Zion

Using the magic of cell phones I was able to meet up with my brother and his wife on their epic multi-country bicycle trip. Late afternoon, along Hwy 89 just north of Hatch UT, I spotted them. None too soon, the weather was deteriorating rapidly. We finally found a camping place 5 miles up a side road in the Pinyon-Juniper forest. Raining, raining, raining.
The next day we leap-frogged the bicycles and gear down to Orderville's only grocery store, with Gary riding into a stiff headwind from the storm. We had lunch at a Rock shop that also sells food items. It was a fun atmosphere to be surrounded by large crystals and rocks. The shop owner recommended another side road to find a camping place.
.....Wednesday morning we loaded ALL the bicycles and gear into my truck, and squished ourselves into the truck's cab so we presented one vehicle for entrance into Zion National Park. That afternoon we hiked Hidden Canyon, a really pretty area. It rained on the way down, back to the shuttle stop. Wet and chilled, we drove into Springdale to a cafe for hot tea and a bit of Internet. Gary had previously contacted a Warmshowers host in St George, and they graciously welcomed us into their home, out of the rain.
Thursday was spent on errands and catching up on Internet. It was Friday before we ventured into Zion NP, this time to hike to Emerald Pools. The waterfalls are still flowing well, keeping the ferns watered on the cliffs. Fall has not yet come to the Zion valley, Swamp maples and Cottonwoods are still green.
Friday we hiked the Angel's Landing Trail. I was surprised by the large number of people on this trail, everyone was out enjoying the views from the top. That night we camped at the top of Kolob Terrace area of Zion park, nearly 7900 ft elevation. This morning the temperature was 28F in my tent !! We hiked near the West Rim of Zion valley giving us very different views of the park.
Photos of a creek near Emerald Pools, and a view of the towering sandstone cliffs from Angel's Landing trail.