Zion part two

 

The canyon that is Zion

Tuesday June 11, 2024

Well, the morning didn’t go the way we thought it would, but we had a plan B. We arose early and were on our way to the park entrance a little after eight. It was looking better than yesterday as we pulled up to the toll gate without having to wait in a line of cars. We entered at no cost using our America the Beautiful pass, the attendant asked if we wanted a map, but she never said a word about parking. 

Both lots, the RV lot and the vehicle lot were full. There was not a space to be found and even if someone vacated a spot, there were dozens of cars circling the lot. We decided to drive back outside the park, find a public parking lot in Springdale and take the bus back into the park. There we would rejoin the throng of people waiting to board one of the shuttles that take you into the canyon.

They need more parking at Zion.

We drove the length of the one street village that is Springdale and didn’t see any available parking. By now I’m starting to wonder what I’m even doing here. Even if we were able to get into the Canyon, it would in no way be communing with nature. I doubt you could take a picture without having other tourists in the frame. 

Wilderness experience?

Besides all the parking and overcrowding problems, it is also extremely hot here. We saw temperatures as high as 117 degrees later that day. We had already agreed that we would not be doing any hiking in the canyon because of the weather. It’s not the high temperatures that are dangerous, personally I like it. It’s the very low humidity that causes dehydration and the blistering sun that will crackle your skin if you don’t protect it. Later that day we learned our camper neighbor suffered a heat related medical emergency after hiking.

First thing we did was drive to the town of Hurricane and wash the truck. After driving the truck thru the last two parks it was covered with red dust.

In part of my studies at YouTube University I learned about a road that entered the back side of Zion. The scenery is fabulous and almost nobody goes there. Kobal Terrace Road began about 1000 feet down the street from the campground. 

The secret side of Zion

Returning from the car wash we decided to explore Kobal Terrace. The first several miles the terrain was like Zion. I told Millie we were looking at the back side of the canyon walls and there were thousands of people on the other side. 

The back side of the Canyon

Further on the ground became green with grasses and other vegetation. The lower landscape is dominated by Pinyon Pine and as the road climbed in elevation we came giant ponderosa pines and finally a beautiful grove of aspen trees. The highest elevation we saw on the GPS was 7980 feet. 

The road meanders in and out of the national park boundary marked by small wooden signs. On the privately owned land we saw a few cabins along the road, but nothing anyone lived in year-round. Interestingly, we saw that they have recently run internet conduit along the road up here, for who, I wonder? After 22 miles we came to a fairly large reservoir. The road continued, but the paving stopped at the reservoir. After all the time we spent cleaning the truck at the carwash we didn’t want to get it dusty again so soon. We turned around and went back to the campground.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying each others company. How will tomorrow, our last day in Zion unfold?  We’ll decide in the morning.