On the third day into our vacation, we left Vegas and headed north. Destination: Zion.

As we drove through the vast lands close to the border of Nevada, Utah and Arizona, the image of this dry and sometimes desolated land was what impressed me the most. Canada's landscape can be pretty dry and grey during the winter months, but nature comes back to life with spring and summer. Despite the existence of some small plants throughout the large plains, the absence of grass and large amounts of exposed soil made the places we visited look very exotic and interesting. I'm just not sure if I would get used to living in the region.

Leaving I-15 behind.

As we crossed the border between Nevada and Utah, the terrain became more and more rugged, up to the point in which the road was heading directly towards the cliff of a canyon. Before our car smashed against the wall, the road turned right to our relief. It was amazing to see how they carved the road through the rock.

Hey... isn't that canyon approaching really fast?

I was very anxious to arrive to Zion. I had read and heard so much about it. I was looking forward hiking all the way up to Angel's Landing, and do the scenic drive through the canyon. As we approached the park, we could see the rock formations, framed by the beautiful trees in their fall colours.

Fall colours at Zion.

When we left the hotel in the morning, I was hoping we would have a nice and warm day. As we approached the park, it became more and more clear that I would freeze in the cold winds in my bermuda shorts. We first decided to stop at the visitor center, where I put on a pair of jeans and we decided first do the Canyon Overlook Trail.

A partial Zion canyon view from the visitor center.

In order to reach the base of the Canyon Overlook Trail, we had to take the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. This amazing road starts at the base of the valley and climbs up the side of the canyon and through the rock in a tunnel to the upper part of the plateau. The road and its tunnel was completed in the late 1920's, and I'm pretty sure that at that time it was a marvel of engineering.

The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, climbing up the Zion canyon wall.

A view of the Overhanging Arch from the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway.

The Canyon Overlook Trail is a moderatly difficult one mile round trip hike that usually takes around an hour to complete. This was a very pleasant hike, where the trail was very well marked and maintained. As we walked along the trail, we could observe the local flora in more detail and appreciate all the rock formations that surrounded us.

Hiking along the Canyon Overlook Trail.

The trail ended right atop the Overhanging Arch, which dominates the view during the climb of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. The rewarding view of the canyon was awesome. We could see most of the canyon below us, but some of the majestic formations still raised above our heads from all sides. We took lots of pictures, before hiking back to our car.

Partial view of the Zion Canyon from the Overhanging Arch.

Our next stop was the Grotto Trailhead. From the Grotto, visitors can take three different trails: to the Emeral Ponds, Angel's Landing and West Rim. I've read a lot about Angel's Landing and its exciting trail, so that was the one we took.

Ready to conquer Angel's Landing.

The Angel's Landing Trail is considered a strenuous hike, 5 mile (8 Km) in length and with a total ascent of 1488 feet (453 meters) from the floor of the canyon to the Angel's Landing summit. It was late in the day when we started this trail, so we decided to speed up our pace in order to be able to return before sunset. Despite the fact that the first 4 miles of the trail are paved, our fast pace made them even more challenging than usual.

The tortuous Angel's Landing Trail going up the canyon wall.

By the time we were half-way up, I was not sure we would be able to finish the trail. Before reaching Scout Lookout, we had to overcome Walter's Wiggles. After hiking 4 tortuous miles, we were faced with this "wall" that we had to climb by zigzagging our way up. Once we passed Walter's Wiggles, the trail became narrower and long dropoffs were constant companions. The National Parks Service attached chains to the rock to facilitate climbing the trail from that point ahead.

Walter's Wiggles, viewing it from both the top and the bottom.

When we reached Scout Lookout, we admitted that we were feeling tired, hungry, cold and the hiking was more a torture than being an enjoyable activity. We took lots of pictures from there and observed other people struggling the final 0.5 mile way up to Angel's Landing summit, before we started hiking back.

Ohmygod! Take a look at the rest of the trail!	Resting after a long hike.
Over 1000 feet above the canyon floor.	View of Observation Point from Scout Lookout.
Last picture before heading back.	I LOVE these chains along these sheer dropoffs.

Our last hike of the day was to the Weeping Rock, a rock alcove with dripping springs at the end of a short trail running through mixed forest vegetation. After the strenuous hike at Angel's Landing Trail, the half mile Weeping Rock Trail was a blessing to our sore legs.

A view of the Great White Throne from the Weeping Rock.

It was late when we left the park through the East Entrance taking the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. On our way out, we were amazed to see several peacocks and deers along the road.

Sunset at Zion.

I think the most amazing experience we got out of Zion is that when we were on the plane on our way to Vegas, I was sitting by the window and took the opportunity to take lots of pictures. At some point Brian commented that maybe we would be able to see Zion from the air. When we came back to Toronto and started looking at the pictures we took during our trip, guess what? I DID take a picture of Zion from the air! =^)

An aerial picture of the Zion National Park.

For additional pictures of Zion, feel free to take a look at the following links: Angel's Landing, The Watchman, Walter's Wiggles and Weeping Rock. By providing these links I neither endorse nor recommend the products that are being sold at this commercial website. I just found the photographs amazing and would like to share them with you.

We had hotel reservations at Flagstaff, so we had quite a long drive ahead of us. By the time we started feeling hungry, we were approaching Kanab, Utah. We decided to drive to Fredonia, in Arizona, and then look for a place to eat. As we drove through Fredonia, we saw only a small Mexican restaurant open. We were really hungry, so we decided to stop and try our luck at the Mexican place.

Boy... it is interesting how we find amazing places in the most unlikely corners of the world. The Mexican restaurant, Nedra's Cafe, turned out to be a great place with awesome food. The ambience was very simple, but the waitress was really nice, the service was great, and the food was some of the best Mexican food I have ever tasted. I haven't found any place in Toronto that matches how tasty the food was compared to what we had that evening in Fredonia. If some day you happen to drive by that area and feel like having some Mexican food, I recommend this place.

According to their business card, they have been established there since 1957, and one of the owners is Nedra Pauline. So, looks like the people who started the reataurant are still running it. BTW, when Brian went to the restroom, he took a peek into the kitchen, and said he didn't see any Mexican guy cooking the food. Actually the cook was a redhead caucasian. Well... despite the fact the cook was not truly Mexican, the food was still awesome! We both had fajitas, with tons of side dishes, and the Mexican fried ice cream we had for dessert was well prepared and surprisingly not heavy on the stomach.