The Long & Winding Road

Daily Mileage=94

Trip Mileage=3238

Today we drove over to the north western part of Zion Park, Hurricane Cliffs (Kolob Canyons). It was very different from the canyons down where we are staying but worth the hour trip. The views again were spectacular but had more trees and seemed more red then the boulders/mountains down in Zion Canyon. One of the best hikes we did in Zion was up there (there are only a few and most take several hours or are overnight trips; we're not into that anymore, actually I don't think Rich was ever into them and I certainly am not into them right now!). The hike we took was quite lovely. Not crowded at all, relatively an easy climb and you had the sense of being on a mountain ridge looking all around at the mesas, peaks and valleys by yourself (no paved trails). After our visit up north, we returned to the southern part of the park to do some more exploring.

We named this blog after the song "The long and winding road" because most of the hikes we took today seemed like long winding roads with lots of rocks and slope to them. (As you can see from the 1st photo this is what we were climbing up. I thought it wasn't so bad; I think Rich might disagree with that description.) But, the reason one hikes at all is to see the view and we did see some extraordinary views. I know we sound redundant but, there is not an hour goes by that we don't stop and say we can't believe the vista we are seeing. Our photos will never do justice to the landscapes and scenery we are viewing. It is extraordinary. And it makes me wonder if the people who live and work in this area don't even recognize it anymore. (Kind'a like us being at the beach and not realizing how beautiful it is everyday!)

Anyway, we did a 3+mile hike to the Emerald Pools which showed rock basins fed by small streams. It was very pretty and probably has more water in the pools when there's more snow melting. It was strenuous going up the to the"high" pools/falls but we did it. We saw some magnificent scenery.

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At one point in the trail people placed little stones on top of one big boulder. It was like their own "graffiti" without damaging anything. Rich and I decided we needed to leave our own mark so we placed two stones (us) touching each other on the edge. As you know, we're always on the"edge"of something....(never anything that will lead to millions, but on the edge, just the same). So here's our picture, Rich is the square one (not really square) and Mare is the other (whatever shape that may be). Both of us are pretty close to the edge and together!

Just so you don't think that we are relaxed and centered on this trip, there are still things that get us going. Listening to our newest audio book, THIS I BELIEVE, got me into my own "this is what I believe." (Not always in the insightful way one should be thinking.) But today at breakfast I decided that one of things I Believe is that they should ban all mobile homes from national parks (maybe from the universe). I never could stand it when I would go camping in a tent (yes, I actually did do that in my youth) and have a mobile home pull up into the site next to me with a TV antenna and all the other comforts of home. Why go camping? Just stay home. Now it looks like they actually have a separate place for those who wish to travel in these motor homes. However, I am incensed that these gas guzzling "trucks" come into a NP where the whole premise is to try and preserve the environment! HELLO!!!! Does anyone see how ludicrous this is? (Sorry if I am offending any potential "rent a RV/mobile home" group.) Do you know they actually have to stop traffic through a tunnel (which goes through a mountain) in Zion so that traffic only goes one way at a time because the tunnel isn't big enough for these motor homes? Am I missing it or what? If you want to be in a house, stay home! OK I'm raving now but every time I see them (which is a lot out here) I go off. Needless to say Rich may agree with me but he just listens and lets me rant.

Oh well, I'll finish tonight with a tribute to our JAKE. We went to one of the best, if not the best, restaurants we have eaten at. It was called The Spotted Dog Cafe. We thought the name was cute and it was near our hotel. It turned out to be yet another wonderful surprise and we only did it because of the dog connection! We (I) said, "How can we not go to the spotted dog? We' ll have to at least try it." We had a delicious meal and toasted our beloved Jake! (By the way they even had a micro brew called Spotted Dog Lager that was good!)
What a way to end the day, Love, Mare & Rich