The last portion of the trail is a very steep climb and takes you past some of the largest hoodoos. The kids seemed to enjoy the day immensely and I was thrilled that they appeared to fully appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of this very special place. Our next waypoint is the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park where we will spend the evening.
As we began to climb out of the canyon, Maya became exhausted. Kyle offered to carry her and did so for quite a long distance in addition to his water-laden pack . What a beast!
Attention soon turned to a ground-based rock arch, which took more than a little effort to perfect.
As the kids complete their carin construction, Jeanine spots this interesting-looking bird, which seems confused by the appearance of large rocks in her tree.
Demonstrating excellent teamwork, Maya delivers stones to Kyle. He jumps and hands them off to Nicolai who stacks them on a sturdy branch.
Naturally, our children decide that they will contribute a carin of their own and that it should be higher in a tree than any other.
As we transition from the Queen’s Garden to the Navajo Trail we encounter a garden of rock carins spread everywhere across the ground and even up into the trees.
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When we reach the floor of the canyon we find a nicely shaded seating area where Jeanine and I are moved to share a kiss. One child captures the moment, another looks on with curiosity and the last flashes a look of disgust. Presumably these same children understand that if not for such activities they would not even be here.
The one constant here is change, if observable on a large time scale only. Old hoodoos gradually disintegrate as new ones are formed.
To walk among these amazing geologic structures is very exciting. They range in size from a couple of feet tall up to several hundred feet tall. Some are short and squat, other are skinny and tall seemingly poised to topple at any moment. During a ranger presentation I learned that no one has ever been killed by falling rock on this trail although massive boulders have fallen right on the path from time to time.
Next we take the Queen’s Garden Trail and descend among the hoodoos.
We are the first visitors to arrive at Inspiration Point, and our reward is golden light and total solitude. This remains one of the most beautiful vistas I have ever seen, and it was a joy to share it with the family for the first time.
On the 30-minute drive to Bryce early this morning we encountered a family of mule deer, including this baby boy.
As we are departing Zion, Jeanine spots some long-horn sheep, and I was fortunate to get close enough for a decent shot. We will spend the night in Hatch, UT at an RV park and continue early tomorrow morning to Bryce.