Zion National Park….and back

The Road to Zion....actually, route 89 near Page AZ

Home sweet home.  Arrived back in Prescott, AZ just a few hours ago.  Then I spent a good bit of time in the shower (seriously needed no shower in days), put on some clean clothes, ate food, and looked through a few photos.

It’s good to be back at the Airstream.  I missed it.  Traded it out for a tent the past few days, and mildly regretted it due to some allergens and the continuing flare.  Mostly it was a good trip though, and about 1.5 days were wasted for me due to getting sick.

Still……some photos were taken.

Yeah, I know you were wondering about that.  Skip the chatter you say.  Shut the pie hole, as it were.  Get to the photos Rich……wow, pushy, aren’t you?

Over the next few days as I sort through more than 800 pictures you’ll get to see what I saw.  Or at least my version of it.  Tonight you get 3 that are spread over the trip.  You can’t have it all at once, but we’ll get there.

Beneath the Watchman

How about the trip highlights?  There were some, and some lessons learned as well.  If you’d been following along on Twitter you’d know some of the events.  Yes, I’ve been trying Twitter out for the duration of the trip.  Haven’t reached any conclusions yet, but we’ll see…….

Alright, highlights / lessons:

• Some National Forest Service “caretakers” can be real jerks.  Zion’s Watchman Campground has a 2 tent maximum.  10 people per site in 2 tents.  Must be huge tents (and they were).  We had 3 tiny tents that took less room than 1 mega tent…..and you guessed it, we were treated very poorly over it.
• Other “caretakers” are super cool.  The folks at South Campground (first come first served) were asked about the tent maximum, and they said it was more about footprint than numbers.  3 small tents were more than fine.
• Sometimes rules are the easiest way to keep you from having to think……  🙂
• Going into a high pollen count area while having a flare isn’t the smartest thing to do……..
• Zion is an amazing park that we barely started to cover.  I’d say we saw about 20% of it well.  A return trip(s) is necessary.
• The Canon 5D Mark II combined with the 24-70mm 2.8 lens is HEAVY.  I mean, “Always use a tripod even in the highest light” kind of heavy.  Good grief I ruined a few wonderful shots going hand held.  Even the monopod swayed with the combination……
• Toy army men can make for an interesting diorama.
• Having a river front campsite is cooler than not having one.
• Always having benadryl on hand is beyond important in my world……..
• People who visit national parks in hybrid cars seem to love burning green wood all night long completely packing campers in a permanent smokey wood haze.  They also kick off their car alarms at 5 a.m., and they have a heck of a time turning them off.

Balanced rock at Lee's Ferry

More was learned on the trip.  A great deal was experienced.  And more will be written.  Photos will be posted as well.  But that’s it for tonight.  I’m off.  The HEPA is running, I’ve got a splitting headache, and I’m going to try and recoop from a very strenuous couple of days………