Zion National Park (and back)

May 3, 2021

While we waited for the shuttle to take us into Zion Canyon, we chatted with a law enforcement officer (she couldn’t tell us what she did) who had been at Zion a couple of days. We relied on her suggestions to hike the Kayenta Trail from the Grotto to the Lower Emerald Pool and back to the Zion Lodge. We think the hike was a little harder for us than she had imagined it would be (it’s nice to know we project airs of competence and ability)–mostly because of elevation gain. But we had wonderful views as we walked along a rim trail. We had a picnic lunch and walked along the Virgin River before being thrilled on our way out of the park by a handful of Bighorn sheep.

We stopped at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park on the way home. Seven miles of distinctively coral-colored dunes comprised of eroded Navajo sandstone blew into the area through a gap between two mountains.