The Van Blog: Zion National Park

Jen: Yesterday we left Lake Powell and arrived at Zion National Park via the East Entrance on Utah Route-9 which enters the park at about 5000ft elevation and takes you throught a one lane tunnel carved into the mountain and then down a switchback to the valley floor. We took a risk arriving such a small national park on a Friday, and as luck would have it all the campgrounds in the park were full. We intended to camp at a campground Friday night and backpack Saturday and Sunday nights, since there were no campgrounds available we made the decision to backpack to a campsite that night. From the main visitor center in the valley we had to drive to the north entrance to get to the trail head we picked. We were on the trail by 2:30 and arrived at our campsite about an hour later. The mountains are huge beyond belief and shoot straight up and the wild flowers were in full bloom. I was intreged by the ecosystem that had cacti next to pine trees. We had a breath taking view of Shuntavi Butte from our camp site. As the night went on we heard thunder and while we were sleeping it rained. When we woke this morning we made the decision to go back to the car instead of going further because the weather looked promising for more rain and cold. Today we made our way up I-15 to I-70 and treated ourselves to a night in a hotel in beautiful Richfield, Utah (only $53 with our AAA discount!). Tomorrow we plan to go to Arches National Park and do a day hike then camp in the Manti-La Sai Naional Forest... but if I have learned anything so far it's that our plans don't always go the way we think they will - so we'll just have to see what happens! Here are some photos of Zion and our drive today: