Zion National Park
Well, after missing a turn and going to the wrong way out of Hurricane, we finally got turned around and found our way into Zion National Park. It was probably our first day out that ran me over the 1,500 pre-paid miles costing me $16.38 but more importantly, it was time lost. But this was not to be the only and last thing today that cost us money. There was a much larger mistake looming in our near future.
No problem finding the campground where we had reservations. After picking up our pass the parking spot was an easy back in and drive out. Only I had not had reason to back this huge thing before now. I quickly found out that it is impossible to see anything in the rear, only to the sides in the rear. Mieko got out to help but seemed unsure so I asked a fellow camper who was walking by to guide me into our narrow slot. Okay, that was easy enough and I should have left well enough alone, but no — I wanted to get farther into the spot. No one saw the overhead tree branch. Look at the second RV photo below. This branch with some very jagged, broken branch ends cut into the RV top, which is a flexible membrane. Flexible, but not so flexible that it cannot torn and that is exactly what happened. The repair is expensive.
The first seven photos below were taken from our overnight camping site. One nice thing about camping, which we had forgotten, particularly at National and State Parks, is there are quiet rules at night. Campers seems to have respect for these rules. Many turn off the lights and go to sleep early. It was nice being out in the quiet and dark of the night.
The best part of Zion is an area or road where cars and RVs are not allowed. When we visited in the early 70's I think we drove into the area now off limits. A shuttle operates in the Park now and the round trip takes about a half day. The parking lot at the Visitor Center where the shuttle debark has limited space and none for RVs. We had to be checked out of our site by 11 a.m. There was just no way to see all the Park with only one nights stay. We could accept that since we had been there before, for about three nights.
It was off for Bryce Canyon. This takes one over the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway which has a lot of switch-backs, mostly prior to the one-way tunnel.
In the first photo below we are waiting our turn, with all the other cars, to enter the tunnel. As I remember, this tunnel is about 1 mile long and vehicles the size we had and larger have to drive right down the center. Normally, a vehicle the size of our RV or larger, requires closing the tunnel and having an escort. There is a $15 or so charge for this escort. The road into and out of the tunnel was under repair and only one lane open for this construction work. To our luck, the requirement for an escort and the charge was waived during this construction period.
Zion National Park is now behind us. The features of the landscape start to take on the appearances we would soon see.
