Zion World

Today we headed to Zion amusement..er...National Park. We knew we were in for a treat when we pulled up and realized that people aren't even allowed to drive through the main part of the park. The park has experienced so much growth in terms of attendance that they have had to resort to a shuttle service, dropping off visitors in various "hot spots" around the park. The first thing we noticed was the ridiculous volume of people, and the fact that people on the "Zion world" (a name we made up) shuttles were busy discussing stupid, pointless topics rather than looking out the windows at the amazing scenery unfolding before them. We decided to ride the shuttle to the end of the line, choosing a hike that went a couple of miles into a canyon along the river. When we got off the shuttle, we noticed that 98% of individuals were wearing swimsuits (or were shirtless...the men of course). Swim suits at national parks? People were having a grand old time in the river, jumping off of ancient boulders and sunbathing on the banks of the river. We couldn't move in two feet in any direction without bumping into another (annoying) person or into a Crazy, Psychotic Squirrel. It deserves the capital letters.

We had packed sandwiches and snacks for a little meal, and we found a spot that was shaded and away from the main trail. We sat down to open our sandwich, and Psycho Squirrel #1 came bolting around the corner. It came directly up to Robbie, even jumping up on the bench to try to eat his food.

Psycho Squirrel (we did not zoom in on him at all on the camera).


We ran away, panicked. After all, aren't squirrels afraid of humans? Not the special Zion world squirrels. They will sit directly in the middle of the sidewalk, and they won't even move if you aren't paying attention and almost step on them. Down at the end of the trail, the psycho squirrels were rummaging around in people's bags as they waded into the water.

In all, the scenery was amazing. We had to feel bad for poor Zion, which was majestic and beautiful when we could get a second of solitude. Poor Zion, who just wanted to be left alone. Poor Zion with crazy squirrels and annoying, oblivious tourists in every corner who ruined the beauty of the park.

Some scenery, when we got a chance for a clear shot away from the people:



Did we mention it was 112 degrees? Part of Robbie's car (the metal/plastic area on his emergency brake handle) was actually melted when we got back. We did love the scenery, but we would recommend going to Zion during a time of year when the park is less crowded.