Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Day 40 - Zion National Park, UT

Not a too bad of a location for an audio conference. After it was completed, we headed into Zion National Park through the south entrance. We were told that the parking lots would all be full by 10am but Hwy 9 through the park would be open. We used our annual pass for the second time. The fee would have been $30 so we are rapidly approaching the $80 cost for the annual pass.

This is the Checkerboard Mesa, all the way near the east entrance to the park where we turned around. The road is narrow with few places to pull off and we had to wait in both directions when the tunnel is limited to one way traffic. For any vehicle over 8' wide or 10' high, the traffic is stopped to allow them to drive down the middle of the road through the tunnel. It was built way before busses and RVs were common. The tunnel is over a mile long and has "windows" spaced along it's path for ventilation. Bicycles and pedestrians are prohibited in the tunnel.

This is just a generic view of the scenery at the higher elevation near the east entrance. It was still 88°F so not a whole lot cooler but still very nice. As the road climbed from the valley up to the tunnel, green trees became more common. I think that this was around 6000' elevation.

We stopped at the visitor's center to get our national park passport stamped and pick up a nice sticker for the page. This is a very touristy thing to do but I like doing it. This is taken just outside of the park gate where we stopped for some frozen lemonade and to relax a bit before heading back to the campground. No matter which way you look, the scenery is fantastic. This place is crowded but nowhere near as crowded as Yosemite was.

12 comments:

  1. I only crossed the park by car, and always wondered how big rigs like yours would fit through the tunnel, but obviously it's doable. Does it ever rain in Zion? I've only seen pics with red rocks and blue skies.

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    1. I think the absolute upper limit is 13 1/2' even with single lane traffic.

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  2. What a great road trip! Are you missing the URAL yet?

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    1. Yep. Much better run around vehicle than the truck...

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  3. Zion is one of my favorite parks. Haven't been there since 1990. Wasn't too crowded in June. Enjoying D2D here. Miss seeing you at coffee.

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    1. I've been through here numerous times but had never spent much time here until now.

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  4. Wow, 40 days on the road already. Sure looks dry there, but pretty.

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  5. Those are some beautiful shots you got. I've never been to Zion National Park, but you are spot on with Yosemite getting over crowded.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and commenting!

      I think there was a sign that Zion was one of the most popular National Parks.

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  6. Oh we loved Zion! We were fortunate to be there before Memorial day weekend and it wasn't too crowded yet. We always stamp our park passport and buy stickers for the bikes, and it's definitely part of the fun! 🤓

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  7. Love the pics. Been quite a few years since I've been through there and is definitely on my list to go back again. Love all the shade trees planted for the RV park.

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