And then there's Benton!

Zion National Park, Utah - #3

At Zion, we biked to town every morning for a cup of coffee and scone at Deep Creek Coffee Shop. Then we tended to chores, before accumulated exhaustion, followed by inertia, took over.

Finally, on our last day at Zion, we jumped on the bus and headed up the canyon.

We hiked Weeping Rock, Temple of Sinawava and Emerald Pool. Beautiful, as promised...

Weeping Rock

Temple of Sinawava

Emerald Pool

Unfortunately, people were thick as flies. Short of a long hike, which my ankle wasn't permitting, leaving the crowd behind wasn't possible. Zion, a much-visited national park, had approximately 3,200,000 visitors in 2014. When quiet and contemplation are desired that's just too many people.

Because of the crowds and crowd-control rules, we're finding the parks not-of-note much more to our liking. Fewer people to maneuver around! And then there's Benton! He's family too, but isn't allowed on any trails in National Parks -- a huge dilemma for us dog lovers.

From Zion, Thistle's weakening batteries forced us to take a trip to St. George for a new set to run our "home's" systems. If we wanted lights and refrigeration and computers we needed new batteries. Thanks to help from fellow Sprinter Westfalia folks, we knew what we needed, and had the experience of others for learning installation tricks. With Napa, and a shady tree, we got the job done.

 

We head for a backroad. We are now boondocked in a sweet oak grove, in Dixie National Forest. Since arriving last evening we've had sun, wind, thunder, rain, sun, and rain again. A cacophony of bird songs accompanies our morning coffee. Awww, sweet isolation! And, Benton can run free!

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"Nature is shy and noncommittal in a crowd. To learn her secrets, visit her alone or with a single friend, at most. Everything evades you, everything hides, even your thoughts escape you, when you walk in a crowd."

- Edwin Way Teale

 Circle of the Seasons: The Journal of a Naturalist's Year

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