Catching Up - Day Two

Day 2

The good thing about this part of the country being three hours behind "our time" is that we can wake up early and still have had a good nights sleep, yet beat the crowds at the parks! By 7:00 a.m. Pacific Standard time, we were downstairs having coffee and breakfast! We were happy to find the cafe had Starbuck's coffee and quiche waiting for us. No cars are allowed to drive through the park d/t the pollution. There is a shuttle that picked us up right in front of the hotel, dropping us at the park. We got an annual pass for only $80 for the two of us! Our first hike was so amazing, It was a total of 3 1/2 hours. We started at the bottom of a connected, three trail hike. Every 5-10 steps we had to stop and look around because the scenery changed so quickly and we didn't want to miss a thing. Plus, when we kept stopping we saw many things we would have missed otherwise. We saw loads of hummingbirds buzzing around sometimes fighting with one another. We saw lots of these deep, yellow birds we later identified as Yellow Warblers. We noticed the squirrels and how much fatter they are than our squirrels in Florida. One approached us very closely, obviously, looking for a hand out which he did not get! Of course, the best part was the mountains of solid rock. The colors were rust, orang, some whites. As we progressed through the trails we came upon three ponds that we formed by water that runs and falls through the rocks. Most of the trail was smooth. Some of it even paved. But as we got closest to the top and largest of the Emerald pools, the path became more treacherous. We really had to watch our footing and use our walking sticks for support! A fall at our age could be dangerous, as a somewhat older friend of mine used to say! The path also became narrowed, and we often had to step aside to let others (youngers) pass. When we got to the top, the pond was about 100 feet in diameter. Directly behind the pond was a rock formation that went way high and straight up. Many people we just sitting, enjoying the scenery, and that they had made it to the top! There was sand around the water as though it were a beach and the kids were playing in it. There were these two large logs floating in the water, which was fairly shallow, and these two girls were riding around on them floating in the water. How fun for them! The hike down was somewhat easier, but harder on the knees. We got to see a better view of the Virgin River (shallow and narrow) that flows through the park and surrounding community. We had lunch at the Zion Lodge in the park. Salmon burgers and a beer. Yummo! It was at that point, that we realized we were a bit tired. Still, that did not stop us. We ventured on to see the Weeping Rocks where rainfall that fell over a thousand years ago finally make its' way through the porous rock deep below. The water seeps out and creates a rain effect when viewed from behind in a "grotto." We saw interesting black lizards twice the size of a Florida gecko, and some pretty cool beetles. When we finally got back to the hotel, we went to the pool with our books and to relax in the hot tub. We met a couple from Vegas. He was originally from Rochester and they travel to Canandaigua Lake every summer to stay with his brother. Small world. We had dinner at a pizza place in town, went to bed at 7:30 (10:30 Spring Hill time.)