Zion Canyon National Park is another unique place.

[Normandog]

Zion Canyon was down the road from Bryce by maybe 60 miles. When I rounded a curve and saw this I knew we were in for a treat.


Dang if it didn't get better too


One small tunnel we went thru


But this was the Daddy Rabbit of tunnels in Zion Park. Never understood why but they would let some vehicles in from one end and when they exited the other end they would let some in from that end so there was only traffic moving in one direction at a time. And it is a two lane tunnel.

This is what made this tunnel cool. There was 2 or 3 of these windows cut out of the rock on the side of the tunnel. This taken from inside the tunnel looking out

This one taken from outside looking up at one of the windows.


Don't know the names of these mtns but they are beautiful





And one parting shot as we were about to exit the park. I really dug Zion National Park. We pulled over a couple times just to sit on the rocks and soak it in.

[robin]

Great pics Ron hoping to get there myself some day.

[Jay]

All of southern Utah is very cool!  We did Zion and Bryce last year, lots of incredible hikes!  Canyonlands and the Needles this past spring, again hiked a lot, outstanding scenery.  I wished we had the Valk, but took the truck to haul the extra gear.

[Gilligan]

Fabulous!  We've ridden many of the same roads as you have.  It's too bad we couldn't have ridden them at the same time.  Keep 'em comin'.

[Gary]

Yup, I really enjoyed Zion, still haven't made it to Bryce so thanks for the teaser pic's.

Here's a handfull I took on the way back from my daughters in Vegas last year to visit my brand new grand daughter who now turns 1 tomorrow.

These were taken coming in from the southwest side.

 







Now backtracking from Normandogs route and coming out on the east end of the Grand Canyon from Zion you hit a little spot called Lee's Ferry, ressembling the Rio Grande Gorge back in my neck of the woods only this one fueled by the Colorado River... 

[Normandog]

All of southern Utah is very cool!  We did Zion and Bryce last year, lots of incredible hikes!  Canyonlands and the Needles this past spring, again hiked a lot, outstanding scenery.  I wished we had the Valk, but took the truck to haul the extra gear.

I wished we would have had more time to explore southern Utah as well as some of the other areas we visited. As for the hiking, that would have had to happen many years ago. 

[Normandog]

Fabulous!  We've ridden many of the same roads as you have.  It's too bad we couldn't have ridden them at the same time.  Keep 'em comin'.

That would have been cool Gilligan. Still hope to meet you and Navigator someday. 

[Normandog]

Here's a handfull I took on the way back from my daughters in Vegas last year to visit my brand new grand daughter who now turns 1 tomorrow.

These were taken coming in from the southwest side.




Now backtracking from Normandogs route and coming out on the east end of the Grand Canyon from Zion you hit a little spot called Lee's Ferry, ressembling the Rio Grande Gorge back in my neck of the woods only this one fueled by the Colorado River... 

Nice pics, thanks for sharing. I liked seeing it from the other side.

[highcountry]

Great photos!  Thanks for helping us get through this long winter.

The headwaters of the Colorado River is in Rocky Mtn. National Park and it starts as a crease on the west side of the Continental Divide.  I fly fished in the river in the park and had to be careful not to hit the bank the opposite bank.  It is amazing that is the same river that cut the Grand Canyon.

[Popeye]

Great photos, keep em coming.

[Normandog]

Great photos!  Thanks for helping us get through this long winter.

The headwaters of the Colorado River is in Rocky Mtn. National Park and it starts as a crease on the west side of the Continental Divide.  I fly fished in the river in the park and had to be careful not to hit the bank the opposite bank.  It is amazing that is the same river that cut the Grand Canyon.

Glad to hear folks enjoy the pics. We were also in Rocky Mtn NP but didn't realize the Colorado River's head waters were there.The first time I was aware I was seeing it was in Glenwood Canyon. The power of water is something to behold. We live next to the Linville River and I've spent part of the last 21 years walking around upstream after the many floods we've seen and studying the effects of all that rushing water.

[fiddle mike]

Glad to hear folks enjoy the pics.

For sure, they 're great.  Jill and I were up that way, some years ago.  We saw a lot of natural wonders in two weeks, but Zion was my favorite, it felt like you could get personal with it, so  we did.

[Paul Carver]

The last time I was in Zion, you could only ride so far in and then you had to get on a shuttle to see the rest of the park. Is this still true? According to the Ranger, it was because of limited parking spots and too many people. How far can you ride the bike in before having to swap transportation?
For those that have not been in the area before, don't forget to travel Utah Route 12. Begins, or ends, in Torrey and goes to Bryce Canyon. It is one of my favorite rides in the whole country. Absolutely beautiful.

[Jay]

I don't recall exactly, but I think it was park buses only in the canyon.  We stayed at a place in town, took the local bus to the park entrance, then the park bus thorough Zion.  The buses run every ten minutes, so you can never miss one.  Great transportation plan as you didn't have to mess around with traffic, parking, etc.

[Normandog]

Glad to hear folks enjoy the pics.

For sure, they 're great.  Jill and I were up that way, some years ago.  We saw a lot of natural wonders in two weeks, but Zion was my favorite, it felt like you could get personal with it, so  we did.

I know what you mean Mike. I would've liked to took off walking thru them hills. 

[Normandog]

How far can you ride the bike in before having to swap transportation?
For those that have not been in the area before, don't forget to travel Utah Route 12. Begins, or ends, in Torrey and goes to Bryce Canyon. It is one of my favorite rides in the whole country. Absolutely beautiful.

We entered the park on the east side and rode all the way thru the park on the bike. Only got off the bike when we wanted to stop and soak it in. Parking along the road was scarce. This was in mid August of 2009.
When I was planning the trip I wanted to take 12 in to Bryce from the east but it didn't work out for us.

[raja]

If you look closely at my profile picture, It's Zion. Great ride if you get the chance.