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UTAH! - Part 6, May 14-21, 2016

Our third nights sleep was as great as the last two and we awoke to another great sunrise. This day would be a long one since we were packing up the family truckster to hit the road again. Leaving Red Cliffs Lodge was certainly bitter sweet, bitter because the experiences we had here and elsewhere in MOAB were as good as they get and sweet because we would be traveling to a place we have heard great things about.... ZION National Park!




We spent a couple hours in Arches National Park earlier in our stay, but we didn't get to see Delicate Arch, how could we say we've been to Arches without actually seeing this most widely recognized arch in the park? Ok, quick detour..........











There were noticeably larger crowds in the park this day so we decided to avoid the big crowds swinging selfie sticks and view Delicate Arch from a less traveled trail. This relatively short trail was empty and we enjoyed the peace and quiet. Once we climbed to the highest point we could see the arch was surrounded by tons of people, good call avoiding that! We really enjoyed scrambling along the steep faced perch that only mother nature could provide. Our daughter, who is now known as "BEERGIRL" had found her favorite local IPA and had me snatch one from the cooler and carry it in my backpack. I think she should send the company the photos she so creatively shot of the ice cold bottle of goodness!










After another great couple of hours in Arches we hit the road. On the way to the highway we looked for a place we had considered to stay, "MOAB Under Canvas". They offer deluxe tents and teepees and we really considered this. We found it just outside of town and right off the main road. It is a pretty cool place. Problem for us is that we weren't equipped to really camp, but it's on the list for next time! Once on the highway the landscape really started to change, there's a big desert out there! Over the next several hours we crossed through many changing landscapes, from flat 50 mile views with nothing in sight to large ash gray rock formations to green creek side gorges to outstanding red rock vistas with low evergreens and a valley so large and wide with a huge lake surrounded by thousands of acres of fertile farm land and snow capped mountains in the distance , AWESOME! The trip to and through Capitol Reef National Park, then on through Dixie National Forest was really outstanding. Wish we had time to stop and explore more, but ZION is the goal!




[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...UTAH%20Part%206/UT3A7873_zpsx373lorh.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...UTAH%20Part%206/UT3A7878_zpscz8eo8nm.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...UTAH%20Part%206/UT3A7884_zpsv5xb2zig.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...UTAH%20Part%206/UT3A7901_zpsnuqiamew.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...UTAH%20Part%206/UT3A7909_zpsqekk5a3z.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...UTAH%20Part%206/UT3A7914_zpsv5wea5uj.jpg[/img]


5-1/2 hours later we started to see signs for Bryce National Park and then yes, ZION National Park signs! We entered through the empty North entrance, it wasn't but a couple of minutes that we knew this would absolutely be a very special place to visit!

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...UTAH%20Part%206/UT3A7926_zpsrmdds250.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...UTAH%20Part%206/UT3A7943_zpsdf87uh6j.jpg[/img]


To be continued................