Tuesday – November 4, 2014
Zion National Park
Springdale, Utah
We departed the St. George Campground and RV Park in St. George, Utah at 8:50 a.m. This is a private campground that served its purpose while we attended to a few matters.
We arrived at the Watchman Campground in Zion National Park at 10:00 a.m. We were fortunate to find one campsite available online on Monday, so we booked it for three nights for campsite 5B.
Camping Fees:
$16.00 without electric hookups.
$18.00 with electric hookups.
$20.00 for river sites with electric hookups.
(50% discount on fees with Golden Age Pass)
There are six loops in the Watchman Campground with 183 campsites:
Loop A: Campsites 1 – 31
Loop B: Campsites 1 – 61
Loop C: Campsites 1 – 29
Loop D: Campsites 1 – 40
Loop E: Campsites 1 – 7 (Group Sites)
Loop F: Campsites 1 – 18 (Walk-in Tent Sites)
Some loops have electric hookups. Water spigots are dispersed throughout each loop. There is one dump station. There are restrooms with flush toilets in each loop.
We took an auto tour on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive today. An amazing array of plants and animals thrive in Zion National Park. Tiny pinon mice, golden eagles, mountain lions, mule deer, elk, desert big horn sheep - all thrive in Zion’s many habitats. But… what immediately capture’s the visitor’s eyes are the massive rock cliffs and formations towering thousands of feet above the canyon floor.
Long before today’s landscape even appeared, streams, oceans, deserts, and volcanos deposited thousands of feet of mud, lime, sand, and ash. The immense pressure and heat of accumulating sediments turned lower layers to stone. Later, underground forces uplifted the Colorado Plateau, a 130,000-square-mile mass of rock, over 10,000 feet above sea level. Rain then worked the Plateau’s minute cracks, loosening grains and widening fractures - and eroding today’s mighty canyons. These processes continue; rivers still deposit sediments that turn into stone, earthquakes still punctuate the Plateau’s upward journey and erosion pries rockfalls from Zion’s seeming immutable cliffs. Eventually, this beautiful canyon will melt away and others will form. All it takes is time.
Total miles traveled today: 40
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
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