Utah, Not Just for Mormons

We didn't exactly roar out of Vegas, it was more of a meow. We crisscrossed the many ugly streets of surburban Las Vegas trying to find Costco and other establishments to get supplies for our upcoming days of camping. After finding that the main Costco was closed and seaching all around for another, it took us almost 2 hours to leave sin city.

We traversed our way across the corner of Arizona and into Utah to get to Zion National Park. It took a little longer than expected, but it was worth it. As a kid, my parents took my sister and I on a camping trip around the western US and, based on that trip, I remember Zion as my favorite national park. I was worried that I would destroy this memory by re-visiting it in my much more discerning and critical adulthood.

Nothing was ruined. I can easily say that Zion is still an amazing and beautitful place. The red rock cliffs, the warm weather, the river that runs down through the park and right next to our campsite made this a wonderful place to visit. The perfectly delicious swirls of color in the rock cliffs looked like ribbons of Jamocha Almond Fudge ice cream (pretty specific, aren't I). My dad, an original Dharma Bum, recommended that we hike up to Angel's Landing. We took his advice and got up early to make the ascent. The first part of the hike had amazing scenery, like everywhere in Zion, but was boring as far as hikes go (especially since we had just come back from Everest Base Camp). However, the second half of the hike was everything I look for while hiking - unique, gorgeous and dangerous.

This section of the hike starts out by walking along a part of the mountain that jets out away from the rest. This means that on each side of you there are shear cliffs. You continue by jumping rock to rock as you ascend up this piece of the mountain. This would likely be life threatening, but the park service has kindly attached chains to the rock that allow you to grab hold of something as you climb up the near vertical faces with 600 foot drops beneath you. It was quite exhilarating and once we got to the top the views were amazing.

Just to have some fun I decided to not bother grabbing any of the chains on the way down and just rely on the rocks for support. I think it made things easier because you just had to focus on not dying, so the actual trudgery of descending wasn't even noticed. Mylinh did great as she passed up most of the guys on the trail who were astonished by this little asian ninja speed walking and climbing past them.

After the hike we stumbled our way into the town just outside the park's gates. It was a quaint little place that mainly caters to tourists. One bright spot was the opportunity to try bumbleberry pie. Just the thought of eating a bumbleberry made my mouth water and my mind fill with thoughts of plump purple berries that taste like treats from God. As we later learned, Bumbleberries are fictional. Generally, bumbleberry dishes as just made from a mix of seasonal berries. So, the "berry" pie we had was good, but the the lack of a true bumbleberry made us a little sad. Click here for a funny tale of a search for the "real" bumbleberry.

We finished off the day with a dip in the river and a dinner of port, hot dogs and s'mores. The night was warm and we sat by the fire watching the stars and planning our life.

Zion Pictures