I know that the post concerning Thursday was weak.  I am fully aware.  But really, there was nothing to say.  We waited, they showed up, we drove, we slept.  The end.  But Friday, Friday was way different.  We woke up good and early and headed out from Cedar City to drive the hour to Zion.  I really thought we were on the right track.  I got us to our hotel and parked.  The nice lady at the desk said we could park the car outside of our building.  This saved us at least $20.  Once we parked, we walked the .8 mile to the park.  First thing about this area is that every single turn of the head produces a view that is amazing.

After the obligatory photo at the park entrance sign we used the pedestrian entrance to the park.  It was here that we joined the line for the shuttle.  In Zion, you can’t drive and park.  You must use the shuttle.  Honestly, this is a good thing.  Traffic is minimal and I can actually look at scenery and not road.  We entered the line at 8:30.  We boarded our shuttle around 9:45.  So, yeah, there are lots of folks here.  Once in the park it seemed as if the people sort of thinned out.  We got off the bus at the The Court of the Patriarchs.  There was a short, but steep, walk to an observation point which provided a great view of the Patriarchs.  After basking in their grandeur we took a walk on the Emerald Pools connector trail to the Zion Lodge.  At this point, it was vital that we throw some calories at our girls.  That accomplished, we headed to the Weeping Rock stop.  This short, .25 mile walk was awesome.  It was, I believe, a roughly 60 degree angle walk, so it was sort of steep.  But the view at the end was the highlight of the day.

Once taking in all the Weeping Rock had to offer, we rode back to the Lodge and did the walk to the first of the Emerald Pools.  By now, we were hot, tired, and more or less done.  On the way back to the hotel, we dropped in on the good folks at Zion Outfitters to inquire about the Narrows hike.  After hearing the dude talk a bit, we decided renting the shoes and walking sticks would be money well spent.  Once we had settled on the appropriate footwear for our hike, we went to the hotel and settled in.

The Desert Pearl Inn is awesome.  I made these reservations a year ago and I am super glad that I did.  Our room is huge, with a fridge, microwave, and a great patio to hang out on and look over the Virgin River.  Stay here on a trip to Zion and get a river room.  For dinner tonight, we headed to Oscar’s Cafe and dogged some nachos, some tacos, and a couple of sandwiches.  We had enough to bring home some leftovers.  By now, it was pushing 6 and we were beyond spent.  I sat on the patio and chilled a bit and just enjoyed the view.  We decided that after waiting in the line for the shuttle today that the next time we’d head out early and get moving sooner.  How’d that work, you ask?  Check back in the morning for the exciting conclusion to our time in Zion National Park.