2017 Grand Circle Day #11 - Zion

One thing we noticed really quickly about this hotel - the walls are paper thin. You can hear everything everybody is doing. Yey.

Breakfast is ok - there is a waffle maker! (This makes Andy happy). And skim milk! (This makes Amy happy).

Our first morning at Zion - first we have to figure out the shuttle bus situation. Similar to the town outside the Grand Canyon, there is a free shuttle service to the Visitor's Center. Unlike our experience in the Grand Canyon, the front desk person at the hotel makes it very clear that the bus stop is right next door in front of the Mexican restaurant. We ask if we need a park pass to get on the bus - she says, "you need a park pass to get into the park".

So with that little puzzle left to figure out, we go up to the bus stop - Andy held the bus for me as I toddled up the sidewalk.

Turns out the reason why we don't need park passes to get onto the bus is because the bus doesn't actually go into the park. It stops right our front, and we get to walk into the park with our individual passes.

We went into the Visitor's center assuming that's where we will find the requisite "Welcome to Zion" movie. Turns out it is at shuttle stop #2, the museum. 
After the movie, we discover there's at least a 15 minute wait to get on the shuttle - one comes every 5 minutes or so. Might have been faster to walk it.

We get there just in time for a Ranger talk about - you guessed it! The geology of Zion National Park. They are really big on geology at National Parks.

The movie (in the super air conditioned theater) tells us that there's lots of references to the "Old Testament" (in case you are wondering why I use quotation marks - it's because Jews call it Torah; "Old Testament" is not a Jewish concept). "Zion" apparently is a "quiet sanctuary" (and the Jewish homeland, but never mind). Other references include "The Patriarchs" - Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. 

Our first hike is the walk along a trail that is mostly flat and paved like a sidewalk. The actual round trip is 3.5 miles and 2 hours, but we only go 1/4 of the way - from Shuttle bus stop 2 to Shuttle bus stop 3. Even though it is a very easy walk, it is out in the blazing sun with rare rest stops in the shade. The heat is enough to slow me down, even though we are down to 4,000 ft elevation from 8,000 ft.

However, we made it to shuttle stop 3. And then it's time for lunch, so we take the shuttle two more stops to the lodge.

There's a "cafe" for the outside seating, but it is a zoo. We go to the indoor restaurant instead. Good air conditioning!

After lunch we walk the Emerald Pools Trail to the "Lower Pool". It is a beautiful walk, but the heat is unrelenting. So I just take my time.

Here is proof that I made it:

After completing the round trip, we came back to the lodge - I got a soda and Andy spent a bit too much time waiting his turn to get a fruit cup.

I know at this point that I am done with longish hikes for the day. We decide to take the shuttle bus and get off and on to see what there is to see.

We realize the only easy off/on stop is Big Bend, which is a little hard to see why it's called that from this photo:

We decided we were done for the day. We made our way back to the Visitor's Center; we stopped off at the market to buy bananas. We had a bit of a wait for the shuttle back into town. All in all the shuttle concept worked very well.

We had dinner at a restaurant called "The Spotted Dog" with this to look at while we ate:

Our next door neighbors are having a great time. Fortunately, they honored the "quiet time after 10:00 pm" rule.

Tomorrow - our last day in the last National Park of the Grand Circle