Zion

 

We arrived at Watchman Campground in Springdale around 2:30 pm on Tuesday, August 27th. We stayed 4 glorious nights and left on Saturday for Zion River Resort where we are now . . . until we leave tomorrow (Saturday, September 7th).

 

 

This is my favorite park and it’s pretty high up on Jan’s list too. We were in Loop B, Site B2, a secluded campsite next to the camp amphitheater and trail along the Virgin River. We backed into our electric only site. It’s 50A so we’re happy as the arrival temp was 102 degrees, and we needed to use both air conditioners.

 

 

 

Though Watchman Campground does not have full hookups, only electric, and in fact the campground itself only has bathrooms — no showers (so bring a lot water), despite all of this, it is a gem.

We’re a few steps away from the Virgin River which is great for human and dog swimming. Walk a bit farther, take a foot bridge across the river, and you’re in Zion Canyon Village:

 

 

On our first night we walked to the Zion Brewery for dinner.

 

 

DOG DAYS

Flirt is a water dog. From day one. We’ve had four Golden Retrievers, two males and two females. Jack and Flirt are the water dogs. Jack had no common sense. When we lived on a lake, he jumped off our dock and started chasing ducks towards the middle of the lake. We rescued him. Flirt, on the other hand, has become a thoughtful, conservative swimmer. Polite.

 

 

From time to time we put her out . . .

 

 

But Flirt rebounds and takes the “command chair” to survey her domain . . .

 

 

THE NARROWS

We were in Zion National Park about 2 years ago. We stayed 6 days at the Zion River Resort . . . which is only 10 miles or so from the park, but you have to get up early in order to get a parking spot in the park.

This time we spent our first 4 days IN Zion. A big difference.

This time we decided to attempt hiking up The Narrows.

So we did. I think we only hiked less than a mile into The Narrows, but a great experience . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE HELICOPTER RIDE

Expensive, but the best. On Tuesday morning, September 3rd, we hopped on one of the Zion Helicopters for a 35-minute aerial tour of the area around Zion. Priceless.

I hadn’t been on a helicopter since I medevaced a German Shepherd sentry dog while I was in Korea in 1971. So it’s been a while.

 

 

We had GoPro video of our flight, and I’m only able to post 2/3s of the movie. It’s just too big to upload, but you’ll get the idea.