This morning we did the Hoover Dam Powerplant tour. Since the new Pat Tillman bridge opened, one can no longer drive across the top of the dam to get from Nevada to Arizona. That used to be the only road across. They have blocked the curvy road on the Arizona side and turned much of it into parking lots. That is a good thing because they are the only places within walking distance to the dam where RVs, buses and campers can park. There is also a new visitor center and parking deck for smaller vehicles.
We walked across the dam to take our pictures of both sides: Lake Mead upstream and the Colorado River after flowing through the turbines. The tour started with a 10 minute film. Then we took a 70 second elevator ride 530 feet down into the rock and walked along some of the tunnels created in the 1930s. Next was a look at one of the huge pipes that directs the water through the power generators. From the Penstock Viewing Platform we saw 8 of the dam’s 17 massive turbines. We then viewed all the displays about the construction and operation.
We headed on to Zion National Park, Utah, retracing some of our route on the way to the Lake Mead area. In the distance we could see some very tall sandstone mountains. Indeed they were our destination. Once you get closer to Zion the landscape changes. You are in a lush, treed valley through which the Virgin River snakes. Surrounding it all are the incredibly tall, sheer, red sandstone cliffs. These sandstone peaks are supposedly some of the tallest in the world. On the way in to Zion one drives through the very cute town of Springdale, UT that must have sprung up to support the flood of Zion visitors.
After about 320 miles we pulled into Watchman Campground. It is nestled between large cottonwood trees. The Virgin River was steps away from our campsite and a tiny creek flowed next to us. The boys soon began constructing dams to change the flow of water in the little creek. Later they headed to the cool waters of the Virgin River which was only about 2 feet deep and 20 feet wide at this point. They waded and built more dams the rest of the afternoon. Lots of people float down this river on tubes.
Lizards were everywhere, all sorts of new and larger ones. Hummingbirds were always zooming by and chirping. Swallows swooped over the river. Bats came out in the evening. A deer was roaming the campground and grazing by the bathroom. Flowers were blooming. Little creeks flowed everywhere. Zion is full of life. It is really a little paradise.
The next morning we took the free Zion shuttle along the scenic drive as cars are not allowed further into the park. This drive along the valley with the towering cliffs all around you was awe inspiring. At each turn one would see a new spectacular sight. Esther spied a wild turkey. Our first stop was the Temple of Sinawava. Here we began the 2 mile hike to the entrance of the Narrows. This is a narrow stretch between the canyon walls with the Virgin River flowing through. In fact, at times it is so narrow that the trail consists of wading waist high in the river. We had our walking sticks to help us balance in the current on the slippery, river rock bottom. The water was chilly and the sun hadn’t risen above the canyon walls yet. After a while the boys were a bit cold. We finally rounded a corner where the sun warmed a patch of boulders. We recharged our body temperatures.
Liam and William continued on about another ½ mile in search of the even more narrow slot canyons. They turned back before reaching them. Esther and Ethan hung out in the sun where Ethan caught tadpoles in little pools. Swallows, hummingbirds and a big, yellow butterfly kept us company. When William and Liam returned, we headed back out and waded the river again. Only this time the sun was higher and everything seemed warmer. The people had begun streaming into this stretch. One can see why this park is one of the most visited US National Parks. We were glad we did it early despite the chill.
We dried out on some boulders in the river (although our hiking shoes would stay drenched for a long while) then caught the shuttle to our next stop, Weeping Rock. This is a short hike up to a long alcove where the seeping water drips from the entire length of the ceiling, creating a constant source of water for the plants and animals around.
Next stop, the Court of the Patriarchs. We didn’t hike this trail near these three towering cliffs, but got some pictures. Another quick hike was to the Lower Emerald Pool, which wasn’t so emerald in color this time of year. What made this hike neat was that we saw a snake and a mother mule deer and her 3 fawns which still had spots. We saw a group of hikers stopped on the trail looking at something in the woods. Somehow the fawns were on one side of the trail downhill and the mother was on the uphill side. The fawns were calling to their mother who couldn’t decide whether to dash between the people to rejoin them or wait it out. When a sufficient gap had formed in the group of hikers, the mother crashed across the trail and down into the woods to her fawns. They soon tried to nurse but the mother was still too nervous to stay put.
Heading back to the campground it started to get stormy and it actually rained a little. After dinner the kids headed back to the Virgin River to continue dam building.
The Davids' Cross-Country Trip 