Friday, June 11, 2010

Zion Mount Carmel Highway - Day Drive Part II

6/5/2010


We left Cedar Breaks National Monument and continued east on Highway 14. Late June and July these fields are filled with wild flowers. But we are too early for them. Navajo Lake is located on Highway 14, and is a 1500 acre lake with brook and rainbow trout. You can hike or ride a bike on a path around the 11.5 mile lake. The lake is at 9200 feet. The lake was first formed by lava rocks blocking the flow, but now a dam is in place to regulate water depth. On this drive we saw piles of lava rocks all along side the road. I love white birch and aspen trees. Duck pond is in the distance. It is feed by Navajo Lake. After the drive through the Dixie National Forest we turned south on highway 89. When we hit highway 9 we turned west again on Mount Carmel Highway. From this direction you will enter Zion from the east entrance which gives you a different prospective than coming in at the south entrance. Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park. The park consist of Navajo sandstone that was made from sand dunes millions of years ago. This part of the park has many checkerboard mesa. There are many pillars standing, as seen in this close up of the previous picture. Many arches throughout the park.This part of the park is very pink. There are wind blown lines, and layers in the sandstones with many trees and bushes finding footholds. It is so warm and dry here, you drink water like it's going out of style! I needed to find a restroom, I ask Joe to stand watch. I found an interest rock, but Joe won't carry it to the car, (just kidding) I found a smaller one that has the lines on it. I am sure the park won't miss this small little rock. While we were down here, we couldn't get over how quiet it was here. It was just amazingly quiet. You can not go to many places where you don't hear mankind. When we got back to the car we drove through a small tunnel. This is the picture of the inside walls of the tunnel. I told Joe I had seen a mountain goat, so Joe turned around so I could get some pictures. This one didn't trust us, and stood the whole time, just looking at us. These goats just ate while we watched. We then entered the 1.1 mile tunnel that Zion is famous for. Sorry the picture is so bad, but we were heading into the sun. The walls are cover with steel. Every once in a while there are these windows in the tunnel. It used to be, you could stop to look out the windows. Not any more, because there is just too much traffic now. On the other side of the tunnel, we drove the switchbacks down the mountain. Beautiful views as you come out of the tunnel . We almost missed seeing this section of the park, because this road is going to be shut down for road construction in two days during the day.
On the way home I saw a long horn steer in the field of a ranch. This is a baby bird that Joe just about stepped on in the grass next to our "Nest" back home at the RV park.. Thank goodness Joe was looking down at his feet. Then I was tried to get a picture of it. It hopped under our Nest before I could get it's picture.

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