Yep.
We left Bryce Canyon National Park today, heading for Zion National Park. Finding an RV site at Bryce worked well for us... that same technique for Zion wasn't even close. The park was packed; as in: bumper to bumper for much of the drive.
Heading into the park...
Beautiful natural features: cliffs, hoodoos, effects of erosion. Different from Bryce, equally striking. The crowd situation was different, too. Zion is the 7th most visited National Park; it is considerably bigger than Bryce. And, way more crowds.
We stopped at the entrance gate - yes, the Senior Pass got us in for free. But, there is a $15 escort fee to take the motorhome through the mile long tunnel in the park... anything over 7' 10" wide has to pay that fee. No, they don't actually provide an escort - they block traffic one way, let it pass, then block it the other way. That photo above is the first tunnel - the short one.
Here's a small part of the line of traffic waiting for the long tunnel...
At 25 mph, that mile long tunnel takes a while...
We were given instructions: "Drive down the middle. Turn on your lights - it is dark in there. Take off your sunglasses." Yep.
At the other end of the tunnel, you start the switchbacks that take you down a couple thousand feet...
Striking scenery every way you look...
The roads are narrow; much of it is a 20 mph speed limit. Probably would not have been fun on the scoots, since the traffic was so heavy - it was a challenge in the motorhome, especially with people coming the other way driving over the center line!
There was no place to park the motorhome. The campgrounds were all full before we got to the entrance gate. This was going to be a "drive by" - and we were enjoying the sights...
Most of these images are courtesy of Joan, since I had my hands full at the wheel.
What about that "virgin" part, you ask? Born again virgin?
Hardly.
The Virgin River runs through this area. After passing by a few RV parks, Joan found us one a few miles away from the hub-bub: Zion River Resort, on the Virgin River.
I would call this an upscale RV resort, based mostly on the price. Good think the Geezer Pass saved us a bunch of money the past couple days. We pulled in, and I went to the registration desk to see if they have any sites left...
"We have one for something your size. It is a back-in. It is 44 feet long. What is your over-all length?"
"43 feet. I can handle the back in part. Is it OK if I take a look at it?" I asked.
Joan and I walked down to the site. Not level. Most of their sites are nice concrete pads, pull-throughs. This was gravel, and running downhill on one side.
I went back to the registration desk. My friend, Becky, said, "I just had a cancellation while you were out. The site is still gravel, but it is longer."
"I'll take it."
They offer an Escapees discount of 15%... still the most expensive site we've had in a very long while. But, the temps are getting warmer as we head down in elevation. A big change from the 8,500 foot elevation we were at last night. No doubt, the price is based on the fact that they are close to Zion and everything we drove by was already full. It's OK, they have a pool and hot tub... I may use it.
The site isn't long enough for us to get the ramp down on our trailer, so we are just going to hang out here at the resort. We saw enough of Zion on our drive through.
The weather weasels have backed off on their previous rain predictions: still a good chance of rain, but they have taken the "high probability of severe flooding" out of the forecast.
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The pool and hot tub at this resort gets two thumbs up from us. Back at the motorhome, we sat outside, letting Izzy have some leash time...
When she chose to go inside, she still wanted to keep an eye on things; through the screen door...
The sky at sunset in the southwest can be unique; the view from the front of our motorhome...
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