Get off the bus Gus. Make a new plan Stan.

October 27, 2013: Zion National Park.

Get off the bus Gus.  Make a new plan Stan.

Daily we have discovered that Zion is not for spectators.  If your intention is to drive through the park, you better get off the bus and make a new plan.  Slide down into a wash and see where it takes you.  Wade through the Virgin River as you hike The Narrows.  Climb the sheer face of a vertical rock wall.  Or, do as we did today.  Hike the “Easy to Moderate” Emerald Pools, Kayenta, and Grotto Trails … and end your hike with an ice cream cone at Zion Lodge.  In other words, there’s something for everyone, but you’re not going to find it sitting on the bus.

Beautiful fall foliage as we walk along the "Easy" trail to the Lower Emerald Pool.

This young deer crossed our path to get to her mother.  There's no fear in the park.

A couple passes us on the trail - they usually do.  We try to take everything in and I never seem to stop taking pictures.

More colorful foliage - and a magnificent sheer cliff behind.

The water from the cliff above raining down in front of us on the trail.

And then, the falls from a distance as we move up the trail.

Up between 2 massive boulders, climbing to the Upper Emerald Pool. 

We have nearly reached the vertical wall.  It’s got to be close now.

We’re hoping for a little solitude after our long trek up the mountain.  Oh no!  There must be 20 or more people up here.  So much for solitude.

A few pictures later we hit the trail in an effort to escape the masses.

Three pictures in succession – top of the cliff to the Upper Emerald Pool (today, a mud puddle).

 

 

It takes 3 vertical photos to capture this view into the canyon.

 

 

What a view on the way back down the trail.

And a rather odd arrangement of cairns.

We reach the junction for the Kayenta Trail and follow it back to the Grotto shuttle stop.

No shuttle for us.  We head down the Grotto Trail to the Zion Lodge for another ice cream cone.  No concern about the calories today.  I think an ice cream cone’s worth of calories is already worn off – and we’re not to the lodge yet.

I absolutely love this national park!  I can hardly wait for our next excursion.  We haven't yet decided what that will be.  Be safe and God bless.