Zion National Park's Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel & Overlook

I am not on the road in the picture. I am sitting on top of a rock at the Zion Canyon Overlook in Zion National Park.

The best moments on a Roadtrip are the surprises. Being some place you've never been before, seeing something you did not know existed.

The best such Roadtrip surprise I've ever experienced was in Zion National Park. I knew nothing about Zion, absolutely nothing.

Earlier in the day I experienced Bryce Canyon National Park for the first time, with it being the #2 biggest Roadtrip surprise ever, topped a few hours later by Zion.

If you have not been to Zion National Park before, trust me on this, enter the park, your first time, from the east. You will be glad you did. You get to the east entrance by heading north or south on Utah State Highway 89, exit 89 to the west, on to Highway 9, at Mount Carmel Junction.

In about 12 miles you will be in Zion National Park. The scenery is impressive as soon as you enter the park. But, it will quickly go from impressive to jaw-droppingly beautiful. You will pass formations like Checkerboard Mesa and will likely stop to get a closer look, not realizing what is to come.

In about 4 miles you'll come to the Zion Canyon Overlook. That's is where the pictures you see here were taken, years after that first visit to Zion.

Just past the Zion Canyon Overlook you will enter a feat of engineering called the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, a narrow two-lane tunnel bored into the edge of a cliff.

As you drive through the tunnel you will pass 6 portal windows giving you glimpses of where you are heading.

If you look closely at the picture on the right, you can see one of the portals in the cliff, as viewed from the Zion Canyon Overlook. The tunnel is inside that cliff.

Then you pop out of the tunnel and are in the canyon. The road descends into the valley with a series of switchbacks.

To be allowed to pass through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel vehicles wider than 7'10" and/or 11'4" tall or taller, must pay a fee to use the tunnel. This is because a ranger must block two way traffic to so the big vehicle can get through.

Back in the days before Zion became so popular, getting through the tunnel was easy. But, the last two times I've been to Zion there have been major backups at the tunnel.

Which is why on the most recent visit we stopped at the Zion Canyon Overlook parking lot and hiked to the Overlook. It was well worth the hike. I recommend it, even if you are not waiting for the tunnel to clear.

Hiking the Emerald Pools Trail in Zion Canyon with the Goober Twins

You looking at the Goober Twins, Wally and Big Ed, being Goobers on the Emerald Pools Trail in Zion National Park.

A couple of my fellow travelers, on this particular Roadtrip, were out of control acrophobes.

So, Wally holding on to Big Ed, on the edge of a precipice, really set off the acrophobes. The sudden appearance of the bright light, shining down on the misbehaving Goobers, indicated that, perhaps, something divine was on the side of the screaming acrophobes.

The Emerald Pools Trail is one of the 3 most heavily used in Zion. It is an easily hiked trail, with waterfalls, pools and rock formations to enjoy along the way.

You'll find several trails making up the Emerald Pools Trail. To get to the trailhead, from late March through November, that being the heavy tourist season, you'll have to park at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center and ride the shuttle. The rest of the year you can drive into the canyon and park at the Emerald Pools parking lot.

We simply walked from where we were staying at the Zion Lodge, to get to the Emerald Pools trailhead, taking a footbridge across the road.

The Lower Pool is .6 mile one way with a 69 foot elevation again. The Middle Pools is a 1 mile on way hike, gaining 150 feet. The Upper Pool is 1.5 miles one way, gaining 350 feet. Kayenta Trail is 1 mile one way, gaining 150 feet.

The Lower Pool Trail is paved and wheel chair accessible.

Me and my co-hikers, including the Goober Twins, did not make it to the Upper or Kayenta Trails. A group hike only moves as fast as your slowest hikers. I had some molasses on this particular Roadtrip. I hope to go back to Zion, some day, with no slow encumbrances.

Snowbound by a Blizzard in a Log Cabin at Grand Canyon's North Rim

You are looking at a mid October view of the Grand Canyon from the North Rim Lodge's patio.

We arrived the night before, not long before the sun set. 2 out of my Roadtrip party of 8 had not seen the Grand Canyon before.

We got called for our dinner reservations before we had time to look at the Grand Canyon before the sun went down.

About midnight wind turned wicked, followed by a blizzard of snow that left about a foot of the white stuff piled up. This made the morning view of the Grand Canyon a bit shrouded.

I had never been in a howling blizzard before, let alone a howling blizzard in a log cabin. I rather liked it. That is Big Ed leading Wanda through the snow to our log cabin.

The post-blizzard morning, on the way to breakfast, we learned that we were snowbound. The snow had closed the only escape route from the North Rim. Snow plows were being sent in from Utah, but it was not known how long it would take.

We were advised to be ready to get out of there when the snow plows made it through. Our next reservations were at the Zion Lodge. The National Park people had kindly informed their Zion counterparts of the situation, letting them know we'd be arriving late.

About noon the snowplows arrived. We quickly left. Soon the snow was behind us as the elevation dropped to the 4,000 feet level of Zion.

I highly recommend the North Rim of the Grand Canyon's log cabins in winter. We were told we were very lucky to experience that storm, that usually the North Rim is closed before the snows of winter arrive.

I Am In A Moab Utah Redrock State Of Mind

It's been a while since I Roadtripped through Utah. I think the last time may have been the Roadtrip that was also my move to Texas.

Moab was on the route I chose to get from Washington to Texas. Keys were accidentally locked in the moving truck while in Moab. This made for a longer than planned stop in Moab. That was a good thing.

Utah has some of my favorite places I've been to on the planet.

There's Mountain Biking in the Moab area, Houseboating on Lake Powell, the Fiery Furnace hike in Arches National Park, the amazing hikes in Bryce Canyon National Park, boating into Rainbow Bridge on Lake Powell, staying overnight at the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat, hiking in Zion National Park, the view from Islands in the Sky in Canyonlands National Park, driving down the Moki Dugway and a lot of other good stuff I'm not remembering right now.

I saw a State of Utah Tourism ad last night. That ad put Utah on my mind. The video below also put Utah on my mind. I think I need to move to Moab....

Zion National Park

Zion Update: Major roadwork will occur on the Zion Mt.-Carmel Highway in the spring of 2010. Expect delays and temporary closures.

I've been to Zion National Park 3 times. The first time was part of the same Roadtrip that brought me to Bryce Canyon for the first time, that being a Roadtrip who's original destination was Yellowstone, where on a whim it was decided to head south to the Grand Canyon.

Driving south toward Grand Canyon, on U.S. Route 89, you come to a juncture which leads to Bryce Canyon. That juncture was taken, leading to my first redrock experience, driving in Redrock Canyon. Not realizing I was about to see a lot of redrock I took way too many pictures of Redrock Canyon.

After a way too short visit to Bryce Canyon it was back to Highway 89 again. Heading south towards Grand Canyon, you come to a juncture with the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway that leads into Zion National Park.

I knew nothing about Zion, just like I knew nothing about Bryce. Knowing nothing, I had no clue I was about to be quite surprised. As you enter Zion National Park, from the east, the scenery is quite impressive, with formations like Checkerboard Mesa. We stopped at several locations and explored, not realizing we had not reached the main show.

Eventually you come to the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. As you drive through the tunnel you pass 6 portal window views that give you hints at where you are heading. Then you come out of the tunnel to an eye-popping view. You are looking at Zion Canyon. The road then does a series of switchbacks to the valley below.

That first visit to Zion was in a September. The park was not too busy. We stayed overnight in a campground in a tent. It was hot.

The next visit to Zion came several years later as part of a Roadtrip that went through Lava Beds National Monument, Reno, crossed America's Loneliest Road, then into Utah and Zion. That time it was just a quick 4 hour visit to Zion, before heading on to Grand Canyon for a short visit, before ending up in Las Vegas that night, to a very HOT Death Valley the next day.

On that second trip to Zion we came in from the west. Since I'd not come into the park from this side before I did not realize the town of Springdale was just outside the park, with a lot of lodging, food and entertainment possibilities, including Zion Canyon IMAX.

The second time in Zion we went through the tunnel the opposite way. At the exit there is a parking lot. From that parking lot you can hike a trail that leads to a spectacular view of Zion Canyon. On the first visit, Zion was not busy. In the years after that Zion became very popular, to the extent that now there was a person monitoring traffic through the tunnel. An RV or bus has to get a special permit to go through the tunnel, which turns one-way til the RV or bus gets through. This can make for a bit of a wait.

By the time of the third visit to Zion National Park it'd grown so popular that vehicle traffic is not allowed on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive from April through October. Shuttle buses take tourists the 6 mile length of the road to its final parking lot at the Temple of Sinawava. The traffic congestion was horrible, so this is a real good thing, making the park experience way more pleasant.

The third visit took place during a Roadtrip who's first destination was Houseboating on Lake Powell, followed by Mexican Hat and the San Juan Inn, Monument Valley, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (where a blizzard overnight had us stuck til the snowplows arrived) then out of the snow and on to the Zion Lodge where we stayed one night before heading on to Las Vegas, Death Valley and Yosemite.

The rooms at Zion Lodge were very big. The Zion Lodge restaurant was very noisy. I had trouble hearing the waitress or my feeding companions. The grounds of the Zion Lodge are manicured grass, which doesn't seem right for a park like this. The Grand Canyon's North Rim Lodge seems to much more organically fit its surroundings.

We went on several hikes the next day before heading out for Vegas. At the end of Zion Canyon Scenic Drive we hiked into The Narrows from the Temple of Sinawava, along with a lot of other people. On other hikes, like Weeping Rock you also see a lot of people. But on the Emerald's Pool Trail I had more of that solitude type peace I like when communing with nature.

I'd like to spend several days at Zion and do some of the longer, more strenuous hikes, like Angels Landing. The sooner the better, I suppose, before these evermore elderly joints of mine get more creaky.

Zion Canyon is 15 miles long and up to a half mile deep. In 1909 President Taft made the Zion area a national monument to protect it, giving it the goofy name of Mukuntuweap. The locals did not like that name, so in 1918 it was changed to Zion with Congress turning it into Zion National Park on November 19, 1919.

Watch an excellent video of the hike to the top of Angel's Landing.

Angel's Landing Hike In Zion National Park

My first visit to Zion National Park I attended a ranger lecture and slide show. The ranger told us about the Angel's Landing Trail. I was not equipped for such a hike at the time, but vowed to return. It would be almost 2 decades later I returned to Zion. But that was part of a spontaneous Roadtrip with no destinations in mind, so arriving at Zion was purely unintentional. So, no hike to the top of Angel's Landing

I've been back to Zion one more time, as part of a long Roadtrip that included Houseboating on Lake Powell, getting stuck in a blizzard at the north rim of the Grand Canyon, an overnight in the Zion National Park Lodge, then a few days in Las Vegas, an overnight in Death Valley and a quick trip into Yosemite.

The above YouTube video is the first time I've actually seen, in graphic terms, what the Angel's Landing Trail is like. In the video you watch Susannah, Samantha and Jason make the ascent for the first time. Watching this video gave me the acrophobic willies. I now do not know if I could make this hike.

Zion National Park's Angels Landing Hike

My first visit to Zion National Park was a long, long time ago. We'd been to Yellowstone National Park and after seeing the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone we decided we needed to see the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.

The route to Grand Canyon went by Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. I knew nothing about either. We checked out Bryce Canyon first. Loved it, vowed to return. It would be a lot of years before that return.

Next was Zion. It was September, it was hot, we stayed overnight at a campground inside Zion. That night we went to a slideshow and talk where a lady Park Ranger imparted a lot of information. Among the things she waxed poetic about was the hike to the top of Angels Landing.

She made it sound so fun and so scary. She described there being a point where the trail is very narrow, where you are at the top of a spot where there is a thousand foot or more drop-off on either side. Very dangerous. This drop-off area had a name. I can't remember it for sure after all these years. Maybe it was the Razorback.

One thing the Ranger made clear is you needed to be wearing sturdy hiking boots to be safe on the Angels Landing Trail. All we had were tennis shoes. But we vowed to return one day and hike the Angels Landing trail to the top. I was not to return to Zion National Park til 18 years later. The Angels Landing Hike did not take place on that return. I was back in Zion again a few years ago, staying overnight at the National Park Lodge. Sadly, the Angels Landing Hike did not take place that time either.

That picture at the top shows part of the Angels Landing Trail. The National Park Service has an interactive webpage about the Angels Landing Hike. This may be one of the best webpages I have ever seen. By the time I was done looking at all there was to see, music came on and I sat here feeling real sad that I've not yet made it to the top of Angels Landing. And maybe never will.