That morning we drove by the road to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon but didn't have time to go in. We proceeded to Zion National Park, arriving in late afternoon, in time to drive through the park, and stop twice for photo-ops and once for the restroom. Ken and I were sitting at the front of the bus and were first to the facilities, so we sneaked off for a 20-minute hike.
So that's the sum of our national park experience: two photo ops and a 20-minute hike. They were absolutely wonderful.
Driving through the magnificent red rocks and rainbow geology of the west is always great, and we saw some beautiful sights on our 1400-mile journey past the locked gates. But when they set up the national parks, they really did take all the good stuff. Now I'm thinking about how to go back and see what we missed.
It's a beautiful area, fly in and rent a car, take your time and just drive thru all the parks stopping and hiking whenever you feel like it.
ReplyDeleteI live in Sun Valley, Idaho. There are plenty of National Forests that are equally as beautiful and which have not been closed. Only the parks have been affected and generally, the parks are the areas with the most people. Lots of hiking and incredible scenery, without people, in the national forests.
ReplyDeletewe were able to take a couple of excellent hikes in national forests along the way -- but unlike the usual, there were LOTS of people there! also in state parks. apparently many people (like us) came to the west in search of national parks and were scrambling to find alternative places to go.
DeleteAs one of your fellow trip mates I'm wondering if we were on the same trip together!! We were shown so much beauty that was well beyond what the trip actually called for in the National Parks. We went to so many beautiful State Parks, two of which were on the boundaries of the NPs like Red Canyon and Deadhorse Point. Our leaders took us to a few places like the Notom Rd. Overlook, Castle Valley, Bristlecone Pine Trail and how about Kodachrome and Goblin Valley!!!??? These places, a few of which are not known by the general public, offered us fantastic views and educational experiences. They even took us to Navajo Bridge to see the Condors and Jacob Lake and took a long detour to Zion which they didn't have to do. They could have driven straight to St. George from Page and called it a day. Instead they continued to the very end of the trip to provide us with an exceptional experience..
ReplyDeleteOur leaders went beyond the call of duty to show us so much beauty that they didn't really have to. That's why we tipped them generously. They make very little money and deserve to be appreciated with more than just a simple thank you.
You're right, the leaders were great and really scrambled to come up with Plan B. They took us to some fine places and we saw some beautiful sights. But I wanted to see the parks!
DeleteWe all knew when RS gave us a $250 voucher that they knew there was a high likelihood that the trip would not include the NPs. Sending well wishes your way for your future journeys.
Delete