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ZION CANYON
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Zion Canyon [765 Kb]
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Zion is the second of the American Great Plateau National Parks
we visited while based at our comfortable townhouse accommodation
in Kanab Utah. We had hiked the
Peekaboo Loop
trail at Bryce Canyon the day before, and would move on to the
North Rim
of the Grand Canyon the following day.
The drive along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway
into the park passes through an intriguing landscape of
sculpted sandstone before descending to the North Fork Virgin River
in Zion Canyon.
The temperature was in the mid thirties so we limited ourselves
to less strenuous activities, walking several of the short and
easy trails along the length of the canyon. Private cars are not
permitted to drive in the canyon during the summer, so we used
the park shuttle buses to travel between trailheads.
We did this trip on July 18, 2006.
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Waterfall above Lower Emerald Pool [303 Kb]
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The first walk we did was to the Emerald Pools, a series of
three pools at successively increasing elevation
located up a side canyon opposite the Zion Lodge.
The water source for the lower pool is a picturesque
waterfall which flows over an overhanging cliff.
Tadpoles crowded the nearly empty middle pool.
The Upper Emerald Pool is at the base of an impressive
cliff, and was thankfully in a cool shade when we reached it.
We returned to Zion Canyon via the Kayenta Trail and
hopped aboard the shuttle for our next short walk to
the Weeping Rock, where water seeps out and falls from
another overhanging cliff.
We finished the afternoon with the Riverside Walk along
the Virgin River at the end of the canyon road. We followed
the trail as far as we could until further progress would
require wading the river, an inviting idea given the temperature
but time and gear not permitting.
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Weeping Rock [456 Kb]
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Along the Virgin River [209 Kb]
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Other stuff:
Other pictures
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