The next stop on our trip was Zion National Park, which was one of my favorite stops on our trip. I wish we had more time to explore, but the part that we did see was amazing. Part of the park sits inside a canyon, and its beautiful and lush inside the canyon, along the Virgin River that flows through the canyon.
By the time we secured a campsite, it was getting lake, so we only had time for a shortish hike, but it was beautiful - a hike to a serious of pools called the Emerald Pools. Amazingly, all the pools were full, filled by water seeping out of the steep rock face. Unfortunately, it was almost dark by the time we finished the hike, so that was the extent that we explored the canyon. In the morning, we took a hike up the Watchman Trail, which overlooked the base of the canyon and the neighboring town of Springdale, which was pretty, but not as nice as further in the canyon.
After our hike, we had to leave to head to Bryce, but we took some time to check out the sights on the top of the canyon. The contrast between the lushness and green of the canyon with the arid dessert of the plateau.
+ More photos from Zion over at Flickr
Posted by dahl at October 23, 2007 8:44 PM