The next stop on our whirlwind tour was going to bring us to the great state of Utah and Zion National Park. Leaving Yellowstone was bittersweet. We enjoyed everything about our stay in Wyoming, making us sorry to leave but with great hopes that Zion was as good if not better than we heard. The drive from Wyoming to Utah was, well, boring. Dry, flat fields were replaced by more dry flat fields for most of our travels. Part way into Utah, however, it all changed. Hello again, Rocky Mountains! Having nothing like this on the east coast, I pointed out every new and cool rock formation as well as all the hillside letters we found. (No, they are not some Government code as we first suspected. Started by proud Berkley College students in 1905, there are now more than 400 hillside letters in the US, most of them in the western states). After making it through the rush hour traffic of Salt Lake City, we had a quick stopover at our Marriott hotel in Draper UT. Relaxed from the pool and spa, our clothes were clean and we were clean with full bellies, we hit the road for Zion.
The drive became more interesting every mile closer to Zion. Before we knew it, we hit Springdale UT, a small tourist town at the gates of Utah’s first national park. I was like a kid in a candy store looking at all the shops and cool trinkets. We checked into our riverside campsite in the park first and then returned to Springdale for some dinner and window shopping. We headed for a Mexican restaurant but when we missed the driveway we landed at Pizza and Noodle Co. instead. Best mistake we made that day! Excellent food, cool atmosphere and reasonable prices – two thumbs up!
Then it was back to the campsite only 5 minutes away for a relaxing campfire. I thought booking a site near the river would be pretty and I love the sound of the gentle current over the rocks. I did not, however, take into account the 8 billion trillion bugs that came along with such a view. Our campfire was short lived before we retreated inside in fear of something flying up my nose.
Zion was truly a visitor-friendly park. Free shuttles ran all day and into the evening, taking hikers, riders, walkers and bikers to different points of the park saving hours of traffic jams by confused tourists. The shuttle stop was a quick walk from our campsite. Armed with a map and a plan but no hiking gear, we took the shuttle about ½ way up to the lodge to take a short, 1.3 mile hike to Emerald Pools. It was surreal being at the bottom of the canyon, with rich red rocks shaped by nature as far as you could see. About ½ way through the lower pools hike, we noticed the signs for the middle pools with a waterfall coming off the rocks. Sure, let’s keep going, we all agreed. It was only 98 degrees and no one was complaining…yet…so we continued to hike into more amazing scenery. We passed a family on the way down who told Dennis the best swimming would be found at the Upper Emerald Pool. By the time we got to the trail junction for the upper pool, we were all very hot and ready for a dip.
The sign told us our destination was only 0.3 miles away. It didn’t tell us that it was straight uphill climbing over rocks. Luke and I fell far behind, taking our time as to not keel over and die. When we finally passed the “No Swimming” sign, there it was Upper Emerald Pool filled with illiterate folks swimming, including my husband and son. They swore they never saw the sign but fate is a bitch. I’ll come back to this later.
I chose not to swim, not because of the sign but because I was too busy complaining to Dennis that I was hot and tired. It took a little coaxing to get Luke to join Cam but once they were in the water, he was never coming out again. We booked a ranger-lead tour in the evening so we were under time constraints to get back to camp and get ready to head out again.
The tour was a 2 hour ride through the park as a Ranger talked about some of the finer points of Zion. It promised to make stops unavailable on the regular shuttle. Educational, off the beaten path, scenic and all we had to do was ride around and listen, I thought this would be great and it was.
Our tour guide told us of how this dessert, like the Grand Canyon, was carved out from powerful waters millions of years ago. She talked about the animals that live in the area and what makes them unique to this area. It was at this point that Dennis’s curiosity got the best of him and he asked the Ranger why swimming wasn’t allowed in the Emerald Pools. A friend of mine once told me not to ask questions if you really don’t want the answers. She should have given Dennis that same advice. The ranger repeated the question for the benefit of everyone on the bus. “Good question” she said. First she explained about the importance of not disrupting a fragile ecosystem.
Then she said the words that will haunt Dennis the rest of his life. “The main reason is because the bottom of the pools are covered with fecal matter from the wildlife in the park.” The next minute was a bit of a blur because I was trying too hard to hold back my laughter I couldn’t focus. I looked at Dennis, who was pale at this point, mouthing the words “fecal matter” over and over again in disbelief. Being the sympathetic wife I am, I said “HA! I’m glad I didn’t swim! That will teach you to follow the signs next time” and let my laughter rip!
It only got better when Dennis had to explain to the boys what fecal matter was. The kids didn’t seem fazed but Dennis will never forget the lesson he learned that day.Dennis showered as soon as we got back to camp. We opted to skip the fire and went to town for some supplies and ice cream. Ice cream makes everything better…except the thought of fecal matter. LOL!
To see all our photos from Zion, visit Snapfish.