August 15, 2008

Zion National Park - Part 1

This is the last featured destination of our spring trip to the Southwest USA! You had to wait a long time for this stop, but it was truly the “dessert” of our tour. Welcome to Zion National Park! As I was going through my pictures, it was pure torture for me to decide which photographs to share with you. My indecision is your gain. This is the first of two posts for this magnificent park!

Originally designated as a national monument by President Taft in 1909, Zion will soon be celebrating its 100 year anniversary as a member of our national park system. There is one word that kept getting stuck in my head while I was dropping my jaw and taking in all the scenes with my eyes and camera. The word is immense.

The park road winds into a big canyon and you spend much of your time looking UP at the mountains soaring above you. We were blessed with terrific weather during our stay. The tour reserved our rooms and meals at Zion Lodge, located in the heart of park, so everything was convenient. The rooms were comfortably modern and the food was delicious. Our room was located in the first building on the left in the photo below.

many visitors were still asleep when we returned from breakfast

Standing in the front yard of the main lodge building, these are the incredible views. Can you imagine walking over from your room to the main lodge for breakfast and having these scenes to accompany your stroll?

spectacular landscape greets you across from Zion Lodge
white sandstone peaks are visible while looking north from the front grounds of Zion Lodge
an ice cream cone is even more delicious when you are enjoying it at the Zion Lodge picnic tables and soaking up this view

The park shuttles were operating, and we made full use of them to explore the length of Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. It was incredibly easy to pop on and off the shuttle at the various stops along the park route, and the free transportation system eliminates traffic and parking issues.

There are scores of hiking trails to enjoy, ranging from easy, paved ones to steep trails that edge cliffs soaring 1500 feet above the canyon floor. Guess which ones we went on, LOL? Here are some spectacular views from the northern half of the park.

what an incredible valley at Big Bend!
different sandstone colors sparkle in the mountain walls at Big Bend
trees stretch toward the heavens at Big Bend
a family of cacti finds the sun along the roadway at Big Bend
rushing water slices through the valley at Riverside Walk
the cliffs are right beside you at Riverside Walk
Doesn’t all of that beauty make you want to pack your bags and head on out there? Please come back and visit my blog again soon when I feature a few more beautiful Zion pictures and wrap up our incredible Southwest USA trip!

23 comments:

  1. STUNNING!!!!!!!! What else can I say. I absolutley love landscape photos and these are beautiful! In what state is Zion Park located? I guess I should click on the website to find that out, hehehe. I am always looking for our next family vacation/adventure, and this looks like it is a place we would LOVE to go see. Thanks for the beautiful post, and I look forward to Part 2! Now to go to Zion website..........ta ta

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  2. Thank you so much! I am happy that you liked them! I would have worked extra hard to take a bad picture at this great park, LOL! Zion is located in southwest Utah. This is one spot where hubby and I would love to revisit and spend more time exploring. The tour only gave us a "taste" of about 24 hours.

    You might want to click on my "journeys" category to see some of the other places that we visited in this tour. I've been sharing some great pictures from the trip since April 30th.

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  3. The colors are Breath taking!!! I love the stream!! Happy weekend Sweetie!!hughugs

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  4. Ok, promise we get to go next time you take off on your journey. Beautiful pictures my friend.
    Breath taking.
    Blessings,
    Kim

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  5. Glad that you enjoyed the pictures, Donna! That stream was lovely and we got to walk right along it for a ways. Very peaceful.

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  6. Come join us on our next trip in September, Kim! LOL! We'll be going to eastern Utah and western Colorado. So I will be sharing more pictures will you this fall and winter!

    I'm happy that you enjoyed my travel photos!

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  7. These are wonderful photos. That lodge looks like the kind of place you can go and just enjoy the surroundings. It's totally beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  8. You are welcome, Joan! It was a magical place.

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  9. The view is breath taking Donna!!!Thanks for sharing your vacation with us!!!
    HUGS~Judy

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  10. Oh my, how absolutely rivoting!! Gorgeous photo's. Thank you, Donna!!!!

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  11. Absolutely breath-taking pics. Are you a photographer?

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  12. Thank you, Lauralee! No, I am not a photographer. It's just a fun hobby for me. Hubby was a photographer for over 40 years (now retired), so we share this common interest.

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  13. wow..what a wonderful holiday..and those photos...

    Thanks for visiting my blog today..and your comments..glad you enjoyed the photos!

    Annie

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  14. what wonderful photos Donna...

    thanks for your visit to my blog today and your lovely comments...so glad you enjoyed my NY photos!

    I haven't been out visiting blogs lately..sorry..been a little busy with baby and other things!

    Annie

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  15. Thanks, Annie! I appreciate you visiting my blog too!

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  16. That place looks gorgeous. It's going on my list of places I must see!

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  17. Thanks, Jeanette! You won't regret seeing it!

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  18. Thank you for visiting, MoziEsme!

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  19. Donna, Gorgeous pictures!! I've always wanted to go to that park. When I was growing up my family went on many vacations and we never did make it to Zion. Have you ever been to Yellowstone? It was my all time favorite!

    Tammy

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  20. Thank you, Tammy! You'll have to put Zion on your "must see" list! Yes, I've been to Yellowstone several times. But I took those trips when I was in college over 35 years ago. We plan to take a vacation out there in the next couple of years. We'd love to go see it in the early winter!

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Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!