September 7, 2008

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.

this mountain towers over you at The Grotto picnic area
the beautiful blue sky contrasts with the massive red mountains near Weeping Rock
we hiked up to Weeping Rock, which gets its name from water seeping out near the base of this mountain
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.

white mountain peaks are seen looking north along the Virgin River
rugged mountain cliffs march off to the south along the Virgin River
As luck would have it, we got to see a parade of horses and mules returning to their stable.

the tired horses and mules are calling it a day and heading back home
the lead horse always has the best view

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!

Isaac Peak is seen through the pine trees
it's a beautiful morning at the Court
the Three Patriarchs greet the new 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.

18 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures. Sadly I've never traveling much out of New England but maybe someday I can get to see this myself. Till then thanks for sharing it with us. RYC: the 'artistic appearances' are for the business on the ground level thankfully. hehe

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  2. Glad you liked the photos, Jeanne! I sure hope that you get out west sometime and see some of this great land!

    That is a relief about the meaning of the sign. LOL!

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  3. All looks lovely,and I so understand what you say about revisiting sites at different times of the day as they take on a totally different appearance.
    Thanks for sharing the photos,I love piccies

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  4. So very beautiful; God's world is marvelous. Thank you for sharing, Donna! :)

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  5. I agree! And I'm happy to share, Sally!

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  6. great phots yet again...and the sky so blue!!!I have never been to Zion nat'l Park...thanks for sharing your amazing photos!

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  7. Thank you, Cindy! Zion is only a couple of hours from Vegas, so you were in the vicinity a couple of months ago. Hard to believe though because the Vegas area is so flat!

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  8. What a beautiful country we have! Thanks for sharing your trip Donna.

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  9. Yes, we do, Lana! You are welcome!

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  10. Hi Donna,

    Oh you are making me want to go on this trip again. LOL These are really beautiful photos and I am always blown away by the beauty of it. Thanks for sharing. How's the clearing of the house going? Hope you are doing well.

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  11. Glad that I got you in the traveling spirit again, Joan! LOL.

    The clearing and decluttering is progressing well. Thank you for asking! I have a bit more to do in the house. We have a lot of packed boxes out in the garage (from 2 years ago, before we put the house on the market), and we will be emptying those next.

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  12. STUNNING! I am going to plan a vacation at Zion. I know my family would love it there. Thank you for the beautiful photos and the story of your travels. LOVE IT!

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  13. We did a whirlwind tour in March....Vegas, Hoover dam, Grand Canyon,Flagstaff, Sedona, Jeromesville in one week. Flew out of Ohio in a snowstorm ...24" of snow...to an amazing color show of rocks and boulders and mountains that were soooo high. the drive from Flagstaff to Sedona was amazing! Next time we will slow the trip down a bit and take in more sights....who would ever want to leave the USA.....there is so much wonderful and glorious things to see....

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  14. The whole Hallman Tribe would LOVE that trip! It is very worthwhile to stay in the park too, so I recommend that. Check the schedule for the free shuttle bus and go when the shuttles are running. Makes it so easy to get around the entire park! I would love to see your vacation trip pictures too!

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  15. So you took a similar trip then, Chicken Gal? You might want to check my other postings since May to see where else we were able to roam. The drive through the canyon from Flagstaff to Sedona is very beautiful, I agree!

    We've done a few trips outside the USA, but the diversity of the landscape here is incredible. We could spend the rest of our vacations just in the USA and not be bored!

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  16. Wow - absolutely stunning photos!

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  17. Glad you enjoyed these pics, Dell!

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