Friday, December 05, 2008

Zion National Park

We went to Zion National Park twice during our St George trip.

The first day was a bit a chilly.

We drove through the tunnel then headed back to catch the tram up the canyon.

We stopped at the Partriachs then hiked up to Weeping Rock.

Next we walked on the River Trail that begins the hike into The Narrows.

As we walked on the trail it began to lightly rain on us and then it started snowing.

It was cool to watch the snow falling down the narrow canyon.

I made several attempts to try to capture the scene but it just does not do it any justice.

There were only a few brave souls that were heading up the river bed to pursue The Narrows.

Most sane people, like ourselves, were turning their soaked, cold selves back to the beginning once the paved path ended.

The following day we met up with Tara who was ending her Utah trip.

She had stopped in Arches and Canyonlands the day before and then was caught is a bad snow storm on her way to Cedar City.

We chose the Emerald Pools hike for the days adventure.

I think this was the second or third time Tara has ever voluntarily hiked.

She is opposed to any nature walking with any incline of any sort.

The day before she had hiked to Delicate Arch and now, the very next day, she was hiking again.

I pretty sure she was actually enjoying it!

Maybe it was the camera in her hands and prospect of something more tangible than just being able to say 'I went on a hike, I saw some nature, I got sweaty, and now I'm tired'!

There is hope for our Tara!

Here are the rest of the Zion National Park Pictures.

Kolob Canyon

A friend of Jill's from Baltimore got married in October, in St George.

We used some of my Marriott Rewards points for a couple of nights in order to extend out stay to enjoy the great sites of Southern Utah.

Our first stop was Kolob Canyon which a small portion of Zion National Park.

We arrived just before sunset so the challenge was on to try to capture something impressive.

We also timed our visit to St George just right for the Senior Games.

Although we did not see any of the events, we brushed shoulders with many of the athletes from around the country in our hotel.

The wedding was held in an airplane hanger at the St George Airport. The Groom arrived in an old muscle car and the Bride arrived in a WWII fighter plane!

It was fun to see a bunch of Jill's Baltimore friends who were able to make it to the wedding.

Here are the rest of the pictures of Kolob Canyon.