Touring the Wild, Wild West

A small waterfall just below the point where the canyon narrows.

(Photo by Louise with her Olympus S7010 point-and-shoot)

 

Zion National Park

After spending the  morning at Bryce Canyon we drove back south past our campground to Mt. Carmel Junction and turned west on Utah State Route 9 for the 13-mile drive to the entrance to Zion National Park, which many people had told us is a “do-not-miss” site.

Zion Canyon and the north fork of the Virgin River.

Traffic was heavy and slow as we descended to the floor of Zion Canyon, which is 2,640 feed deep at its deepest point. We eventually arrived at the Visitor’s Center and parking area at the bottom of the canyon although I'm not sure that was its deepest point, and took a tour bus that followed the north fork of the Virgin River to the point where the canyon became too narrow for anyone but hikers. 

The Virgin River, at the point where the canyon narrows.

 

For a photographer -- at least this photographer, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the Grand Canyon -- are frustrating. They are beautiful and awe-inspiring and altogether too much to explore and experience in a limited time. Perhaps if I had a few weeks in each place, could hike the trails and be there for the early and late light every day, I could work my way through the photo-clichés and make a few photographs which genuinely capture the spirit of each place. But that was not going to happen on this trip, the primary purpose of which was to see as much country as possible in a brief trip.

I think this one is called "The Great White Throne."

 

My wife is remarkably patient with the time I spend on photography and I get some good pictures when we are traveling together. It's easier to concentrate on photography when traveling alone, but traveling without Louise isn't all that much fun!. Best of all is when we're working together on projects, such as the trips  to eastern and western Europe in 1990.

So we saw the sights, made some photos (Louise made a picture of a little waterfall on the Virgin River that I especially like), and caught the bus back to the Visitor's Center. The canyon is a really beautiful place, especially in its upper reaches, but I wouldn't want to be there if there were a cloudburst upstream.

Wave Rock formations. I especially like the overlapping waves.

 

Coming out of the canyon, I saw and photographed some formations called Wave Rocks that I thought were especially interesting.

We got back to Mt. Carmel Junction in time to find a good restaurant open and had a really good supper before going back to our campground and turning in.

All photos except Louise's with Fuji X-T20, Fujinon XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OISII lens.

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(Photographs copyright David and Louise Jenkins 2020)

Soli Gloria Deo 

To the glory of God alone