Zion National Park

Today we needed to get up even earlier than usual because the parking lot is often already full at 7 am. And by the time we arrived, 06:30, it was already busy with activity. All of the hikers getting ready for the hikes.
The park is managed for the central part in a convenient shuttle system, running every 10 minutes. We had checked for the best hikes in Zion and "The Narrows" was among the best together with "Angels Landing", which has a chain and is pretty exposed. So we decided to go on the "strenuous" canyon walk up Virgin River. There was the possibility to rent equipment at the Visitor Center but we had decided that we'll try to do it with shorts and beach shoes. Despite being worried that it might be too cold (9 degrees water temperature) we got used to it pretty quick. We made it almost to the end (without falling into the water!) but decided to turn around when the obstacles got more and the walk on the slippery rocks got very technical. And we wanted to see more of the park besides this canyon. Overall we spent more than 4 hours in the river and the sandbanks next to it. When we got back we sat a while in the warm sun, reheating our frozen toes and having lunch.

Next we did a little walk in the Zion Canyon leading up to three levels of emerald pools. It was a fun little walk with a beautiful view, especially in the lower emerald pool. The middle and upper ones are nice but not really worth the additional effort, also because the trail is very busy and you spend most of the time waiting for others to pass. We still couldn't get enough of the outlooks on the red striped canyon formations. Before heading off we went to the visitor center and stamped our passports and then drove back the way we came in the morning. And it was lucky that we did so because the drive and vistas were amazing, there was even a tunnel going through the red rock and we saw some bighorn sheep 🐏 !!

We had checked in the visitor center where we'd go next and it made sense to go to the Grand Canyon before Las Vegas. Julia wanted to see the Horseshoe Bend and it was just a 2 hour drive away which means we should arrive by sunset. And it was perfectly timed, the light in the sunset was magical 🥰Read more