Click on a photo to enlarge it.
We drove to Red Cliffs Recreation Site (GPS-coordinates: N37° 13' 29.38" W113° 24' 17.49") and did a short walk into the canyon which involved climbing up Indian steps in the rock (Moqui steps). That was a lot of fun!
Kirsten on the Moqui steps.
Helen on the Moqui steps.
But then the canyon walls got too steep and the only way through would be through the water which was extremely deep. We didn't fancy swimming through so we decided
to climb up to the top of the canyon walls for a great view.
On the drive out we stopped in the tunnels that take the road under the freeway and are a bit of a tight squeeze for Winnie! Then headed back to Zion National Park.
We have been here several times but there was still one walk we wanted to do that we hadn't yet done - Angel's Landing.
This is "only" a five mile return walk but it is very steep in parts and there is a narrow "landing" at the top with steep drop offs either side and not for someone
who is afraid of heights. Kirsten is afraid of heights and is understandably proud of herself that she managed to do it.
At the end there is a long section involving rock climbing and scrambling with metals chains attached to the rocks to help. The views from the top are astounding.
Then, of course, we had to go all the way back down. But we did a short 2 mile excursion along the West Rim trail to get a good photo of "Walter's Wiggles", a series
of steep switchbacks along the Angel's Landing walk.
We saw a Mexican Spotted Owl on the way up and it was still there on the way back. Probably the most photographed object in the whole park!
We got the shuttle back to Winnie for lunch and then returned to the park on the shuttle and were astounded when we saw Angel's Landing from the bottom of the valley.
Did we really climb all the way up there? We were glad we hadn't seen this view before we had done the walk; otherwise we might never have thought we'd make it!
That evening we chatted to the two Swiss couples we had met in Teacapan, Mexico who were at the campground in Zion. We had seen them as we were on the shuttle going
back into the park a few hours earlier and Kirsten had leaned out of the bus window and shouted to them, much to the consternation of the other bus passengers who
were trying to listen to the commentary about the park!!!
We didn't get back to our spot for the night until well after dark and the next morning we drove through to the other side of the park and through the tunnel. Then we
did a short hike along the Canyon Overlook Trail.
Our next stop was in Mount Carmel Junction where we asked permission to walk to the Red Cave. Walkers no longer have to ask permission so we parked up and walked 8
miles to a super slot canyon. This is the poor man's Antelope Canyon because you don't have to pay an extortionate fee to see it - it's free!
It's a wonderful canyon and there are a number of scrambles to get up and over water chutes. But we met two other hikers on their way back who said they had been
stopped by a bull snake also known as a gopher snake that was right in the middle of the path. As it happened, there was one chute that was too steep and long for us
to get up it before we got to the snake so we had to turn around. But Kirsten was happy with all the photos!
Helen sliding down on her behind ... oh, chute!
After two days at a campground to get all the washing and cleaning done we drove to Escalante and did a short hike to a natural bridge. We needed our waders again to cross the river several times.
We continued over a 9,600 ft pass and drove along the Caineville Wash Road in Capital Reef National Park and stayed at the Temple of the Sun and Moon for the night.
The road was very rocky and steep in parts and it took us 2.5 hours to do only 18 miles! We were a bit concerned about making it back. But that's for the next report!
