Zion National Park, Bus Stop # 12 (Still Utah!)

We left Bryce Canyon way early to make the fairly short drive to Zion in time to get a a spot -we'd heard it is very crowded.  The drive was pretty, but the entrance road to the park was fantastic.  From the east gate the road goes down this surreal rock canyon with whole mountain sides of solid rock adorned by wild, but curious big horn sheep.  As we decended, the barely drivable upper portion of the canyon simply terminated.

There simply is no drivable transition from upper to lower - sheer straight down bluffs that square off to each other form a granite faced, vertical "V" where no road may go. 

So, in the late 1920's enterprizing folks blasted a mile long, downward slanted tunnel from the upper canyon right behind the face of one of the bluffs, to a point low enough on the bluff face, to where they could construct a "switchback" road, the rest of the way down.

The tunnel was so long, they blasted out these windows in the bluff face along the way to ventilate it and give it some light.

The features of the park in the bottom, mostly viewed from killer hikes we took, caused us to stay a couple of nights.  A whole ecosystem to itself.  Deb went crazy with flower pictures.

Exposure to all of this was a series of "Madison Moments" for Deb.  An example was our quiet time of reading and reflection one afternoon on the sandy bank of the Virgin River.  She saw him in the laughing, playful water and knew for sure that he and his band of angels were happily watching over our journeys in the bus.

Our bus stop at Zion was different from our others as we discovered how social camping can be.  Across the way from us was Frank, a man of our same age who recently left Knoxville, TN in search of new roots.  An avid racing enthusiast, he camped a lot as he followed the races, and came to love the culture where making new friends came with the life.  While his race chasing days are falling off, the camping life he still pursues and his enthusiasm for it was contagious.  When he found out we were living on instant coffee, he insisted that we join him the next morning for the real stuff.  Thank you Frank! 

Through Frank we also met neighbors Cat and Travis, young parents of a four year old girl named Summit, all from the Salt Lake City Area.  With Summit in good hands at home, they came to Zion to enjoy time with friends.  While we all went our different ways during the day, we enjoyed sharing the evening together around the campfire.  They were a laid back and friendly couple and it seems we had just began to yuck it up and get a taste of their superior sense of good humor when it was time to go.

 

It's so funny, we sit in our chairs, or busy ourselves about little campsite chores, while all the time discreetly checking out our neighbors, what kind of tent, how are they doing their fire, whos related to whom, and how so?   And so this time, thanks to outgoing Frank, we speculated less, and the beautiful Zion Park was also a place of great fellowship.