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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...
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Zion National Park


On Thursday morning, we hitched up at Bryce National Park and drove to Zion National Park.  After camping in the cold without hookups at Bryce, Julia figured that we deserved three days of full hook-ups at Zion Canyon Campground a private RV park within walking distance of the visitors’ center inside Zion.  I’m not crazy about spending $54/night for camping but it was really convenient; the sites had great views of the canyon; and it was a really well-run RV park.



We didn’t get into our site until early afternoon, so we spent the rest of the day walking up and down the streets of Springdale, eating pizza at Zion Pizza and Noodle Company, and having a bonfire at the campsite  We turned in early because a big hike was planned for the next day.

We rose at 5:30 a.m., took care of the dog (I walked him down to the visitor’s center and back), and walked down to the visitor’s center (again) to board the Zion Park shuttle bus at 7:45 a.m.  We made it to the Angels’ Landing Trailhead by about 8:15 a.m., well ahead of the rush that would occur throughout the day.  Julia called Angels’ Landing her death march, but the first half of the hike was just a cardiovascular exercise of switchbacks on mostly paved trail.  At that point, the pavement ended, and about a third of the people either returned to the trailhead and waited for family and friends to make the final ascent.

At that point, the pavement ended, and it became a rock scramble ascending a knife-edge and hanging on to dear life to the guide chains that led the way to the top.

A 1200 foot drop awaited anyone who wandered too far from either side on the narrow trail up.



We made it to the top and also back down.  To celebrate, I bought a t-shirt and coffee mug commemorating the hike.   Julia celebrated by taking us out to dinner at Meme’s Cafe where we ate burgers, fries (for me), salad (for Julia), and strong beers for both (double IPA and double bock).

On the next morning, we repeated our early shuttle ride to the end of the line at the Narrows.  The water was frigid, and I vetoed a nine mile hike up the river.  Still, Julia took off her shoes and managed to taste the experience for awhile going upstream.


Later, we hiked the Watchman Trail, which delivers views of the Canyon below and Springdale.

On Sunday morning, we hitched up and made the long drive to Moab.  We are headed to Arches National Park.
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