The drive to the East Entrance of Zion National Park is without a doubt one of the most spectacular scenic drives anywhere in the US. The road winds up and up for something like 27 miles, clings to the sides of rodk walls, and shoots in and out of tunnels carved right through the mountains.
Every turn reveals a postcard-picture view. The red rocks tower above you and the light seems to come from within them. They seem to glow with colors too bright to be real, but they are.
We found a space at Watchman Campground, in with the big RVs, and enjoyed being close to the Visitor's Center and the shuttle bus routes. Riding the park shuttles was the best way to get around, and we spent one whole day riding up and down the canyon, stopping to hike down to the bottom of the canyon and taking pictures everywhere we looked.Two of Zion's most famous rock formations -- beloved, we're told, of vertical-wall climbing fanatics -- are The Three Patriarchs (right) and Angel's Landing (left, above). There is actually a hiking trail all the way to the top of Angel's Landing, featuring a summit approach only 3' wide with thousand-foot dropoffs on both sides. We decided NOT to attempt that one.
I was interested in the wildflowers that grew in all of the parks, but none of them were as spectacular as the Angel's Trumpets that were all over Zion. These night-blooming shrubs opened their big white blossoms in the evening and closed up in the heat of the day, and when we first encountered them after dark on a walk back from a ranger talk, I was sure they were fakes. The plants grow several feet high, resenble shrubs or bushes, and are entirely wild. A park ranger told us that they "love it here" and do best in the hot, arid climate. They were certainly the showiest wild flowers we found anywhere.
Next stop: Bryce Canyon NP, where we plan to "hike the hoo-doos."
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