A convenient shuttle service picked us up this morning in front of the RV park and took us to the park entrance. We walked through the entrance gate, and boarded another shuttle that took us to the far end of the park where we walked a three mile riverside trail to the Narrows. This is where the Virgin River passes through a narrow slot canyon with walls several hundred feet high. The trail ends there. If you want to go further, you have to wade up the river, which was closed due to high water flows.
There are no cars permitted on most of the park roads and all of the major attractions can be reached only by shuttle. The shuttle system is very efficient with hardly any waiting. (This certainly beats the hassle of finding non-existent parking spaces.)
Zion park reminds us of Yosemite Valley, except on a much smaller scale. There are near vertical sandstone cliffs on both sides of a narrow valley. Cottonwoods, alders, and oaks flourish in the moist environment on the valley floor. Numerous springs feed hanging gardens that cling to the sides of the cliffs.
We hiked a total of 6 miles today on a variety of trails. We had plenty of company, as this park receives over 3,000,000 tourist visits every year. The trails were crowded, but the scenery was nice.
We had dinner tonight just steps from our camp at the Whiptail Grill, which is the most highly rated restaurant in Springdale. It is a converted gas station where you sit outside under the old canopy where the pumps used to be. It was excellent, with great calamari, grilled shrimp tacos, shrimp burritos, and wonderful chocolate cake.
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