The Southwest

The first day out of Phoenix we headed north beyond Flagstaff to Lee's Ferry campground at Glen Canyon. Just before reaching the campground, we stopped at Navajo Bridge to enjoy the view of the Vermilion Cliffs area. The light was so bright and harsh out there, even in autumn during the late afternoon. . . but we still enjoyed the view and the shadows and reflections in the river below.




















We walked down to the river after setting up camp at Lee's Ferry. Beautiful and peaceful, the last light of the day.













ZION!
The next morning we headed westward towards Zion National Park. Surely this place must be one of the most magnificent, stunning examples of nature's beauty. I think that you have to go there to fully understand Zion. Pictures can only say so much. . .













Some photos from the Watchman Trail.































































































The Emerald Pools Trail. A cold front was coming in on this morning and the light had changed quite a bit since the clear and sunny day before.

































































Once the cold front had settled in, we found that we had to keep active and moving to stay warm. High temperatures were around 45 degrees this day, with a harsh, biting wind sweeping through the Zion canyons. We stopped at Weeping Rock, a short trail to a lovely and colorful rock face. On this morning it not only had dangling ferns and dripping water but also icicles!






































































































Next we headed up the trail to Hidden Canyon, which was very well named. We had no idea what we were in for until we had hiked up many switchbacks and rounded a couple of daunting corners. It was an (icicle) cold day and sand was blowing around just about every corner. But this slot canyon was so magical, tucked away behind the rock walls. With it's lovely, warming, swirling, orange-pink colored walls and falling autumn leaves, it was the highlight of our Zion visit.


































































































































































































KOLOB ARCH, Zion. On one of the coldest mornings, after the first snowfall of the year, we headed over to the Kolob section of Zion. It was about a 45 minute drive around the mountains and up a main interstate highway to reach Kolob. It was beautiful to see the orange rocks dusted in fresh white snow. Though we didn't get to hike due to the lack of snow-proof footwear, it was still fun to touch snow!
To be continued. . .