trio.

We hopped on the next shuttle which took us to the “The Grotto” stop arriving at noon when the temperature had risen to 26°C. We stopped at a shaded picnic table and pulled out our lunch of granola bars, almonds, dried craisins, Gatorade and water. We had a lovely view of woodland and red cliffs by the Virgin River. It was just an 800 meter walk back to Zion Lodge along the Grotto Trail where we saw a mule deer grazing within a few meters of the road. One of the plants that Matt warned us not to eat was the white Sacred Datura which has hallucinatory characteristics and can kill you if you ingest too much. It has a nice-looking white flower.

The sun was warm when we stepped out of the shade. It was 28°C when we joined the others at Zion Lodge, where there was a long line for the only restaurant. Our step count was 10,457.

Everyone was on time for the departure, the regularly late person was 10 minutes early! Matt has stressed to be punctual since 75% of the group were taking a late afternoon Lake Powell cruise and she was on that cruise.

The bus retraced the route back to route 89. This is called a scenic route and the sights were terrific. On the way to Kanab, the bus had to report to the Utah weigh scale which took about 20 seconds. At Kanab, there was a comfort stop at the visitor center. Here we learned that Arizona does not switch to Daylight time and we would have to adjust our watches back one hour when we arrived In Page, Arizona.

Matt related some facts about Arizona including that it is the sixth largest state in area, with its capital Phoenix, the largest state capital city by population. The town of Page was created in 1956, when the Glen Canyon Dam construction began creating Lake Powell, and has grown into a tourist town with the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. The Glen Canyon Dam Generating Station has a top capacity of 1,288,000 kilowatts.

For the final leg of the trip, Matt played a video about Grand Canyon National Park. We made another brief stop at an Arizona road scale. We made a stop at Glen Canyon Dam which is the second largest dam in the USA. It is five feet shorter than Hoover Dam, but it is much wider. The water reservoir created on the Colorado River is called Lake Powell. The dam produces hydro-electricity. Then we proceeded to Wahweap Marina where 75% of the group left for their Lake Powell 90-minute cruise.

The rest of us proceeded to nearby Page where we are staying at the Quality Inn Lake Powell. Once checked-in, we walked a short distance to a Mexican restaurant, El Tapatio, for dinner. Then returned to the hotel, about the same time as the cruisers returned.

Total steps 15,526