Zion National Park – Utah

🎉 Our very first time in Utah! We didn’t waste any time! 63* We set up our site which was very large with lots of trees, on the Virgin River and a trailhead right behind us. Walked around the campground to get the lay of the land then followed the trail behind us! It came to a small bridge….. so we crossed it to find….Zion Brewery & Brew Pub! 🍺 Sitting outside along the river drinking an Echo Canyon IPA Tim’s in heaven! 3 deer were grazing right across from us. We decided we didn’t want to cook so we ordered dinner. I needed something soft so I tried Bisson meatloaf with mashed potatoes and Tim had the Bangers & mash! Then a brisk walk back home since tonight was going to be 40*. The next morning we woke up to 63* inside the trailer! 🥶Brrrr! Heater works great. After breakfast we rode our e-bikes to the visitor center then endured the Pa’rus Trail all the wall up to the Zion Lodge (5 miles one way)! I was a happy camper, they had fountain Diet Coke to go so we popped a squat in front of the lodge with the most magnificent scenery all around us! All charged up, with our walking sticks ready we headed out to the trails. First the Lower Emerald pool, couldn’t stop there so hiked to Middle Emerald Pool then I had to hike up to the Upper Emerald Pool! It was a sandy, rocky and very steep path to climb over and around till I got to the end. Sheer drop offs, very steep walk back to the beginning, crossing the bridge over the Virgin River, back to our bikes to ride 5 miles back….. Happy Hour was waiting for us! 🍺🍷 Our next magical day in Zion, we got our permit to go through the Zion Mt Carmel Tunnel. It’s a 1.1 mile tunnel through the mountain.. Built 1927-1930. Longest of its kind in 1930 in the US..Any vehicle 13 ft 1 inch high or higher can not pass through the tunnel. Our dual rear wheel truck is too wide to go through also. That’s why we couldn’t bring our 5th wheel & ordered Ruby for this trip. Length restrictions are 40 ft for single vehicle and 50 ft for combination. The tunnel traffic is controlled by the NPS rangers. We had to wait awhile to go through for they stop on coming traffic so big rigs can drive in through the middle of the tunnel. Completely pitch black with a few openings on the outer wall. Saw a herd of big horn sheep with 2 babies cross the road and pick berries off the trees along side the road. Stopped at some of the over looks, saw sand tornado’s and Checker-board Mesa which was made by sand storms. Then spent afternoon riding our bikes in Springdale & stopped and enjoyed some ice cream! Another 5 miles on the bike which called for a stop at the brewery on the way back before stopping off to pick up our rental gear for “The Narrows”.