The Road To Zion - National Park

Looking up at the towering geologic formations overhead, it's hard to believe that a river shaped them, let alone that they are real. The rock cliffs standing at least a thousand feet over head seem like they are the masterpieces of a great artist from long ago. The cliff faces have the texture of an oil painting. But the overall coloring of the rock looks like a watercolor that has faded from too much sunlight in a living room. It's these rock structures in Zion National Park that have bewildered many generations of people.

The walls of Zion

My grandma and I are climbing up the rocky trail in solitude. The only human sounds are our footsteps and the continuous rhythmic tapping of my grandma's walking stick. Skipping from stone to stone easily, I turn around to hear my grandma say, "they should have taken out these daa-gum rocks to make it easier to walk." Seeing how easily I hike the trail she calls out to me, "I remember when I was faster than you. Looks like the tables have turned."

It's true. When my grandma used to take me on hikes when I was younger she was much faster than me. Dragging my feet behind, she would often be out of sight and extremely adamant to complete whatever hike we were on. Catching up with her, we would take a break and she would name all of the wildflowers around us - scientific name and common name.

To this day, she is still just as persistent about finishing a hike. Maybe even more so now. Making it to the first viewpoint I say, "you want to continue to the next point?"

"Of course! I haven't gone to those other viewpoints before... If only they'd take out these daa-gum rocks..."

My grandma pausing to look at a patch of wildflowers calls out, "we don't have shooting stars like that in California!" "I think those are called Wallflowers and look at those Penstemons!"

All the way up the trail and all the way back down we stopped to view all of the flowers and all of the sights. There is something to be said for going slow and enjoying each and every bit of a hike. I guess it isn't about how many miles you hike but it's really about how much you see.



Here are a few other photos of Zion National Park as well as Bryce National Park.