Travelogue #9 - Exploring Utah

April 24-May 16, 1998

Part 1: Adventures in Zion National Park, 4/24-5/2

(NOTE: click on the small images below to view the larger versions. Thanks!)

We found a really nice neighborhood for the APPLE at the Watchman Campground near the southwest entrance to Zion National Park. The campground gets its name from a mountain called 'The Watchman' that towers over this area.

The trip from the high elevations at the east entrance down to the canyon floor (a 2,000-ft. descent) unveiled many unique geological features. There were fantastic rock formations with interesting patterns all the way. We saw Checkerboard Mesa with its unique pattern.

Wind and water had carved every changing patterns of waves and swirls on the many rock faces we passed. A highlight of our first day was the trip through the 1.1-mile Mt. Carmel tunnel. The WPA blasted this tunnel through the mountainside in 1930. The tunnel is only 13'1" high in the middle and lower on the edges, so any vehicle over 11'4" (which includes the APPLE) must pay $10 for them to stop traffic while you drive through the middle. There was a very steep set of switchbacks on the road, and we were grateful we had installed the exhaust brake on Big Red to help slow us down. Even with the exhaust brake, the regular brakes on Big Red and the APPLE were really hot by the time we got to the bottom.

Zion means "place of peace" or "refuge" and that is exactly what we found here. Sitting still in this very special place for a week felt a little bit like heaven. It is our favorite 'home' so far. Zion surrounds you with sheer 2,000-3,000 foot cliffs. It is filled with incredible sights. The colors are vivid shades of red, orange, yellow, white and black. The trees in the valley were gorgeous shades of spring green. It was a great time of the year to be here. The weather was pleasantly warm, but not hot.

We hiked a lot of great trails in Zion. The 1-mile Canyon Overlook Trail gave us a panoramic view of lower Zion Canyon and the Pine Creek Canyon.

On that hike we met Bob and Jan Livesay from Great Falls, MT. They were a really neat couple that we chatted with as we 'ooo-ed' and 'ah-ed' over the magnificent view. They shared their binoculars with us so we could watch 8 bighorn sheep frolic on the mountainside. We sent them on their way with digital pictures loaded on their computer.

We enjoyed the short hike to Weeping Rock where the springs seep through the rock walls and nourish hanging gardens of ferns and wildflowers.

There was a high waterfall from the spring snowmelt in the area, which we could walk behind. We came back to this area another day to hike the Hidden Canyon Trail. This moderately strenuous trail had long drop- offs, and the trail had some chains anchored in the cliffs to hold on to so you wouldn't fall. What an adventure!

At the Temple of Sinawava, we enjoyed viewing a thin, 500+ foot waterfall that exists only during the spring snowmelt season or after heavy thunderstorms. >From there we took the 2-mile Riverside Walk along the Virgin River at the bottom of the canyon. This trail ends at the Zion Canyon Narrows where people can continue through a slot canyon by hiking in the river itself. The waterflow was much too heavy to do that safely this time of year.

Another hike we enjoyed a lot was the 3.5-mile trip to the Lower, Middle and Upper Emerald Pools. There were several waterfalls along the way as we hiked up the canyon.

The last waterfall plunges from a great height to a pool at the base of the cliff. We met up on this hike with some new friends we made earlier that day, Tony Accamando and Jodie Shemit. These two delightful 20-something young adults had been dealing with a flat tire that morning in the campground. We offered to take them into town to get it repaired, and a new friendship was born. We enjoyed touching base with each other over then next few days and exchanging hiking recommendations. One of the neat things we've enjoyed on this journey is making new friends of all ages. We hope we'll meet up with Tony and Jodie again some day.

One day Tom decided to make the strenuous 5-mile hike to Angels Landing, a rock monolith that rises 1,500 feet above the canyon floor. He parked Big Red at 6 am and began his ascent. By 7 am he was just a half-mile short of the summit. He proceeded across the next quarter mile of extremely narrow spine of rock with sheer drops to the canyon floor on either side. He made it most of the way across, fighting a stiff crosswind that threatened to blow him off the cliff. Occasionally there were chains to hang onto--but only part of the way.

Just before reaching the final big wide hump that led to the summit, there was one more very narrow ledge to cross…and there were no chains to cling to… Luckily, Tom had enough common sense not to risk it. Anyway, he carefully turned around, asked the angels to get him back safely, and headed back down. Tom said he now knows the meaning of being 'truly scared.' He now has a new perspective and respect for rock climbers!

Great White Throne

Tenacious Tree

Shooting Stars

Coyote

Mule Deer

Tom and I shared many new experiences at Zion--the funniest being the afternoon of the haircut. Tom had not had a haircut since before Christmas, and by now his hair (at least what he still has) was getting pretty long. We had brought along a set of hair clippers, and Tom told me to 'go for it.' We set up a lawn chair outside the APPLE. The wind was blowing considerably. I think it did that just to increase the challenge. Tom shed his shirt. I plugged in the clippers and said a prayer. We were ready to begin.

After examining the various size comb/rake attachments, I selected the biggest one. I hoped it would leave enough hair to work with in case a later 'touch up' was needed. With the clippers poised above the target, I checked one last time. "Are you really sure about this?" I asked.

"Ya, sure," Tom replied like the brave man that he is. "The only difference between a good haircut and a bad one is a couple of weeks."

I think that was supposed to reassure me. It didn't. I was beginning to wish I had paid more attention when my dad had cut Tom's hair before. What was it that he did first?

"Don't be scared," Tom said. (He repeated that phrase often during the next half-hour.)

I took a deep breath and began. Buzzzzzz. The clipper hummed and vibrated as several inches of hair fell to the ground. After seeing that less than ½ inch of hair remained on the back of Tom's head, I sure was glad I hadn't started with the shortest rake!

"Whoops!" I said. (Tom didn't find that too comforting a sound.) There was no turning back now.

"It's okay. Don't be scared," Tom repeated. He couldn't see what I could see (thank goodness). We both started giggling. Have you ever tried to cut hair when the wind is blowing? As if that wasn't challenge enough, Tom's head kept bobbing and weaving because he was laughing so much. I was laughing, too, which made it even harder.

With tears in my eyes, I forged ahead. The clippers swooped and glided over Tom's head. The wind was blowing the clipped hair everywhere. By now, the spectators were gathering. Actually they were hikers who stopped on the road to watch the comical scene before them.

"Keep cutting lower," they shouted. They pointed to Tom's hairy chest (which was gaining fur from the falling locks). "We're jealous," they explained.

Tom responded, "Don't laugh. You're next." More laughter ensued as they hurried on down the road. For some odd reason, they didn't want to wait for their turns. If I were Tom, that would have worried me at this point.

Eventually I took a scissors in hand to try to finish the trimming. Tom's hair got even shorter as I tried to 'even it up.' Every time I said "Oops" or "Hmmm", Tom just repeated, "Don't be scared." He has a lot of faith in me, but this time I wasn't sure that it was justified.

By the time we were through, Tom's whole body was covered with hair. There was so much static that it just stuck to him. There was no way to brush it off. On to the next part of the adventure. Out came our Mighty-Mini Shopvac. With the brush attached, we proceeded to vacuum him off accompanied with more laughter and few strange looks from the neighbors.

When we were all done, Tom put on his shirt and sat back down in the lawn chair. He didn't even go inside to look at his haircut. I thought maybe he was too scared and was building up his courage.

When I couldn't stand the suspense any long, I asked, "Aren't you going to look?"

He humored me and went inside. I stayed outside, holding my breath. There was no sound coming from the APPLE at all for a long time… I wondered if he had fainted. After what seemed like an eternity, Tom reappeared.

"It looks good," he said kindly, "but I think the sides are a bit long. You'll maybe need to shorten them up a bit."

"Not in this lifetime," I thought to myself.

All in all, Tom's haircut didn't look too bad. As a matter of fact, it's been about a couple of weeks since then, and now it looks pretty good (just like Tom said). I think the next time he asks for a haircut I'll give him the $10 and send him to town. On the other hand, we can always use a good laugh…

The 8 days at Zion went by quickly. We enjoyed our leisurely days of hiking complete with evening campfires under a starry sky. The campground was quiet except for the first weekend when we had two groups of partiers camped next to us. Their music and laughter kept up until about 1 am when the affects of the alcohol finally wore them down. We were really tempted to start Big Red's diesel engine up at 6 am the next morning, but we decided that would not be the loving thing to do. We were relieved when they slowly packed up on Sunday morning and headed out. The remainder of our stay was very peaceful.

One day we took a road-trip to see the Kolob Canyon area of Zion National Park. It has a separate entrance about 40 miles away. The red finger canyons were spectacular.

We then headed east in search of the Cedar Breaks National Monument. Unfortunately, the road to Cedar Breaks was still under six feet of snow!

Next we headed for Bryce Canyon National Park. The spectacular formations there are hard to describe. Erosion has crafted a variety of fantastic shapes known as hoodoos. These intricate formations come in vivid orange, red, yellow and white. We drove the entire plateau rim, stopping at many viewpoints to enjoy the scenery. It was a long day filled with an ever-changing landscape. We may explore more of this area when we return in the future.

While at Zion, both Tom and I felt very at home. It was as if it was already familiar to us. We could feel the positive energy there. Our bodies seemed to almost vibrate. Tom even had a wonderful healing experience there one evening which eliminated some serious neck and shoulder pain that had been plaguing him. Our time at Zion was filled with a sense of being close to God, and we plan to return there again next year.

Part 2: Exploring More of Utah, 5/2-5/16

After spending the afternoon doing laundry, we rejoined Jane and Jerome--a move that landed us in jail. No, we weren't really in any trouble. We just went out to dinner at the quaint Salt City Jail. The various parts of the restaurant are broken up into jail cells where we had a tasty "slab-o'-beef" dinner. After eating we headed back to the APPLE so I could pack for another business trip.

I spent the following week in Ft. Lauderdale doing two pilots of our revised Project Management Workshop with Nathan Johnson and Judy Shell. The three of us have worked together for several years, and it was delightful to spend time with them again. After returning to Salt Lake City, I did another 2-day class. By the end of all the classes, I was ready for a break! My last day in Salt Lake City, 5/12, was also Jane's birthday, so we helped her celebrate. We had a delicious grilled steak dinner complete with corn on the cob, baked potatoes, fresh bread, strawberries and tasty cake. We stayed and visited until late that evening, then said our final good-byes for this visit.

Go to Travelogue Index