Day 20: The Road to Zion, and the End of August

Zion is not that far from Bryce Canyon, so we drove the RV through Bryce National Park to its end, Rainbow Point, about 16 miles further than the shuttle bus travels. It was a nice drive, but not too exciting - except for the brief stop we needed to make to allow the herd of antelope to cross the road (they didn't use the crosswalk, but still...). Rainbow Point was pretty, looking much like the area we hiked yesterday, which made the kids nervous. It didn't help that Phil kept saying things like, "Ready to go walk this - it's only 3 miles each way!" For some reason the kids didn't laugh.

Driving back, we stopped at Natural Bridge, which isn't, because natural bridges are formed by rushing water whereas this was formed by moving air, making it an arch. (Again, always learning!)

Then, after our 3rd visit in 3 days to the buffet (man, those country-style ribs were good!) we drove to Zion. Highway 9 (another official Scenic By-way) passes through 2 tunnels on its way into the park. The first isn't any big deal but the second one is. The Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel was built in the 1920's when cars were small & few in number. Vehicles sized 7'10" in width or 11'4" in height, or larger, are required to have an "escort" (traffic control) in order to pass through, because they are too large to stay in their lane while traveling - it's an arched tunnel. So, we paid our $15 fee & waited for the rangers to clear the tunnel. Then we were allowed to proceed. The tunnel is 1.1 miles long, with "windows" cut in periodically, but no one is allowed to stop in the tunnel, so you gotta look fast!

Within the actual park, except during the winter, only shuttle buses are allowed on the touring roads. Down along the main street where traffic is allowed, many little cafes, restaurants, galleries, etc. offer to entertain, nourish & caffeinate visitors.

We are staying at a campground about 10 miles further down the road. It is quiet, very clean, with paved roads, a concrete pad for the RV & a little patch of very soft green grass at each site. We are right next to the pool & spa area, where they had a little ice cream social last night. While listening to oldies the kids ate ice cream while Phil & I enjoyed root beer floats. Later, we put our swimsuits back on & enjoyed the pool (kids) & hot tub (grown ups) all by ourselves. The stars came out, & we laid back on the bare sandstone decking, which was still warm from the day's sunshine, & stared up into the universe. Sigh...