Observation Point

We had a big hike planned for the very last day of our Spring Break trip to Zion National Park.

We were heading up to Observation Point which is located at the end of the main canyon of the park and has spectacular views.  The hike is eight miles round trip with over 2000 feet of elevation gain.  It's recommended to plan on five to six hours or more to complete it.  We got everything ready the night before and left early Friday morning to get a parking spot at the bottom and get started.

The temps were in the low thirties that morning and it was a sunny, beautiful day.

The hike started out with steep switchbacks up the side of the cliff.  Then, all of a sudden the trail took a turn into an amazing canyon.  This is a lower portion of Echo Canyon.  It's a popular canyoneering canyon.  People hike up to a section of it and rappel down steep sections and swim through others.  It's the swimming part that may keep me from doing this one.  Some of the water is mucky from sitting in holes for long periods of time.  Ewww!  Plus, I get cold easy and a nervous when I can't touch or see the bottom.  That's my husband standing on the edge and looking down.

For this hike, we were just passing by Echo on our way to the top.

A little further up and the trail went under an overhang and along the

edge above Echo Canyon.  The drop at the right goes into Echo...

This is looking back into that overhanging area.

Hubby's taking a photo of our daughter...

Here's that same section.  The crack on the left looks down into Echo...

You can see some water way down at the bottom...

This is that same section later in the day with a glow from the sun...

The colors in some of the rocks was incredible.

Some even had interesting patterns...

This one looks like someone painted it...

We saw sections of rock that day that were vibrant yellow/gold

(much more intense than how it looks in the picture).

This rock had red/orange, yellow, white and black.  So cool!

The trail was steep a lot of the way and parts of it required

courage and mental focus to keep from freaking out!

Check out the sheer cliff drop off!

Our daughter is very afraid of heights.  So this was a big accomplishment for her.  She kept focused and moving forward...sometimes with tears in her eyes.  But, she wanted to do it and did!  Yay!  

We stuck by her for reassurance and encouragement.

I did pretty well most of the time.  Although, there was a few minutes near the top when my mind wandered into the zone of, "oh my gosh, that drops straight to the bottom....keep going, keep going!"  I just had to sit down in place for a moment to pull my mind back so I could get up and keep going.

Luckily, the amazing scenery, colors, and pretty flowers were a nice distraction.

Many of them were growing out of the side of the rock cliffs.  The red on these is so pretty!

This little bush was growing out of a rock wall.

It had itsy bitsy, teenie, tiny berries or buds on it.

I wish I could have gotten a better photo of the color combo in this purple flower plant.

The leaves were a bluish green and I thought the combination was unique and interesting.

I kept thinking of a friend who dyes yarn and how she might find it interesting too.

I wonder how that color combination would look on yarn?  Hmmm?

There weren't a lot of flowers in the park yet or on this trail.

So, the few we saw were a treat.  Here are some cute little pink ones...

The start of the the trail is near Weeping Rock.  It's an area where water seeps from the rocks year around.  The water and shade in that area provide the perfect conditions for different varieties of

 moss, tiny plants, and lichen to grow.  They were delicate, pretty and interesting.

The top of the trail was a mesa and the soil was an intense and beautiful orange color.

The views were spectacular from the top!

That's Zion Canyon!

Gorgeous!

We probably would have sat there for quite a while but there was a little problem.

A bunch of these little guys were running around everyone, trying to find food, and 

even getting on people.  Kind of scary!  I wouldn't want to get bit!

The one next to me (in white) jumped on the guy near

me (in blue) and nibbled on his hand! Yikes!

Speaking of critters, look what we saw on the drive into the canyon that morning.

It was a huge Tom turkey.  He was not happy that the cars were driving by him and his "girls".

He was fluffed up, making weird noises and threatening the cars.  He was huge and a little scary.

We took this photo from the car window!  Check out the brilliant blue on his head.

Here's one of his "girls" crossing the road...

The hike to Observation Point was amazing!  It was mentally and physically challenging but worth every step and every bit of fear we overcame.  And, we're really glad we got to do it.  Soon after we got home, my husband read that they're planning to close it for maintenance. So, we did it just in time.

Rainy Day Exploration

There were a couple of days of our Spring Break week in Zion that were stormy.

One day started out windy and we wandered into town that morning to explore shops and galleries.

Rain started to pour soon after we got back to our trailer.  It dumped the rest of the day and all night.

There was still a chance of rain the next day.  That would make it dangerous to do the hike we had planned to do.  So, we decided to head out in our truck to do a little exploring.

We stopped in town for more of that awesome Cafe Soleil coffee and headed west to check out a part of Zion National Park that we'd never been to, Kolob Canyons.  It's off of the 15 freeway that runs between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.  There's a small visitor center to get info and purchase a pass to enter (if you don't already have one from the other side of the park that we were staying in).  From there, it's a very short drive before we found ourselves gasping at the beauty that was surrounding us.

The area is immense and it seems impossible to truly capture the beauty in a photo.

But, we tried.  We took a LOT of photos as we stood in the cold wind with snowflakes blowing around us.  Here's a panoramic photo taken with one of our cell phones.  If you click on the photo, it should enlarge for a better view. We want to go back there to do some hikes and maybe backpacking.

The beauty was breathtaking!

After driving through the Kolob Canyon area, we headed back to the 15 freeway and north to Cedar City.  We had lunch at a place called Costa Vida.  They had delcious, healthy Mexican food.
It turned out to be a great choice as just about everything they had could be made gluten free.

Plus, the people were friendly and the food was very good.  

After that, we drove into the older part of town to visit an antique store we've always liked.  Unfortunately, it had gone out of business. However, as we drove through town, a store caught our eye and we had to check it out. It was a farm supply store called, IFA Country Stores.  It turns out they've been around since 1923. They had a lot of fun things to look at and the people were nice too.

We enjoyed looking at everything from western wear and boots to varieties of pasture seed to camping gear and even adorable baby chicks....they had at least half a dozen varieties.

Aren't they cute?!  I miss having chickens!

On our way back to camp, we crossed over a bridge in Rockville to visit a ghost town we'd heard about, Grafton.  Even though it had rained the night before, the dirt roads weren't any problem.

Here's Grafton as we came up the dirt road...

It's a very small ghost town with only about half a dozen buildings and some of those are barns and sheds.  I thought this was one of the most interesting buildings.  It's a tiny home.

I think it's interesting that the window is right up against the doorway.

They allow visitors to go inside.  I was hesitant but hubby coaxed me in.

The ceiling was very low and it was a little creepy to me.

I'm assuming this was the main living space as it was larger than the rest.

And, there's a fireplace on the other side...

It's interesting to look at the texture of the logs and see the marks from hand shaping them.

Across the road was the church and a larger house.

That house seems fancy compared to the tiny one across the road.

It has a large front porch with decorative corbels or brackets.

There were two chimneys.  And, it had lots of windows and rooms.

It even had a cellar!

This was the only other home.  I'm curious as to why there are two doors.

And, I'd really like to know what that little door on the side, way up high near the roof is for.

This home seemed kind of fancy too.  It had two chimneys and three covered porches.

These barns were in fenced areas next to the last house.

They looked very old and weathered.  I think they hadn't been preserved

like the three homes and the church had been.

I like fences like this that are made from natural branches.

It looked especially beautiful with the green fields from the spring rains.

There was an old tractor in another field.

I don't think it was from the time Grafton was a living town.  But, it made for a great photo.

The residents sure had great views when they lived there.

I just had to get a shot of this old farm equipment too...

I was creeped out by the cemetary and didn't want to go in.  My husband and daughter were fascinated by what they saw on headstones and I was so fascinated by what I was reading

on the sign outside of it that I found some courage and went in to look around.

I took a photo of the sign.  The history was very interesting.

The people there had an especially difficult time in 1866 when they lost 13 of their loved ones.

Many died of disease, some were killed by Indians, and...what really got me...

two little girls died when their swing broke!

We heard that movies have been shot in Grafton.  One famous movie, 

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was partially shot there. 

We had a fun day exploring nearby areas and found some interesting places.

At the end of the day, we headed back to Springdale (just outside of the main part of Zion National Park and where we were camping) for dinner.  Then, it was back to camp to get our packs and hiking gear ready for an all day hike on Friday to Observation Point.

The Letters S and T

I'm late with my "S" and "T" posts for the Alphabet Photo Challenge.

But, I have a feeling I can figure out plenty of words that start with those letters from our trip.

More photos are on my previous post and will be on the next few as I blog about the trip.

Let's see what I can come up with for S...

Stupid government closure of the National Parks.

State of Utah that heroically Stepped in and opened the parks anyway.

Sandstone, Storms, Scary adventures, Sweet hubby, Stress, Sleep, Super yummy food,

Swell wine, Silly kitty and doggy that came with us, Souvenirs, Sunshine, discovery of

Sheplers western Store on the way there, cherry/chocolate/almond Scone, Some knitting,

Snow, Big Horn Sheep, Snake, homemade Soup on a cold night, Snuggling with my kitty

The above picture is the entrance to Zion National Park when we arrived.  Closed!

Luckily, we didn't need to go into the park to do canyoneering.  There's plenty of canyons outside of the park.  Besides, Zion National Park doesn't allow guided trips in the park like many of the other

national parks do.  Kind of weird, huh?  Several days into our trip, the Utah government struck a

deal with the federal government to open the park for up to 10 days.  Everyone was so happy!

The closure was hurting so many employees, neighboring businesses and tourists.

The town of Springdale quickly went from being like a ghost town to being filled with tourists.

Utah is filled with national parks and I'm sure this was a hard blow to their people and economy.  

I'm so glad the park is truly open again now and I hope it stays that way!

The picture below is from inside the park after it opened.  We were sitting next to the lodge 

watching a rainstorm.  Zion is such a wonderful and magical place!  I love it!

And, for the letter T...

Travel, Tram through the park, hot Tub, Tall rocks and cliffs, hot Tea, Taking pictures,

Trees, wild Turkeys, Trailer, Truck, Trails, Terrific coffee, Terrible Telephone signal,

pink Tumbleweeds along the road through the desert (really), Tired, Tackling fear

Wow!  I think I could go on and on.  That was easy and fun!

Of Fear and Fun...

Hubby and I just got back from a trip to Southern Utah.

It turned out to be much more than a trip...it was an adventure.

An adventure in learning about canyoneering, myself, fear, strength,

and overcoming obstacles...both real and mental.

We fell in love with Zion and Utah years ago and can't seem to stay away. We go as often as we can. That usually turns out to be at least once a year.  This was our second trip for 2013.  We went in March and experienced our first canyoneering adventure.  HERE's a post about that and a POST from the same trip and my "extreme knitting".  We enjoyed canyoneering and have since started buying our own equipment and planning to learn and experience it more.

This trip was planned around a three day canyoneering course.  We've been excited about the class, seeing magnificent canyons, and hoping to learn enough to eventually do this on our own.  The class started in the shop that we'd signed up with.  The instructor went over equipment and various other things.  Then, we loaded everything into the back of his SUV and headed out.  We went to an area called, "Lamb's Knoll".  It might just look like a jumble of rocks but those things were HUGE!

We put our packs on and hiked up a winding path to the rocks.

Once we got to the rocks, there was some steep and tricky hiking/climbing to get up into the area we were going to start descending from.  We didn't get any photos in that section because it required both hands and lots of work to get up there!

To my surprise, I noticed that fear had hitched a ride.  I didn't expect it...not to this level.  It was not a welcome!  To make matters worse, our guide/instructor kept saying and doing things that amplified my fear and made it hard for me to trust him or enjoy the class.  

We'd planned this for a long time, spent a lot of money on equipment and the class, traveled a long way to get there and I didn't want to disappoint my husband or myself by giving up.  So, I pushed through.  It was tough!  So much so that the surroundings that I knew were beautiful suddenly seemed dull, lifeless and even ugly.  That's proof of how uncomfortable this had become.  Nature is usually what keeps me sane and happy.  It's usually relaxing and centering.  But, during this class...especially the first day...it was anything but that.

I truly believe in regularly pushing through my comfort zone and stretching myself.  But, this was like nothing I'd ever faced...other than giving birth to my daughter!  I knew I'd grow from it and I didn't want to give up.  So...onward and downward into the canyon!!!

Here's hubby at our very first rappel.  He went first and enjoyed every second of it.
Lucky for hubby, he was less bothered by heights than he had expected.

My trip down wasn't as good.  I didn't quite understand how I was supposed to maneuver

my feet and feel how gravity would lead me in the directions I needed to move as I descended.

I stepped wrong, took a swing, and hit the rock!  Thank goodness for good equipment that kept me

from falling, hubby who had me on belay as my second line of safety, and my helmet!

Here I am getting ready to hook up and descend the next section.  Hubby helped me a lot on this one as he talked me through each section, helping me understand how my footing should go, how I could feel the gravity pulling on the rope to know which direction to move, etc.  Whew!  Two down!

After that, we had one more rappel.  Then, we worked through a series of down climbing

situations where we learned how to use ropes to safely get down.  And, we learned ways

to use our bodies to put pressure on each of the canyon walls to maneuver across and down.

At the very end of the canyon was the skinniest slot/crack we've ever gone through!

The last section required dropping down into a hole and crawling under a rock.

Hubby was first.   It was a tight squeeze!

My turn!  We barely fit and sometimes had to hold our backpacks 

above or below us to squeeze it through slightly wider spots.

Whew!  One day down!  

An evening of relaxing, the hot tub, and a few glasses of wine were in order!

I wasn't quite as nervous the second day.  

But, I sure wasn't looking forward to another day with our instructor!

Our second day of canyoneering took place on the west side of St. George, in "Yankee Doodle Canyon".  You'd never know the canyon was there by looking out onto the landscape.  The entrance to the canyon is a crack in the earth.  It starts with a free-hanging rappel (nowhere to put our feet,

just hook in and go down).  That's me!... 

 We hiked a little bit and came across the second rappel.  It was the tallest we'd done so far

and was spectacular!  I think it was at least 80 feet!   There goes hubby...

My turn!  I was concentrating to make sure I did everything right!

There I go!  I wasn't about to give our instructor a big smile!  Ugh!  lol

It was a beautiful trip down though!

Here's a video I took when I reached the bottom.
Nature is amazing and beautiful!

The rest of the day was spent learning how to down climb and get past 

big and sometimes tall obstacles/drop offs.

It involved a lot of learning, problem solving and team work.

Hubby and I make a great team!  He's so sweet, patient, strong and brave!

Some sections were very challenging!

Luckily, there were only two spots with water that day.

We were able to skirt around one of them and only had about four steps through another.

A few days and rain storms later and word was that you had to wear a wet suit and swim!

The exit from the canyon was beautiful with lots of interesting and colorful rocks.

And, it was very challenging and steep.  I didn't get a picture of that section.

But, here's a beautiful and interesting rock wall we saw on our way out...

We finished just in time!  A storm was moving in!

See the wall of rain to the left...we started feeling drops at the end of the ascent.

Then, once we got to the road, it started raining pretty hard as we hurried to the car.

Because of the storm, we had to postpone our third day from Thursday to Monday.  We felt we had gained enough knowledge and felt comfortable enough to go out on our own over the weekend.  So, we did!  We headed back to Lamb's Knoll, the area we went on the first day. 

I was pretty nervous on the first rappel because of what had happened the first day.  I literally cried with relief when I reached the bottom!  The rest of the trip down was actually fun!  What an awesome hubby I have!  He makes me feel so safe and at ease!   The day was much more relaxed with just the two of us.  It really helped our confidence and comfort level for the final big day.

Our third and final day of class was to take place in an area called "Birch Hollow".  It was going to be a long day with a lot of hiking and really tall rappels.  The scenery was said to be spectacular and the fall colors "on fire".  Unfortunately, the rains that week made the dirt roads impassable even with a 4x4.  So, we headed back to the shop and changed plans.  We ended up heading back to Lamb's Knoll.  This time, we took a different route and we learned more skills.

Some of the rappels were more technical.

And, they were quite tall!

This one was a tight squeeze to get through the rocks to drop down...

So skinny that we removed our backpacks to get out and hung them below us as we rappelled down.
In this photo, I'm getting ready to drop my backpack off and step backwards over the edge...

We were surprised at how many more things we were able to learn that day, at the same place we'd started.  We even learned what to do if one of our ropes were to fall down into the canyon.  As we were figuring out the height of one rappel and a plan to get down, our instructor took over and tossed the rope over the edge!  That wasn't very nice!  lol  I guess we had surprised looks on our faces but didn't panic too much because we thought he had another rope with him (although, he came unprepared that day and forgot his harness and rappel device!!!).  He taught us what to do if we did lose a rope.  It all worked out fine!  We got down safely and that was the end of our three day class.

Whew!  We did it!

The hike back down to the car was getting prettier and prettier as I became less stressed each time.

 And, the Fall colors were changing quickly and becoming more intense each time we went there.

Gorgeous!!!

The course and canyoneering experience on this trip was not what I'd hoped or expected.  But, we learned a lot more than I'd expected and reached a comfort level to do it on our own which I wasn't sure we'd achieve on this trip.  I thought it would take much longer.  I'm still processing the experience, what we did, what we learned, what we conquered.  As crazy as it seems (even to me), I want to do this again.  I want to go to bigger and more spectacular canyons.  We feel comfortable doing these smaller ones on our own but want an expert who is experienced and knows the canyons well to go in the bigger ones.  We're just not quite sure what company we'll go with next time.  That seems to be a bit tricky.  

The one we went with in March, Zion Adventure Company, was awesome.  The business seems impressively run and it's the most popular one near Zion.  The guide tailored the day to us and made it relaxed and fun.  However, they're a bit more expensive and not flexible as far as weather goes.  The one we went with this time, Zion Mountain School, is supposedly the only one with certified guides, they're flexible with weather (which worked out well on this trip), and it's cheaper.  But, since we're not only paying for expertise and learning but also for FUN we'll probably go with the more expensive option next time.  As far as the flexibility with weather...we just may have to buy vacation insurance!