We had a couple days at Zion, so did more than just Angel's Landing. However, there was a day when we were a bit sore after Angel's Landing, so we did the scenic drives in the park. There's a big one that stretches from the southern to the eastern entrances. It was a pretty cool drive, too. Zion is turns 100 years old next year, and back in the 1920s, they found they needed that road going through the park. So they built one, and they built the tunnel going through the mountain that the road needed. It's over 1 mile long, and they finished it in 1930! Pretty impressive! It's interesting too, because it opened up the park to travel back in the 1930s, when cars were smaller. Now that we have RVs and tour buses and Monster Cars, the tunnel's a little small. You have to get a permit during the peak season to pass through it with one of those bigger vehicles, and in the off season, they will close the tunnel to one way to allow the big ones through. Interesting how times change. Below is a view of the road leading to the tunnel, as seen from Canyon Overlook.
One of the scenic stops on the scenic drive was Checkerboard Mesa. It's pretty noticeable along the drive there, and pretty interesting. The horizontal lines are cross-bedding common in Zion, but the vertical ones are unique erosion patterns, giving it that checkered look (yes, here are all those geo classes coming out again!) Besides, little east coast kid that I am, I'd never seen a mesa before :)
Another little detour on the scenic drive was Canyon Overlook Trail. More nice views of the canyon, without the perilous drop on Angel's Landing :) This is actually a view over a side canyon which feeds into Zion Canyon itself. Little tiny trail, good place to stretch your legs a little, and get some nice pictures too!
Emerald Pools is a trail loop passing by 3 levels of pools descending down the canyon to the Virgin River (creatively, Upper, Middle and Lower Emerald Pools). They are Emerald Pools because at certain times of year, you see noticable algal growth giving them a greenish hue. It's a very pretty couple miles, not too hard. There's a waterfall descding down from the Middle Pools that is apparently beautiful in the spring. It gets stronger, due to the snow melt in the spring, and becomes one of the Things to See in the park at that time of year. In fall, like when we were there, it's still pretty, just not as impressive :) The picture below is from above the Middle Pool.
Besides Angel's Landing, one of the other famous trails at Zion is the Narrows, which follows the Virgin River upstream through Zion Canyon as it becomes a slot canyon. Very pretty, and apparently another challenging hike. Zach was all set to head up that way a bit, but I shot it down - being November, the water was a little on the chilly side. Still, looks like it's an interesting hike, so we'll just have to find some time to make it back.! Maybe we'll brave the crowds next summer and through-hike the Narrows - the water will feel good, then, right? It's a big park, so I'm sure we would find enough to do to make the trip worthwhile :)
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