Zion National Park - Part 2

This is the last installment of our Southwest USA trip that we took in April! It is sad to come to the end of this trip. But I know all of my readers have been anxious to see a few more pictures at spectacular Zion National Park.

I can still vividly recall the majesty of this park, with its towering mountains. You spend much of your time looking up from a canopy of trees at the base of the canyon floor, spellbound at the mountain peaks all around you. These pictures, taken at The Grotto and Weeping Rock along Zion Park Scenic Drive, provide perfect examples.

The Court of the Patriarchs area, located in the middle of the park, is well-known for being very photographic. We visited it twice to take advantage of the changing direction of sunlight. This was our first stop to explore after we got settled into the lodge. Since it was late afternoon, we had already lost the namesake western ridgeline to the shadows. But we had plenty to subject matter to photograph in the other three directions. We explored along the Virgin River, which strikes a north-south course through the park.

As luck would have it, we got to see a parade of horses and mules returning to their stable.

The next morning, we visited the Court area again and viewed the magnificent mountains to the west. What a glorious way to start the day!

If we ever get a chance, we would love to go back to Zion and spend more time there. Our brief stay barely scratched the surface. But the tour bus headed out right on schedule and took us to our last destination – Las Vegas.

It was quite a contrast to have over a week exploring some of the most beautiful southwest country and parks, and then finish up the tour in the famous city of glitz and glam. We put away our cameras as soon as we arrived. It took some concentration to not get lost at our hotel, the humongous Caesars Palace. We are not glitz and glam people, and neither the gambling nor the shows interested us. After spending a night and saying farewell to our newfound traveling friends, we headed back to our Tennessee home, sweet home.