One last morning hike in Zion and then off to the Grand Canyon

 

Date: 4/21/2015

Location: Zion NP, Page Arizona & Grand Canyon NP

Well, Tuesday arrived and it was time to leave Zion National Park and head south to the Grand Canyon (south rim). One thing that we wanted to do before we left Zion was to ride the shuttle as far as we could up into Zion Valley and do one last short hike on the River Walk Trail. This is the trail that leads to the famous Narrows hike. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to hike the narrows. Yet another hike we'll need to add to our list for the next visit!!

On the shuttle ride from the lodge to the River Walk trail we saw several climbers high up on the rock walls. We also had a climber, with all of his gear, on the shuttle with us. I guess this section of Zion is famous for its' rock climbing walls.

Mother and daughter doing an early morning hike before our long drive to the Grand Canyon.

 

The end of the River Walk Trail is where the trail to the Narrows begins.

The Narrows is a hike up the Virgin River accessible when the flow of water is low enough. In the cooler weather you have to rent booties and wet suits since the water is so cold. Below is Allison taking a picture for some of the hikers starting their trek up to the Narrows.

Allison the photographer.

 

Allison doing her best to keep the trail free from boulders

 

Our River Walk was right next to the Virgin River that flows through Zion Canyon.

 

Making our way back to the start of the trail.

 

Out time in Zion was finally up and we packed ourselves into the car and headed out. In planning the trip I noticed that about 1/2 way to the Grand Canyon was Page Arizona and the Glenn Canyon Dam. This was a must stop as you just can't pass up a good dam! It would also get us there about noon time which would make a good place to stop for lunch.

Glen Canyon Dam

 

We stopped at the visitors center at the dam for a bathroom break and to take a few picture of the dam and bridge over the river. This visitor center at this dam was much quieter than the one at Hoover Dam. We decided that we'd do the tour of the dam an Hoover and skipped the tour at this one.

 

Julie really wanted to find some dinosaur tracks somewhere on our travels. Well, she finally found some right outside the Glen Canyon Dam visitors center.

How bout them tracks!!

 

After spending about 45 minutes at the visitors center and lunch in the small town of Page Arizona, we were off again. One more stop that I had planned was a short hike/walk to the somewhat famous Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River. This was a very short 1 mile round trip stroll to an overlook into the canyon.

We're going where?

 

 

I really wanted to get a good picture of the bend (horseshoe) of the Colorado River, but didn't want to get close enough to the edge to get the shot. So, Allison volunteered to lay on the rock, stretch over the edge and try to get the perfect shot.

Anything for a good picture.

 

Just hanging on the edge!!

 

Allison took a few pictures with her phone and my camera, being extra careful not to drop either over the edge of the thousand foot drop.

All the extra effort paid off. We got a pretty good picture of Horse Shoe Bend.

 

Here's the GPS track of the short hike we did down to the overlook.

Colorado River - Horseshoe Bend Walk at EveryTrail

 

 

After leaving Page Arizona, it was off to the Grand Canyon. The drive from Page to the Grand Canyon is through mostly desert and Indian reservations. We got to the park in the early evening and had to get our picture taken by the East entrance sign.

A father daughter picture for a change!!

 

Our first view of the canyon was from Desert View Overlook.

 

We arrived at the Grand Canyon and got checked into our room at the Yavapai Lodge. The "Lodge" was really just a hotel like room, but it was plenty big enough for the three of us and had two queen beds. Plus it was clean, so we were all set. After getting settled we headed out to dinner and waited for about 45 minutes for a table at Arizona Room Restaurant. We waited out on their porch area and had a drink and enjoyed the views (even though it was windy and cold!!!) We had a great dinner here and later made our way back to our room as we were ready for bed after a long travel day. Plus, we had a big hike planned for the next day, so we needed all the rest we could get!