St. George - Zion National Park
Off again, although I may hang out at home for the rest of April - BORING!
This trip was definitely not boring. Drove to St. George, Utah (650 miles from here) to link up with Anna and Nic at Nic's parent's second home in St. George. Beautiful home in a beautiful area - Ryan and Adrienne and most of the rest of the Heinz gang arrived at the end of our stay there (Thanks again to Ryan and Adrienne for sharing their wonderful home with us). St. George is much more scenic than we remembered it to be, and this is a beautiful time of the year to be there.
Some highlights from the trip were a visit to Kayenta, a small artsy town outside of St. George (they have filmed a number of westerns there over the years including Electric Horseman (Jane Fonda, Robert Redford), a hike up the Santa Clara River (Coyote Gulch), dinner at Benja Thai, Don and Donna getting stomped by Anna and Nic at ping-pong, a hike on the East Rim trail leading to a spectacular view of Zion, a stroll around the neighborhood with blooming cactus (never seen that before - our timing was great), Emerald Pools trail, Grotto trail and life-threatening Angels Landing trail in Zion. Also great meals made by chefs Nic and Donna, and a great parting breakfast by Ryan and Adrienne. So great food, great company, great scenery, great hikes - a great time (so I guess you can summarize by saying it was great.) How great is that.
Now let's see if we cannot say the word gr...t again!
We would recommend all of the above except for Angels Landing - 5 people have officially died on this trail (and some websites say a number more have perished). It is a 1200 to 1500 feet fall straight down to the valley floor from most parts of the last half mile of this trail. Donna and I were clinging for dear life to the chain (when it was there), and Donna was clinging with her other hand to Nic. It was also blowing like crazy. Although I have billed myself as "the Solo Adventurer", I tend to avoid places where you don't get a second chance. This is definitely one of those places. When you are as clumsy as I can be sometimes, hiking on a trail where a few feet away on both sides are sheer drops of 1000 plus feet, doesn't strike me as the best decision I've ever made. Despite that fact, lots of people do this - we won't be doing it again, although I'd go back up to the lookout point before the chains start, as it is an awe inspiring and very strenuous hike (strenuous I can do - death defying - not me).
So it was a gr... (woops) fantastic trip. Here are some pics.
This trip was definitely not boring. Drove to St. George, Utah (650 miles from here) to link up with Anna and Nic at Nic's parent's second home in St. George. Beautiful home in a beautiful area - Ryan and Adrienne and most of the rest of the Heinz gang arrived at the end of our stay there (Thanks again to Ryan and Adrienne for sharing their wonderful home with us). St. George is much more scenic than we remembered it to be, and this is a beautiful time of the year to be there.
Some highlights from the trip were a visit to Kayenta, a small artsy town outside of St. George (they have filmed a number of westerns there over the years including Electric Horseman (Jane Fonda, Robert Redford), a hike up the Santa Clara River (Coyote Gulch), dinner at Benja Thai, Don and Donna getting stomped by Anna and Nic at ping-pong, a hike on the East Rim trail leading to a spectacular view of Zion, a stroll around the neighborhood with blooming cactus (never seen that before - our timing was great), Emerald Pools trail, Grotto trail and life-threatening Angels Landing trail in Zion. Also great meals made by chefs Nic and Donna, and a great parting breakfast by Ryan and Adrienne. So great food, great company, great scenery, great hikes - a great time (so I guess you can summarize by saying it was great.) How great is that.
Now let's see if we cannot say the word gr...t again!
We would recommend all of the above except for Angels Landing - 5 people have officially died on this trail (and some websites say a number more have perished). It is a 1200 to 1500 feet fall straight down to the valley floor from most parts of the last half mile of this trail. Donna and I were clinging for dear life to the chain (when it was there), and Donna was clinging with her other hand to Nic. It was also blowing like crazy. Although I have billed myself as "the Solo Adventurer", I tend to avoid places where you don't get a second chance. This is definitely one of those places. When you are as clumsy as I can be sometimes, hiking on a trail where a few feet away on both sides are sheer drops of 1000 plus feet, doesn't strike me as the best decision I've ever made. Despite that fact, lots of people do this - we won't be doing it again, although I'd go back up to the lookout point before the chains start, as it is an awe inspiring and very strenuous hike (strenuous I can do - death defying - not me).
So it was a gr... (woops) fantastic trip. Here are some pics.
Coyote Gulch
Leilu - the amazing flying dog (nice pic Anna!)
Pine Valley Mtn from Coyote Gulch
East Rim
East Rim
Neighborhood walk
Don and Donna in Zion
Emerald Pools hike
Don and Nic in Zion
Don and Donna in Zion
Lower part of Angels Landing trail
Angels Landing
Angels Landing
All hail Nic
Kayenta
Pine Valley Mtn from Coyote Gulch
Coyote Gulch
Coyote Gulch
Benja Thai
Benja Thai
East Rim hike
East Rim hike
East Rim hike
East Rim lookout
Nic and Anna at East Rim
Nic and Anna at East Rim
East Rim hike
Blooming cactus in the neighborhood
neighborhood walk
Anna and Donna at Ryan and Adrienne's home
Anna and Nic in Zion
Grotto hike
Grotto hike
Emerald pools hike
Anna and Nic in Zion
Grotto trail
Grotto trail
Grotto trail
Grotto trail
Nic and Anna in Zion
Grotto trail
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Angels landing
Back safe and sound!
Thanks for the tips on trails in Zion. Karen and I are planning a trip to Bryce this year, and may have to add Zion to our itinerary.
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