Friday was our day to move from Bryce Canyon over to Zion National Park. A distance of some 85 miles or so. Not much in the way of driving time. It was also the day that revitalised my energy and enthusiasm for the road-trip and national parks.
After a latish previous night it was 7:30 before anyone was up and nearly 9:30 before we'd all showered, packed, and had breakfast. Though (of course) 1 day is in no way sufficient to get to
know Bryce we still had a decent feel for some of its beauty and aspects. As such we felt inclined to head towards Zion, but perhaps backtrack slightly and spend some time in or around Kanab.On the northern outskirts of Kanab is a cave beside the road known as Moqui Cave. A sandstone (not limestone) cave, it is interesting for its contents, history, and owner. Run by a Mormon - who gives you a personal tour of the contents and his family's history - its consists of three separate cave areas; the largest at the back (and
absolutely cold on a day that was extremely hot) being a couple of hundred feet in length. The contents include a gift shop (of course - some interesting things including trilobyte fossils), a bar (as in a pub -no longer working but still with the bar, bar-stools, etc.), a host of fossils from all over the world (including dinosaur tracks), many minerals (presented under ultraviolet), and a lot of the owner's family history. Said history included a father who was a professional footballer then movie (western) actor, a grand (great) grandmother that was the first female mayor in the US, and a great (great?) grandfather who had served 6-months (we saw the old photo of him in his prison stripes) for polygamy. We must have spent well over an hour in there - I was so glad to get out into the hot spring sunshine...I actually had goosebumps.rennovation. So we headed further into Kanab (which sounds more dramatic than it is - Kanab is a western town with the typically wide roads, but not large) looking for lunch. We stopped besides and explored an interesting western (as in the wild) goods store known as Denny's Wigwan. Stuff ranging fromWe then headed into Kanab, looking for Frontier Town. It had sets from a number of western movies and series that had been filmed in the area; including that weird one from our youth - F-Troop. We found the place but unfortunately it was closed for turquiose Indian jewellery (a fixture of any gift/curio shop out here), through replica old west pistols, buckskin jackets, beavercaps, leather belts, t-shirts, cowboy boots, to fudge. The kids had a photo taken together in old west gear (Grant loved the rifle he was holding, and Zoe looked striking in her dance hall girl gear), and done up as a wanted-poster. Very cool.
After lunch down the road at Linda's (a coffee shop where we used the free wireless to write a
couple of quick emails) it was back for some quick shopping at Denny's, then onto Zion.The drive to Zion is relatively short, and once again interesting as the terrain changes again. However before entering the park, we visited "Utah Trails" (a "Native American Cultural Centre"). We'd seen adverts about this place and were keen to take a look. What we found was very interesting. From the road we could see a couple of teepees, a reception building, a couple of wooden huts, a tent or 3, and no one around.
As we pulledup an elderly man, with AmerInd ancestory (by appearance) came out to greet us. He asked us why we had come and we explained we'd heard about the place and were interested in looking around. He said he'd show us around. Turned out he was a Lakote (Sioux) shaman by the name of Ramond White Bear who was also a Reiki master. He showed us the teepees, hogans (built according to Navajo tradition), sweat lodges (which he uses for rituals), and even a hut such as western (French) trappers used in the north. Rather eclectic.
After showing us around, Maria and I sat with Ramond and his wife (a non-Indian) while the kids played with their daughter (and her three chicks). We talked about lots of things ranging from shamanic practice and martial arts (reading his brochure later we see that he was a championship boxer) through the wildlife of our different countries. Though it might sound surprising, most of the conversation was not about spiritual matters. One interesting element was observing the humminbirds that come to the feeders Ramond's wife had about the eaves of the building. They really make quite a hum with their wings - they are moving that fast - and
they are quite aggressive to one another. Eventually we took our leave around 5:30 - aware that we needed to check into our new hotel and that we still had a drive ahead. We planned to return for the 7:30 play (storytelling?) they were going to perform, but didn't make it because we only got to eat late.Zion National Park is an amazing place as you drive right down through the centre of it to get to Springdale. Unlike the Grand Canyon and Bryce which you approach from the top/rim, Zion you are inside of and towered over on both hands by massive mountains. The road is narrow and twisting and at one point cuts directly through (on a significant slope) a mountain - the tunnel is so narrow (was cut in the 1920s) that large vehicles like RVs need
a tunnel escort to get through...and the tunnel is long (1.1 miles).The township of Springdale is very interesting, and one much to our liking. While not technically inside the park, it is still surrounded by the amazing mountains (we have a great view out of our hotel window towards the south). The businesses, for the main, appear very recent with many newish buildings - but with an architectural style appropriate for the area.By way of example we were able to find a Thai restaurant for dinner - so welcome after the week plus of heavy American food we've been having for lunch and dinner. After dinner we found an "Elk Ranch"
(right on the main street) and with a $2 bag of food pellets were able to feed the Elk, Long Horn Steer, and even try and entice the Buffalo to come to the fence edge. A great experience. Then it was back to the hotel where we took the kids down to the heated outdoor pool for an hour or so of swimming (where I began writing this entry). Seemed like the dip idea was one shared by many - before long the spa was overflowing with people. We like the place so much we'll make a booking for another day or two tomorrow.
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