US Road Trip 2017 – Zion National Park, Utah

Sometime in April this year , I wrote the first installment of our Las Vegas trip. If you want to read that, you may click this link – https://leawalkerblog.com/2017/04/11/us-roadtrip-2017-celine-dion-and-caesars-palace/

This continuation happened on the third day when we left Caesars Palace and headed towards Utah, U.S.A. Our main destination – Zion National Park.

From Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, travel time is just a mere 3 hour drive via Interstate-15. It passes through the State of Arizona for an hour or so, before the Utah signage can be seen.

The photos below are from the Arizona side of this trip.

And then Utah’s Welcome sign that says – Life Elevated. 🙂

From I-15, we followed Highway 9 to Springdale , Utah. This is the base for those visiting Zion National Park.

Beautiful scenery upon entering Springdale. Named by Forbes Traveler as one of America’s prettiest towns in 2008, this small but elegant location has Zion’s red mountains as its backdrop. Imagine, waking up each morning to that view…

Before proceeding to the park, we stopped at the Visitor Center to get more details and maps.

This vehicle was parked behind the Visitor Center. No, we did not rent this. ha ha… But it would have been cool right? 🙂

We left our vehicle at the parking space of the Visitor Center. Then took the free shuttle bus to the park.

We had to fall in line before entering because the park was full that day. Upon showing our “America the Beautiful Annual Pass” , we went in without paying anymore.

We walked towards the waiting area and fell in line for about an hour. Oh yes, it was that crowded during spring. So make sure that you plan ahead. If you are following some trails, book your hotels ahead of time. But if you are just passing through , that should not be a problem then.

Finally, it was our time to board the tour bus.

From Wikipedia:

Zion National Park is located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km²) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to half a mile (800 m) deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River. The lowest elevation is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest elevation is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park’s unique geography and variety of life zones allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park’s four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches.

Zion Monoliths and the Virgin River below.

Even the buses looked tiny ….

Zion Lodge, located inside the park , was full as well. So I repeat, if you prefer to stay near the trails, make sure that you have prior bookings to ensure that you have a place to stay in while on holiday here.

After the tour bus, we got our vehicle from the visitor center and proceeded with our road trip to Page , Arizona.

We went back to the park . And followed the park road going to US Highway 89.

The following photos below were taken on board our car. Beautiful right?

We crossed a mountain tunnel here.

On top of the mountain here. The moon looks small. 🙂

Found some mountain goats on top. These goats prefer living in a high elevation, near the water.

Two more a few meters away from the creek. 🙂

Look at the hills. Pretty colors and formations. 🙂

On top of Zion Mountain, this tree looked taller than the moon. How awesome! 🙂

Faint sillouhette of the moon, on the background.

Now at the North Entrance of the park. This is our exit as we continue with our road trip to Page , Arizona.

Have you ever heard of the world famous horseshoe bend and antelope canyon? If so, then come back sometime and look at them through my eyes. Amazing is an understatement.