The Narrows

My friend, Nellie, had recommended checking out the Narrows. We read in the Zion park brochure that they began at the end of the paved path up from the Temple of Sinawava.  The canyon was formed by the Virgin River and hiking the Narrows means hiking IN the Virgin river, up stream. We decided that it was beyond the scope of our day, but I would love to go back and do it some time.

At this time of year, the shuttle was not running and I wish it still were. There were lots of cars parked all over the roadsides, as well as filling all the parking lots, as this week brought lots of visitors. We found a parking spot near the trailhead for the Emerald Pools and took the lower trail. It’s paved and rises about 70 feet above the river along the side of the canyon. You have to walk behind the waterfall that the pools create. From there, we continued up to the Middle pools and decided to go back down from there. The path, about 100 feet above the river, is not paved, but a real rocky footpath and very steep as it gets back near the end. We were glad that we’d gone down that way instead of up. All the views were beautiful and I took a lot of pictures.

By the time we headed back to the car, we decided we’d had enough hiking and so we left the park, stopping for coffee outside the gates. From there, I parked myself in the back of the van to read email, the girls sat in the middle to watch a movie and Neal drove with my mom as navigator. We had a two hour drive into Las Vegas. We were glad that we came down off the Colorado Plateau in the last of the daylight, instead of later, because the rock formations were dramatic and very interesting. From there, we drove in the dark until we found the wide pool of neon that forms the environs of Vegas. It’s amazing seeing it at night from afar.

The hotel wasn’t very exciting but it was well located near the airport. We didn’t go to the strip, as none of us likes to gamble and we didn’t want to shop or go to a show. We walked down the street and had dinner at a Gordon Biersch Brewpub/Restaurant and enjoyed a beer with our meal. Grace fell asleep in my lap, so I had to call a cab to take her back.

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