Zion National Park, Utah October 17-26, 2013

Zion National Park in southwest Utah was open by the time we arrived.




What a gorgeous place to park the RV.  Fall colors were on and I had this view out the windows.




This is one of my favorite National Parks--the walls along the canyon seem to rise "forever".

Now there are shuttle buses that run from the Visitor Center (campground) along the canyon up to the Narrows.  Before the 1 mile paved walk there are many areas you can get close to the river.

No matter which way you look it's breath-taking.

For the adventurous you can hike IN the Virgin River.  I did this hike many years ago (in the summer).  Now hikers can rent insulated boots and waders as these folks have.

Driving east from the canyon area, through a 1.1 mile tunnel you arrive in a different world.  Here the terrain is much smoother.

I loved the beautiful red of the oak brush along the dry creekbed.

I am amazed at the many  layers of sandstone.  And to think each layer took thousands of years to form.

While on the east side we took a short hike.

I would love to know the geological event that caused all these zig zag layers to form.  Ah, the mysteries of nature.

Another short, but steep hike on the east side of the tunnel led to this view.  Wow!!

Everywhere...gorgeous views.

Here at Dripping Rock the water continually leaks from springs.

Almost straight up.

I imagine  this overhang was shelter in ancient times.

On a hike to Angels Landing this is the view back down the canyon--Virgin River.

Me hiking down from Angels Landing.  The line shows the trail upward.  (No, I didn't actually hike TO Angels Landing--but 6 in our group did).

Another view down the canyon.  I took so many beautiful photos it's hard to select a few for the blog.

All along the steep vertical walls there are people rock climbing.  A few had even hung hammocks for an overnight adventure suspended from the wall.  "No thank you."

On my birthday a small group of us put the bikes on the shuttle bus to the top of the canyon and rode the bikes DOWN to the campground.  So quiet and beautiful.  Then cake, ice cream and fresh strawberries.

Our final day we hiked to Emerald Ponds.  The trail goes just in front of the waterfall.

We had a great time in Zion.  Now we have moved on to just east of Las Vegas to a campground near Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam.  The new bridge was completed a few years ago and I have driven over it twice with the RV.  Halloween night will be on Fremont Street.

Salt Lake City, Heber, Park City, Utah

We stayed in the town of Heber City--about 45 minutes from Salt Lake City.

The state capitol of Utah.

Inside the capitol is almost solid granite--however not from Utah but from Georgia.

More inside the capitol.

Later we walked over to Temple Square--the heart of the Mormon church. We enjoyed an organ recital in the Tabernacle.

This is the Assembly Hall built in 1882 with the white spires and stained glass windows.

Inside the Assembly Hall is another of the organs.

And finally the Temple--where only members of the Mormon church "in good standing" may enter.

Back in Heber City 4 of us rode the Heber train for an evening ride.

I got to go into the engine cab and blew the whistle--scared even the conductor.

On a short hike one day we stopped by this bridge and picked apples to make a delicious apple cobbler.

Near Heber City is the "Swiss-Austrian" town of Midway City.

The following 3 photos show some of the homes in Midway and the beautiful designs. Having been to Austria just once they do look authentic to me.

Another day we drove to Park City--home of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

While walking around town I saw "Sherlock". Wonder if Parker would share the RV?

And further along the street in Park City was "Loosey, the Moosey".

Up at the Olympic Park we toured the museum and the several of the Olympic event areas.

We couldn't see much of the bobsled track as it was being iced for winter training.

Mark and I were going to practice in the indoor bobsled. I'm the one with the least wind resistance.

In the museum were the masks used in the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics. After a great week in the area we were planning to move on to Great Basin National Park--but with the park being closed we've ambled south and now in Cedar City, UT in the Home Depot parking lot. Did go see the movie "Captain Phillips"--Wow, really enjoyed it. Tomorrow we go into Zion National Park which has been open thanks to the Governor of Utah putting up the money to open 5 national parks in Utah. May not have internet there so stay tuned till I get back in a "service area".

Dinosaur National Monument, Utah

We moved on to Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal, UT. Our campground is right on the Green River. The arrow points to my RV.

This is the new Quarry Center where an entire wall of fossilized dinosaur bones are exposed.

These bones were washed together in ancient river floods.

I was first here in the late 1970's. It's an amazing place and I'm so glad my grandchildren have had the opportunity to visit here.

Allosauras was the most common dinosaur in this area.

We took a ranger guided tour.

Here is a series of vertebrae still in the hillside. This is what it looked like to the early explorers.

On up the remote and isolated canyon is Josie's homestead where she lived alone farming and ranching until well into her 90's.

Her corrals were situated here in this true box canyon.

Petroglyphs can be seen throughout the park.

The mountains in the area probably contain thousands more dinosaur fossils.

Now leaving the remote beauty of Dinosaur National Monument we are moving on to Dechesne,UT, then Heber City from which we will tour Salt Lake City, Temple Square, Park City and more. Stay tuned.