carchaeology

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Lava tube/caves...

Light rain/drizzle...

Butterfly hike...

Lunch/snack after the hike...

Stayed at a new Hampton Inn near Zion (Virgin, UT).

The place appeared to be very new (clean & modern).

During the Holiday break, they were running the shuttle bus system (can't drive into the park/canyon).

You park near the entrance/visitor center and take the bus to various spots along the canyon. Everyone had to wear a mask on the bus.

It worked well and actually had a side benefit. We were able to do a one way hike up the canyon without having to backtrack to a car...

Near the starting point of a 3.5 mile one way hike up the canyon/river...

Turns out that this area was very volcanic about 27,000 years ago.

There's lava tubes/caves that you can enter.

The dark area in the middle of this picture is a lava tube...

Climbed to the top of a large rock for an expansive view...

Some people rented a Polaris Slingshot in Las Vegas and drove it to the Park.

It's pretty cold out so it must have been pretty much freezing driving it to the park.

Since the speed limits are low within the park, it's probably not too bad in the park but the drive back to Vegas could be very cold!

We picked up food for lunch in Las Vegas (The Bagel Café; A Jewish deli) & took it with us to the park...