Day 1: Newport to Zion.

 

Thursday morning we got up early, at around 4 AM. While Kathy was getting ready, I went downstairs to turn on the weather report. The KTLA 5 weatherman said, “Surprise! We said the rain was going to be over, but we were wrong. Sorry.” Luckily we were leaving town.

We were on the road by 5:30. The rain was steady, but moderate through Corona, with rain and fog through the Cajon Pass. When we reached Hesperia, the skies cleared and we saw sun for the first time in seven weeks. (Ok, that might be a small exaggeration.)

Outside of Barstow, we stopped at Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner, which bills itself as the oldest diner on Interstate 15. I’m not sure if they are right. Breakfast was good. Kathy had a veggie omelette and I had chicken-fried steak. I was so hungry, I forgot to take a picture of the food.

We got to Springdale (the town nearest the Zion National Park entrance) about 3:00PM and checked into our B&B (the Novel House at Zion). It’s a cute place, with each of its ten rooms named (and decorated) after a different author. We’re in the Louis L’Amour room.

For the last few years, driving has been restricted in the park. The only way to visit the scenic drive is via the park shuttle. Since it was only 4PM, we decided to head over and ride the length of the park, planning on a more leisurely exploration tomorrow.

The Springfield Shuttle takes you to the park, so we didn’t have to drive over to the Visitor’s Center and park and we are glad we took the shuttle because the visitor center parking lot was filled. The free shuttle runs every 10-15 minutes and there is a stop just across the street from our B&B. It’s very convenient.

The Springfield Shuttle dropped us off at the park’s Visitor’s Center, where we switched to the Zion Shuttle for the trip up the canyon. Last summer Kathy bought a lifetime National Parks pass, so we both got right in (although they made her sign it, since she didn’t do that when we bought it).

The ride up the canyon in the late afternoon light was beautiful. There were fluffy clouds over the tops of some of the cliffs, and when the sun broke through it lighted the top of cliffs in bright oranges, yellows, and reds. 

Half way up the canyon there was some construction, so the shuttle had to wait. We were sitting near the driver, so we asked him what was going on. He said that on Tuesday, during the rain storm, a rock had fallen onto the road and landed on a manhole cover which took out all communications and power to the entire upper canyon. The folks who were staying at the in-park Zion Lodge spend two nights with Coleman lanterns. I’d say that’s an authentic old-west experience, (although I’m not sure those who paid a premium for in-park lodgings would see it like that).

Once we got past the construction, we continued on the shuttle to the last stop, the Temple of Sinawava. This rock formation was named by Douglas White, a publicity agent for the Union Pacific Railroad, to honor Sinawa, a spirit in the Paiute tradition.

Everyone had to leave the shuttle at this last stop, and the driver warned us to be back by 7:15 when the last park shuttle departed going down-canyon. If we missed it, we’d have to walk back. 

Since we had two hours, we decided to try the River Walk trail up to the Narrows, on the North Fork of the Virgin River. It’s marked “easy” in our guidebook (the only hikes I consider at my age). The Narrows itself is closed until later in Spring, when the water flow in the river is reduced.

The trail was nice (and paved), although muddy in spots. However, because of the sandy nature of the mud, it wasn’t slippery (or icky). There were quite a few people still out and about, but it wasn’t crowded at all. Both of us were a little tired (2.2 miles round trip) and were happy to get back on the shuttle.

We got back to the Visitor’s Center a few minutes after 7, and went to pick up he shuttle to Springfield. Unfortunately, we’d misunderstood the timing. The last Zion shuttle departed at 7:15, but the last Springfield shuttle left at 7:00. We just missed it.

After our two mile hike earlier, neither of us were looking forward to walking another mile back to town, but it wasn’t too bad. We saw several herds of deer, browsing in the back yards of the houses we passed on the way. 

We got back to our room at 8 PM, and neither of us wanted to go out to dinner. We made some sandwiches from the sliced deli meats we had brought for our lunches. Along with a few tangerines and some Trader Joe’s cookies it was a great dinner.

By 9 we were both sound asleep. Tomorrow, we’ll give the park a more thorough examination.