Vacation 9, in which we go for another Hike

On the last morning of our vacation (not counting travel days), Tara and I got up early and headed back to Zion. This time our destination was the Observation Point Trail.

Despite the posted warnings and the announcement that this trail was not for those with a fear of height, there was nothing scary at all on the trail. At the observation point itself, you could potentially be afraid, but nobody forces anyone to go by the edge.

The trail was beautiful and the scenery was awesome. This was a long-ish hike (we took a side trek up to the Weeping Rock that added an extra mile to the 8), but it wasn't really all that strenuous of a hike. It probably helped that we were hiking on a relatively cool day; it would have been pretty tough had it been 100 degrees! But anyway, the view was breathtaking.

We got a lot of different scenery, from the wide open expanse overlooking the entire park to narrow canyons. We saw burned trees (lightning strikes are apparently pretty common up on top), and we saw flowers. We saw all sorts of different colors and textures in the rock.

It's hard to describe what it's like to hike in a place like Zion. It serves as a reminder to me just how creative God is... though Ohio in the Spring is pretty with all the green and the flowers, there's nothing like mountains or canyons here. The beauty of Zion is why it's so popular. I can't imagine going during the busy season; (even as an extrovert) I like to enjoy nature in (somewhat) solitude. I remember meeting a young man in the Smoky Mountains who brought a poetry book to read in the backcountry; I thought it was a little much, because to me, the backcountry itself is poetry that is more beautiful than the written word can capture.

And with that, we left Utah for Las Vegas, from whence we flew to Chicago (but not before M-I-L "broke even" on a slot machine in the airport and not before our sunscreen got confiscated as we (unknowingly) tried to "smuggle" it past security in the bottom of my carry-on). Then, after a night blessed by loud notifications that F-I-L's blackberry had received incoming e-mails... at 2:30 am, we returned home.