Heaps Canyon

After a dedicated 'chill' morning, we eventually packed up and left our RV home. This time the day before we had been travelling/hiking for over 2.5 hours! Searching for brunch spots proved almost as challenging as Walter's Wiggles (ok, maybe not, but we did strike out twice - google fail). Eventually we found a place on the outskirts of Zion. The property was 700 acres and employeed many locals. The view was lovely but we were the only people there besides the revolving door of employees rotating in for their lunches. Three delicious local bison burgers later and we hit the road once more for Zion. The gate attendant wasn't optimistic that we would find parking at the visitor center this 'late' in in the day and gave us a few other suggestions. Thankfully we found a spot on our second pass and even better it was in the shade!

As we were approaching the shuttles we heard some bad news: only an hour or two before, a landslide had caused a road block beyond 6th stop. The Narrows was stop 9 :(. Unfortunately it sounded like some people were injured during the slide, and they weren't sure when it would be open. Thankful to God for keeping us safe this far on the journey. (Later update: a woman had been injured in The Narrows by a minor rockfall. Thankfully non life-threatening injuries, but it had happened only an hour before we had planned to be there)

And so we headed to the Emerald Pools. Personally, I think Olive might be a more apt name, but they were certainly beautiful, especially contrasted against the red sandstone and green foliage. Pool 1 was situated at the bottom of a vast crescent of sandstone, over which water from Pool 2 drifted in a delightful mist.

The second pool was up a series of stairs and with our muscles a little tired from AL yesterday, we took it pretty slow. Chains along the cliff edge prevented curious tourists from getting too close to the slick edge where some have tragically fallen.

Emerald Pool the third was indeed the green jewel its name suggested. Despite the large number of people gathered around its small rocky shore, the sanctity of the place elicited mostly whispers. In fact, it was an ethereal experience sitting among fellow adventurers awed into silence by the beauty and peace of this oasis.
Swallows flew tirelessly to and fro across the stunning blue sky which was framed by a vast cliff. This was the perfect place to be still and remember our Creator.

The landslide still hadn't been cleared by the time we returned to the shuttle stop at Zion Lodge. But a large (and very rare) patch of shaded green glass was calling. While resting and starting this blog, five deer (including two fawns) slowly made their way over to graze. They were unperturbed at the tourist paparazzi as they enjoyed their lunch.

On our way back down the canyon we stopped off at the 'Patriarchs': three peaks (yep, Abraham, Isaac & Jacob) bathed in the setting rays of the sun. On our way back out of Zion, every single turn in the road produced a new wave of wonder. While the sun was setting the canyon walls on fire, the rising moon graced the tops of the distant peaks. This park is indelibly etched in our minds as one of the most stunning places we've experienced.

Farewell Zion. You represented your namesake well. May we see all of you in the real one soon.
- Becky & Nomes, with photos from CillaRead more