After Switzerland, I told myself that I would stay home and not travel for a while, but when Anne invited me to visit Bryce and Zion, I couldn’t resist. Though I’d been to both of these places, I‘ve been craving a return to red rock country. It was Anne’s first visit to both national parks and my first use of my Senior Parks Pass. Though I’m not quite ready to consider myself a senior, it saved us $30 per park. I’m glad to say that Anne was just as enamored of these colorful parks as I am.

Wednesday, Oct 18, 2017 – Getting to Bryce

We met at the airport and flew to Las Vegas, where we picked up and upgraded (from economy, which should be called sub-compact, to compact) our rental car; I’m the designated driver. It was overcast. We stopped in Mesquite for lunch; I ate my packed salad outside a fast food joint. We overshot the Bryce turnoff and ended up seeing a slice of Cedar Breaks on an alternate route. We got to park in time for a scenic stroll from Sunset to Sunrise Point before the sun set.

From there, it was a 15-20 minute drive to Tropic. We stayed at a place called Bryce Valley Lodging, best described as a collection of cabinettes lined up on a gravel parking lot, reminiscent at drive-in movie theaters (remember those?). We walked across the street to Hustler’s, where I consumed BBQ chicken, sweet potato fries, and soggy vegetables. 

Thursday, Oct 19 – Peep-a-Boo Loop

The sound of rain before dawn caused me to turn off the alarm, there wouldn’t be a sunrise today, at least not a colorful one. Fortunately, the rain didn’t last long, and we were able to do our planned hike (the one I took four years ago with no card in my camera).  The Queens Garden – Peep-a-Boo – Navajo loop is about seven miles; it took us five hours, mostly because we kept stopping to gawk and take pictures of the fantastical hoodoos.

We were tired afterwards, no longer acclimatized to hiking in the 8000-9000’ range (2400-2700 meters), so we found coffee for Anne at the general store, not the lodge as we first guessed. We skipped stopping at vista points and headed back to Tropic for an early dinner at Hustler’s. Afterwards a couple cats followed me around while I photographed sunset; there’s a nice view of the Grand Staircase out back.

Friday, Oct 20 – Bryce Sunrise to Zion Canyon

After convincing one of the cats that it couldn’t stay in our cabin, we drove back into Bryce to view the sunrise from Sunset Point. We stopped at Ruby’s Inn for breakfast after exiting the park, arriving early enough to beat the line. I ate everything I usually avoid: eggs, toast, and bacon. It’s been decades since I’ve ordered bacon!

We headed back east for a few minutes and reentered the park to hike appropriately named Mossy Cave. There were some nice red rocks and a small waterfall.

I skipped stopping at Checkboard Mesa after we entered Zion, regretting it when a herd of Bighorn Sheep walked by.

We found parking shortly before the tunnel and walked along the road to the Canyon Rim trailhead. I’ve done this three-mile hike many times over the years and still enjoy it. I’ve come to associate this trail with lizards, and sure enough I saw one this time too.

A long stretch of highway towards the end of Springdale is currently one-way, due to repaving or something. After a short wait we reached our hotel, where we parked and left if for the rest of the day. There is a free shuttle that runs through town, up to the park entrance. The stop near us, #7, was closed due to the construction so we walked to #6 and then kept on walking all the way to the park. Along the way, we stopped at a market to pick up breakfast and snack food, ate lunch at an outdoor table, and sampled beers at the Zion Canyon Brewing Company, licensed as a restaurant, not a bar. (There are no bars in Springdale). This meant that we could not order alcohol without food, so though not hungry we ordered an appetizer of hummus with veggies, with I promptly consumed. In Utah, draft beer can only be 4% (bottled beers can be stronger). We tried three, purchasing six-ounce samples since free ones aren’t allowed; they ranged from undrinkably bitter to “just right”.

We took the shuttle back to stop #6 and walked to the Quality Inn with a room bigger than our cabin in Tropic. I was too full to join Anne for dinner so she headed out on her own, returning quickly to report that the place across the street was too fancy and expensive; instead she snacked on munchies we’d picked up at the market.

Saturday, Oct 21 – Angels Landing

When we were planning this trip, I asked Anne if she’d be interested in hiking in The Narrows; she said absolutely not. I next suggested Angels Landing, while warning  her of the sheer drop offs. She surprised me and said yes. Both a little nervous after all the hype, we agreed to go and see how far we’d get.

We drove into park, parked at visitors center, and caught an 8:00 shuttle to The Grotto, our trailhead. We crossed the bridge and took the West Rim trail, zig-zagging up the cliff-side. It felt good to be hiking; I was refreshed and even Walter’s 21 wiggles didn’t seem difficult. From Scouts Landing (where Karen and I turned back four years ago) to the top was not as scary as it looked. Chains were installed in all difficult parts and we were early enough that peak crowds hadn’t yet arrived. The up and downhill climbers patiently waited for each other, passing in bunches. (Reminder for next time: avoid weekends). We spent a half hour at the top, which was larger than I expected, and though “only” 5,790 feet (1,760 m) the view is vast. By the time we returned to Scouts Landing for lunch, the stream of hikers arriving was backing up and they were starting to pass each other on the narrower, scary sections.

We considered taking the Riverwalk to the beginning of The Narrows, but were too tired to get off bus. Plus we didn’t want to risk having to stand for the 40-minute ride back to the Visitor Center, as could be the case with later buses. Instead we returned to Brew Pub and ordered a couple pints of Octoberfest, the beer we liked best yesterday. This time we split a salad (mixed greens, apples, cranberries, walnuts, cilantro dressing) – delicious! We walked back into the park to retrieve our car. After a rest and shower, we walked to Jacks Sport Bar for dinner – greasy sandwich and a bitter beer.

Sunday, Oct 22 – Weeping Rock

Anne joined me for sunrise. We again parked at the Visitor Center, this time catching a 7:15 shuttle to Canyon Junction, where we hung out for an hour watching the peaks around us light up. Back on the shuttle, we got off at Zion Lodge where we had breakfast (scrambled eggs and rye toast). Afterwards, we crossed the road and hiked to Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Pools. The lower, with water dripping over the rim, was my favorite. On our way back down, we turned onto Kayenata trail and walked above the river to The Grotto and then along the road to Weeping Rock. Only shuttle buses and bicyclists are allowed this far in the park, so we pretty much had it this scenic stretch to ourselves. We took the short walk up a paved path to Weeping Rock, where water seeps out of the sandstone and drips along a stretch of the cliff. We road the shuttle to the last stop, Temple of Sinawava, and once again considered taking the Riverwalk to the beginning of The Narrows, but we turned back in less than a mile, both too tired to want to walk further. My phone says we covered nine miles today, further than yesterday’s eight plus.

Back at the Brew Pub, we enjoyed our pints of Octoberfest and split the same salad as yesterday. This time it took 25 minutes to get through the construction backup. We rested at the hotel – I downloaded images, took a short nap, and showered, then risked the traffic and drove to The Spotted Dog for dinner. Fortunately, when we called earlier we were able to get reservations right after opening. It was the meal of this trip – red trout, veggies, and a flowerless chocolate dessert. Yum.

Monday, October 23 – Back Home

We ate the boring free breakfast and headed back to Las Vegas, detouring to the see more fascinating red rocks at Valley of Fire, Nevada’s oldest state park. It looks like the gods and goddesses have been playing with clay. Google got us to the off-off site car rental dealer from where we got a van ride to the off-site car rental center. Eventually reaching our terminal, we ate a late lunch before flying home, arriving a little, but not much, behind schedule.

Since my credit card was suspended, due to fraud detected while I was in Utah, I couldn’t use Lyft. Supershuttle had no shuttles so they sent me to Go Lorries. If you don’t mind being uncomfortably crammed in with others and wandering willy-nilly around the city for an hour or two, this is the way to go. I jumped out in the Castro and took a bus home from there. On the positive side, their vans are newer and don’t rattle like Supershuttle’s.

My roommate, Linda, shared her food so I didn’t have to go to the market for dinner. I was especially grateful since I had only a few hours to pack for my next adventure.  The cats and I enjoyed company for one night.