SW Road Trip: Zion to Red Canyon

The next day after we spent our first night in the Land Rover we woke up just in time to get dressed before it started to rain, then sleet and then we watched it turn to a snow storm. I am writing this entry about three months after we were in this area but still snow in May when we were just in 90 degree weather is not what you want when you are touring national parks.

Luckily, we kept driving into Zion National Park and the farther we went the less snow we saw. We got to the park and hopped on the complimentary shuttle bus which took us down the trail to the famous Narrows. It had been rainy so we didn't get to hike very far but this park is so BEAUTIFUL. I didn't have any expectations and I was blown away. The color green with the red-orange background of the towering rocks was just spectacular. They had plenty of moisture for the season so the waterfalls were running and there were so many of them. It was awesome.

We were only disappointed that we didn't have more time to spend in Zion. We needed to stay on track as we had many more great parks to visit. This same day we drove out of Zion and made our way to the Scenic Byway 12. We would be on this road for the next couple of days. The lesser known Red Canyon was exceptional and we spent the night in a Forest Service Campground which was just reconstructed so the showers and bathrooms were nice, clean and NEW. The only downside, the nighttime temperatures were supposed to drop to 26 degrees and it did and it was cold. We survived!