I was excited to check out Zion National Park this morning. I have heard such wonderful things about it. I set the GPS to the Visitor Center, and off we went. Our GPS is set to the fastest way. Bruce is beginning to think I'm doing this on purpose! At least this dirt road had recently been graded!
The veiws on the way were outstanding!
When we got there, we learned that the Scenic Drive could only be accessed by shuttle. No regular vehicles were allowed except by special permit, granted only for specific reasons (such as being an artist in residence or having certain other permits, like Angel's Landing). I'm getting better, but I'm not in good enough shape to do either of the hikes I would want to do in Zion (The Narrows and Angel's Landing), and Bruce is in worse shape than me now. We would have liked to see the park where I could take pictures through open windows or get out at the pullouts and scenic views along the way. But, that's not how the Scenic Drive works in Zion. You must take a shuttle, and even as early as we got there, the windows were dirty and had terrible reflections from the sunroof windows. I did the best I could, but some of those reflections and imperfections couldn't be removed. The shuttle stops weren't even at good viewpoints, only at trailheads.
We finally got back to the Visitor Center and got back in our car. We did the museum and then exited the park through the Mt. Carmel road (the way I thought we were going to come in to begin with). This part of the park was much better. Limited turn outs, but at least I could take pictures through lowered windows where there was good view and no turnout. The scenery was breathtaking. I never got a good view in the Scenic Drive. I also had boring skies and the sun was not always my friend.
There was a park ranger stopping traffic before the tunnel. We thought it was a one-way tunnel, but when we got there, it was two ways. There was no park ranger on the other end. I'm not sure why traffic was stopped on our side.
These natural formations looked like little buildings.
There was a pullout and sign for Checkerboard Mesa. I didn't think it was one of the better formations, but apparently somebody did.
When we left Zion, we headed toward the Parowan Gap Petroglyphs. To get there, we had to drive through part of the Dixie National Forest by Duck Creek Village. I didn't know anything about Dixie National Forest or Duck Creek Village. There are apparently several peaks above 10,000 feet in the forest. In this section, we crested at just under that. It was a beautiful drive!
I loved this sign at one of the pullouts!
We did, indeed, enjoy that view!
It had been a while since I had trudged through a snowy slush!
We stopped for lunch in Cedar City. I took this picture, but didn't see the sign that said there was a restaurant in there, too. Boomer's Bloomers and Candy Factory would have been right up our alley, but I didn't see the sign for the restaurant until doing these pictures! Instead, we ate at the Sizzler. It was good, but we definitely missed out not eating at Boomer's Bloomers!
The petroglyphs are actually a pull out with no visitor center or any person for assistance. There is very good signage, though, that you can read if you go. These petroglyps are some of the better preserved ones that I've seen anywhere except those that have been excavated from their sites and preserved indoors.
The signage explains what the experts think the drawings mean. Keep in mind that this is just their thoughts. They could be wrong, but there does appear to be consensus.
If you're in the area, I would highly recommend a drive through the forest and out to see the petroglyphs. If it's summer, there may be a faster route to Parowan. We saw a sign, but weren't willing to risk driving on unplowed, snow covered roads. To get back to Kanab, we had to backtrack over the forest. I put all the Dixie National Forest pictures together, though some of them were taken on the way back through. I did like this shot between Cedar City and Parowan.
Back in Kanab, we had balogna sandwiches and hit the sack. Tomorrow's another big day!
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