Monday - western Zion Natl Park

Today we toured the western side of Zion Park. It has quite a lot of red sandstone, dramatic sheer cliffs, very changeable viewing depending on the light intensity and direction. It was a very comfortable temp today, almost cool in the canyons, apparently because of yesterday's unseasonable rainstorm. Very nice for hiking.

The main park road in Zion is closed to cars. You need to park and take shuttle buses. We like this approach, as we could get on and off at will, or hike between stops.

The area we were in is a channel caused by the Virgin River. This is Mormon country, and the blessed virgin figures large into their religion apparently.

The one trail we went on ended here for us, but quite a lot of people came prepared to carry on up the river. The trail crosses the river several times from here on, and for some stretches the trail is only in the river.

Cool and damp as it felt in the canyons today, we were surprised to see claret-cup cactus plants quite common, making it clear that today's canyon climate is the exception. These cacti usually grow best in hot dry climates.