USon8wheels – a travel blog

April 19-23

by Eliza

Zion is unlike any other place we’ve seen. The multitudes of cliffs are jagged and colorful. We had a campsite close to the Virgin River and had a lot of fun beach/water time! Another fun thing we got to experience involving water, was The Narrows: a small-ish canyon with a river flowing through it like a path. It was VERY cold and rocky. Some people waded through with dry suits and special shoes. We braved the rapids with shorts, sweatshirts, crocs, keens, chacos, or tevas (and a few piggybacks). Dry suits may have been the more comfortable choice, because by the time we were finished our feet were numb. Thankfully it was a warm day, in the upper 80s.

On the way to Zion we ran into a most unusual and hilarious sight: a herd of cows being nudged down the road by some cowboys and horses! Another “animal mishap” we ran into was a squirrel sneaking into our van and eating up our snacks. That silly squirrel also chewed on some wires and was stuck in the car for 2 days because we couldn’t get it out. What an adventure! We were thankful the car still started!

Some of us enjoyed a thrilling bike ride or two on part of the main road. Since the road is authorized only for shuttle buses at a certain point (and bikes), we could ride along relatively uncrowded as long as we opted for earlier in the morning or later in the evening before the droves of electric bikes showed up. As Matt and Erin were biking back toward the campground at the end of one of their dates (of a few at this park), a guy sidled up next to us and commented on how we were riding antique bikes, and he recommended that we take pictures and send them to the manufacturers so that they know their bikes are still functioning.

We found another bike park on another Sunday, en route to Zion.

Eliza at Canyon Overlook

Playing by the Virgin River under the mountains of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Abel watching out under The Watchman (mountain)

Searching for the squirrel. The kids glimpsed it multiple times inside, and we never saw it leave. We joked that it must have poofed right out of the exhuast pipe while we made our way out of Zion.