This morning Randy put a rack of ribs in the slow cooker, and we drove into Zion. We parked at the Museum and got on the shuttle bus to go to the stop for the Lower Emerald Pool.
It is 112 degrees and the drought has significantly decreased the water in the Emerald Pools, but it's still a pretty hike. The water that creates the pool falls down over the cliff in a small waterfall, which is currently down to a heavy sprinkle.
And the hiking path goes behind the falls.
There are signs everywhere telling people not to feed the wildlife. But the squirrels are so used to being fed that they come up to the trail, sit on a rock, and kind of flirt with the hikers.
After that we hiked up to the Upper Emerald Pool. It was steeper but the views were even better. This land is so beautiful.
And the sheer cliff walls take my breath away. This one is so big that it has large trees growing in the cracks.
There are no falls at the upper pool, but there was a little more water in the pool. It was a great place to rest and snack after the hike. For lunch we had the PB&J sandwiches we had packed earlier, and all along the way we made sure we were drinking lots of water. It was so hot that no matter how much water I drank, I never sweat. The National parks now have taps at several stations to fill water bottles, in an effort to decrease waste. It's a great benefit but I didn't care much for the taste; I prefer our own.
Next we hiked around the side of a mountain and down to the Grotto. The Virgin River flows through the canyon. Amazing!
It's not so much a grotto as a nice spot on the Virgin river with wide banks. It was lovely though, and Randy went in to cool off. Sometimes the landscape here just begs to be photographed.
And again - amazing cliff walls!
We also did the Riverwalk hike. Water here often seeps through the rocks into the river, but where it cannot seep, it drips out, and where there is water, things will grow. They call these Hanging Gardens.
At the end of this trail, the Virgin river pools a bit, so Randy enjoyed another cool dip.
And that was enough hiking for one day! On the drive back, going out of the Park, I was amazed at the great rock cliffs. The rocks here show an incredible mix of striations, in all directions.
And one, called Checkerboard Mesa, has big vertical cracks, which divides the rock face into squares and rectangles.
At home we had ribs for dinner and just relaxed for the night. I had made sure I put sunscreen on everywhere (factor 100), but somehow I got a terrible sunburn on my neck. Not just the back of my neck - all around. I think the cooling cloth and camera strap I used must have rubbed off the sunscreen, and somehow, in spite of the cooling cloth and thick camera strap, every inch all around my neck burned scarlet. Ah, well, a small price to pay!
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