Zion National Park

With the forecast indicating the weather taking a turn for the worse, we packed up in Kanab, and settled in for our 2-day drive back to Seattle. But the morning was beautiful. After passing a sign indicating that Zion National Park was only a right turn and 20 miles away, we looked at each other, and, in a somewhat uncharacteristic display of spontaneity, we took the turn!

It went without saying that we were going to hike to the top of Angel's Landing ... a high narrow ridge extending into Zion Valley. We had done this hike many years ago when the kids were little. Tom had made the final, harrowing push to the top (complete with chains to grab onto) with Kelsey, but Karen had stayed behind with Brian. Needless to say, Karen had a need to get to the top (perhaps partially due to her son telling her something to the effect that she was too old to do it now), so off we went. The crowded trail tested our patience a bit, but we successfully made it to the end of the proper trail portion.

The narrow, exposed scrambling portion to the top was a conga line. A constant stream of people going up, and down ... which can't both happen simultaneously since there's only 1 chain. Add to that a few people completely freaking out over the exposure (i.e., thinking they may not get back alive), and it made for a major traffic jam. After a few sections of chain, Tom's fear of heights started kicking in, and he decided to stay put (but not blocking the route, mind you), while Karen powered on. But, after gathering his composure a bit, he also chose to push on, and we both enjoyed the summit (with a bit of healthy respect for the exposure). And what jaw-dropping views!!

After a relatively uneventful descent, including a very nice lunch stop above the crowd, we hopped back in the car and resumed our trip home. A side trip that was just the icing on the cake for our trip! 16 days, 3500 miles (way too many), but lots of fun packed in!