Seeing as we explored Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks on our previous US roadtrip, we wanted to make sure we had some different sites on this visit. One place we hope to visit is The Wave, in Arizona (it’s at number 21 but check out the whole list. If it gets your travel-foot kicking, maybe we can plan some adventures together across the pond…).
Now, The Wave is not only a mind-blower but also a very fragile rock formation so the Land Bureau are pretty strict at limiting permits for access, which involves an early morning lottery at the Parks and Rec office! Yay! We got to the office at 9am to compete with 87 other people for 10 places. Yeah, we didn’t get a permit but we’ll keep trying so keep everything crossed for us.
Disappointment aside, we still had the day ahead of us so we drove into Zion National Park.
Now, The Wave is not only a mind-blower but also a very fragile rock formation so the Land Bureau are pretty strict at limiting permits for access, which involves an early morning lottery at the Parks and Rec office! Yay! We got to the office at 9am to compete with 87 other people for 10 places. Yeah, we didn’t get a permit but we’ll keep trying so keep everything crossed for us.
Disappointment aside, we still had the day ahead of us so we drove into Zion National Park.
Zion is an incredible canyon wilderness that has been protected since the 1930s from strip malls and high-rises. The main canyon itself is busy (October is peak season) but as with most national parks, a short step off the main path and you can find some proper wilderness. We started with a hike called ‘the watchmen’ (obviously, any comic book reference and we’re ‘aving it), which took us up above the canyon so we could look down on all the cars and coaches and laugh, muhahahaha, the tourists look like ants. The hike was surprisingly intense – an elevation of 2000ft in desert heat can apparently do a number on you - but we pushed through it because the view was worth it. Plus, I got to practice using my zoom lens on this little guy. His name is Luscifer.
There were very few people on the hike with us despite the gorgeous autumn Sunday – it was the first weekend of deer hunting season so why explore some gorgeous canyons when you can kill beautiful creatures and leave their decapitated corpses alongside the road?
Hike descended, we drove out of the main canyon to the lesser known Kolob Reservoir (don’t tell the rental company, we’re not supposed to take our car off paved roads). Turns out, Aspen trees might be the most beautiful trees ever. I had to lie in the middle of the road to get this shot but it was totally worth it (and it wasn’t a busy road). We also saw a couple of isolated houses that we would love to buy – off the grid, completely cut-off in winter, only accessible by rope-bridge. You are going to have to call ahead before y’all visit.
Hike descended, we drove out of the main canyon to the lesser known Kolob Reservoir (don’t tell the rental company, we’re not supposed to take our car off paved roads). Turns out, Aspen trees might be the most beautiful trees ever. I had to lie in the middle of the road to get this shot but it was totally worth it (and it wasn’t a busy road). We also saw a couple of isolated houses that we would love to buy – off the grid, completely cut-off in winter, only accessible by rope-bridge. You are going to have to call ahead before y’all visit.
The reservoir road ended at the incredible Lava Point overlook. We didn’t see another soul up there. Again, why have crowded gift shops, two-abreast hiking trails, hours on the road stuck behind coaches and stumbling RVs when you can experience Zion like this? I’ll be honest, you are never getting me off this damn mountain. Real life can suck it. I REFUSE TO CONFORM.
Eventually, James did get me off the mountain with the promise of ice cream. We drove back to the main canyon (via ice cream) and decided to use our last hour of daylight with another canyon hike for a last look over the sleepy world of Zion at dusk.
We got back to Mt Carmel Junction and had dinner at the Thunderbird Diner, home of ‘ho-made’ pies (they ran out of space on the sign - the pies are not made by hoes) before crashing out at our cabin. This was supposed to be our easy day. Hooray for holidays!
Miles hiked: 5-6 ish (James did try to use a snazzy new hiking ap to record our progress but he forgot to turn it off when we got into the car, so apparently we hiked 60 or so miles at an average speed of 27miles/hour)
Burgers eaten: one
Sunburn percentage: 0% - somehow!
Tarantulas encountered: none – thank you jeebus!
Miles hiked: 5-6 ish (James did try to use a snazzy new hiking ap to record our progress but he forgot to turn it off when we got into the car, so apparently we hiked 60 or so miles at an average speed of 27miles/hour)
Burgers eaten: one
Sunburn percentage: 0% - somehow!
Tarantulas encountered: none – thank you jeebus!
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