Zion National Park May 26-27, 2011

At the beginning of summer last year, Dear Wife and I drove across Nevada to southern Utah to visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, to do some day-hiking. We visited Zion on a Thursday and Friday.

The first thing we did was to board the park bus. During the summer, personal vehicle travel is restricted on the Zion Canyon road that runs alongside the North Fork of the Virgin River. Since it’s a two-lane, curvy road, the bus is really the least frustrating way to explore the park. It also has other benefits, which I’ll touch on later.

We decided to travel to the farthest point, Temple of Sinawava, which grants access to the Riverside Walk leading to The Narrows, where hikers can (seasonally) go up river into the wilderness. Since the 2010-2011 winter was pretty wet in the West, the river’s volume was yet too high for the trail to be open.

Across the river, the other wall of the canyon was filled with bands of color. This is just a small sampling of it.

One of the benefits of riding the bus is picking up tips from people who know the area well. On our way back down the canyon to the next stop, we met a park ranger who told us about a nice trail up the east wall of the canyon that led to a side canyon, starting at The Grotto bus stop. He also said that we could walk along the river, even though it wasn’t a marked trail, between The Grotto and the Zion Lodge stop.

The next three photos were taken on that eastern trail:

After lunch at Zion Lodge, we walked across the canyon road and a small footbridge to the Emerald Pools trail. The pools themselves were quite crowded, as it’s a fairly short, easy walk from the Lodge. They are nice to visit, but do not really lend themselves to good photos, at least not by me. Nevertheless, the trail provided some beautiful views. This photo is from a spot about 500 yards up the trail.

At one point the trail meanders behind a rock wall and through a fissure toward the river canyon:

The rest of Thursday afternoon was spent around the river and the Lodge, with no really interesting photos resulting. We were staying in St. George, and on the way back we stopped at the Farmer’s Market supermarket in La Verkin for an early evening snack. We found they had a bakery and deli that would provide a healthy, inexpensive breakfast the next morning.

On Friday, we and a few dozen other guests conquered Angels Landing, the highest point on the west rim that has a maintained trail. The trail includes a section known as “Walter’s Wiggles”, a series of steep switchbacks about 20' between turns. It was a tough trail for yours truly (who is not at all athletic), but the view from the top and the sense of accomplishment are well worth it. This photo is looking south from Angels Landing down the river toward Canyon Junction.

This photo is up river to the north from Angels Landing.

This photo is north-westerly from Angels Landing, showing one of the other bits that stick out on the West Rim.

After climbing back down from Angels Landing, as we were crossing the river back to the road, I spotted this tall visitor looking for some lunch.

That afternoon we drove east on Highway 9 on our way to Bryce Canyon. It’s a scenic highway, with a few switchbacks and a tunnel a little over a mile long, between Zion Canyon and Mount Carmel Junction. Here is a sandstone arch being formed; check back in a couple thousand years.

A wide view of one of the bluffs along Zion Canyon.

Here’s a little tighter view of the layers in that bluff, along with some of the local flora.

East of the tunnel, near Mount Carmel Junction, there is an elk ranch. Apparently it was siesta time.

Zion National Park is well worth a visit if you’re anywhere near southern Utah, and that means Grand Canyon, too. In fact, the drive from the Grand Canyon through Page, AZ, and the Lake Powell region is very scenic. I highly recommend visiting the area, especially if you like to hike.

Next stop: Bryce Canyon.

Sacramento Has a Zoo!

Once in a while, we get the urge to travel outside of our little valley. It’s a good thing for us, then, that Sacramento is only a couple of hours away, and San Francisco a couple of hours beyond.

In July of 2010, we left early one weekend morning and went to Sacramento for breakfast. Dear Wife (DW) had read about a popular breakfast spot near Broadway and Land Park Drive, called the Tower Café. We headed there, found a spot to park in the rear, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast. The decor is a cross between a classic supper club and the Rain Forest Café, and, being in California, their menu offers somewhat healthier gourmet takes on standard breakfast fare. My French Toast was made of thick, diagonal slices from a baguette, and I have a hunch the bacon was oven-fried. DW’s ham & eggs featured ham that was less salty than your typical diner’s, included a side of fresh fruit, and came with freshly made salsa.

One of the reasons we chose the Tower Café, in addition to the good reviews, was that it is quite close to William Land Park and the Sacramento Zoo. I’m sure most of my readers have been to zoos before, so I will skip the description of walking around and simply show you some photos of the animals.

Flamingos near the entrance

One of a few kinds of antelope there

A red river hog with one of her 3 pigs.
The other 2 are beyond her.

They have several zebras. This one posed for us.

This ostrich posed, as well.

The giraffes were keeping cool.

A rare one-legged owl!

I don't think she can actually see us…

We did not know this beforehand, but the tiger in residence had recently had a cub, which we were fortunate enough to see running around and playing. Our camera is horrible for low-light or shadow, but here are two photos of the cub.

The blur on lower right is the cub.

The cub in a rare still moment

We were also just in time to witness hand-feeding time for the giraffes.

It was getting warm, and we’d seen most of the animals twice, so we made our way out. On the way, we passed the hyena enclosure, where one was enjoying the warm sun.

There are also birds and monkeys, but I don’t like them as much. If you want to see them, you’ll have to make the trip! Also, behind the giraffe barn is the hospital and nursery. In front of it is a wall of tiles with engraved sketches by Ann Ranlett, a wonderful artist living in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Commission a pet portrait from her sometime; you won’t regret it.

Eagle Lake: A Worthwhile Day Hike

My wife and I like to try hiking trails we’ve never used before. Fortunately for us, there are dozens of trails in the Reno and Lake Tahoe area. A couple of summers ago, we decided to try the somewhat popular, moderate-to-strenuous Eagle Lake Trail at Lake Tahoe.

To get there, one must drive to Emerald Bay. Just south of the parking area for the family-oriented Vikingsholm, on the mountain side of Hwy 89, is the entrance to the smaller parking lot for the trailhead. There are actually 2 or 3 trails accessed from the same trailhead; the lot fills up quickly, so it pays to get there early. We arrived around 8:30, and it was about 3/4 full. We filled out our day-use paper and dropped it in the box, and we were on our way.

The Eagle Lake trail takes a left turn a few yards up the hill. It’s a pretty easy walk up to Eagle Falls, with a picturesque viewpoint from a footbridge over Eagle Creek (where I apparently neglected to take any pictures). After crossing the bridge, the trail turns uphill and becomes a bit steeper for about a mile-and-a-half.

South Lake Tahoe

Rubicon Peak

At different points along the climb, the views of Lake Tahoe open up, and the Jewel of the Sierras reveals her true splendor. My photos do not do justice to the magnificent remains of the ice age. (If you look at the valley between Maggie’s Peak, where we were standing, and Rubicon Peak from the East Shore, you can see the tell-tale U-shape caused by glacial carving. The eastern part of the Tahoe Rim Trail is on our list, and I’ll try to remember to take photos of this when we do that, if we can see it.)

Emerald Bay, Vikingsholm, Tea House, & Tahoe

We emerged from the creek-side climb onto a large meadow just below Eagle Lake, then continued up about another 60 vertical feet, over about a half-mile, to the lake itself. We had a snack on the shore, and I took a couple of photos of a nearby unnamed peak and some of the local residents.

We then went on around the shore until the trail was lost in some boulders on the southeast side. We climbed in them a bit, then decided it was time to head back. By the time we got back to where we’d rested, there were quite a few other people there, evidencing the trail’s popularity.

When we left the parking lot at around noon, there were cars parked on the shoulder along Hwy 89–a common sight in the summer. It was just beginning to get really warm, which is another big advantage to starting early. Of course, “early” to me is not all that early. Those of you up before first light should be able to get primo parking spaces!

New Zealand Diary, Epilogue

On the way back, we had a long layover in Fiji. About 6 hours. We soon exhausted the few stores and restaurants in the tiny airport, and had our fill of the Indonesian Oreos® and Malaysian Pringles®. DW began striking up conversations with the airport workers. The first one she talked to was a janitor, who told us about his family and his little house near the beach. (Of course, Fiji is a volcanic island; most of the houses are near the beach.)

Next, she was talking to all the young women clerking the souvenir shops, and getting them to go over to the music shop to dance on their breaks. By the time we left that airport, even the Fijian Police were wishing us a good journey, and calling us by name.

The whole time we were in New Zealand, in the middle of summer, the temperature had not risen above around 75°F. When we landed at LAX that afternoon (because of the International Date Line we arrived on the afternoon of the same day we left Fiji), the temperature was 80°F.

Home, sweet home! Time to start planning the next vacation. Let’s see: France? China? Colorado? Weekend at Bernie’s? Who knows where we’ll go next?