We departed for Zion National Park at 9:00 am after a quick breakfast at Ruby's Best Western Inn. Everyone trooped onto the coach bus for a 90 mile ride. We made one stop at a gift shop/trading post just before the eastern entrance of Zion. Once into Zion the landscape shifted dramatically with beautiful carved rockscapes. Most of the route in Zion was a two lane road with parts reduced to one lane. We went through one long tunnel called the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel. This tunnel is 1.1 miles long and it is dark for most of its length. Once we exited the tunnel there were several hairpin turns which made for some inspiring driving. Our first stop was the Zion Lodge which is in the Zion Canyon. We all got lunch and a chance to stretch our legs. After the 30 minute lunch break, we boarded the Zion shuttle and hiked to see the Weeping Rock and the hanging gardens. After walking around the Weeping Rock for 45 minutes everyone walked back to the shuttle stop and reboarded for a trip to the Temple of Sinawava. This is a hiking trail along a narrow river. The trail is about 2 miles round trip. Along the trail some of us decided to wade into the river to cool off. Another group of us split off and walked ahead. We encountered a mule deer, some friendly squirrels and a lizard. Everyone was quite surprised that the deer were fearless. After the 75 minute hike of the Sinawava River Trail we all got on the shuttle and went to the Emerald Pools. Again we encountered mule deer. The Emerald Pools were not as green as we expected but the waterfalls were a welcome respite from the heat as we walked under the vapor from the falls. When we returned to the bus, we headed into St. George, Utah for dinner at Chuck-a-Rama and then checked into a hotel. Tomorrow we take a 2 hour bus ride to Hoover Dam before heading into Las Vegas to catch our flight to San Francisco.
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