A Grand Adventure - Day 7 (Zion, Heat Exhaustion, and Ho-made pies)

Today we drove into Utah for the first time to explore Bryce and Zion.  We chose to stay at a campground called Zion Ponderosa Ranch because it gave us  access to both parks  (though it was much closer to Zion).  The campground itself was very different than the others we had stayed at so far which were pretty simple in their accommodations.  Zion Ponderosa had a resort, cabin rentals, an RV park, and tent campground.  It even had a glamping area (short for glamorous camping) and overnight Conestoga wagon rentals.

Just like the cowboys slept in the old west, right?

Along with a crazy number of activities for the guests.   It had 2 restaurants, 2 pools, 2 hot tubs, 4 tennis courts, a basketball court, a beach volleyball court, a rock climbing wall, a zipline, ATV rentals, horseback riding, jeep tours, wagon rides, miniature golf, paintball, bungee trampoline and a rec building with pool, foosball and ping pong tables, and TV.  The Zion Ponderosa is really still in its infancy but their plans for the site are obviously very ambitious.

The pool area.  The tennis courts hadn't even been built when this picture was taken.

The tent camping area where we stayed was still under construction when we arrived.  The roads into the area were just dirt, therefore it was really dusty.  The bathroom facility had just been built about a month earlier.  As a result, the sites were mostly dirt though they did have a little shade at certain times of the day.

A quick video peak at our campsite

Zion National Park

We were watching the weather closely as we were in the peak of the heat wave that had overtaken the area.  Nearby Phoenix, Arizona for example was expected to reach 122º around that time. 

We had also heard that a popular hiking section of Bryce was not accessible on Monday, so we decided to hike Zion first and then Bryce on Tuesday when we hoped the roads would be open again.  

We woke up super early the next day to try to get in our Zion hike before the peak heat of the day.  We woke up around 5 AM, ate, packed everything up and were on the road before 6 AM.  We were not only trying to beat the heat but also the rush of other visitors which can make parking difficult to find.  We pulled into the park around 7 AM and found a free spot for the vans right by the parking area by the entrance (which costs $20/ day).  

Like the Grand Canyon, Zion has a convenient shuttle system to move about the park.  Getting there as early as we did we were surprised to see how long the line was to get on the first stop.




We had to wait for about three shuttles before we could get on the first time.  Many people had hiking sticks and wore special boots to walk "The Narrows" which is a narrow canyon where you can walk right in the river.  This was popular due to the extreme heat expected this day.

 

We chose to hike the Upper Emerald Pool Trail.  It was supposed to be a moderately challenging hike with spectacular views of the canyon.  Here we crossed the Virgin River which has, over time, eroded this canyon.

The sun was just beginning to enter the canyon when we started hiking.

Selfie time!

 

I'm the king of the canyon!

We reached the lower falls which reminded us a lot of something we would see at Hocking Hills.  It was a nice hike with a couple sections that would get your legs and lungs pumping a little bit, but nothing too extreme.

the lower falls

At one point on the way back, we ran into some naturalists who were 3D scanning the trail so they could remake it in the future if needed.

 

the pool at the end of the hike by the upper falls

The rocks above the Upper Falls

Here's a video overview of the hike to Upper Emerald Falls.

When we finished this hike, we decided to take the shuttle to some of the other stops.  We saw people hiking the famous Angels Landing.  Some of our adventurous members of our crew really wanted to do this hike, but with the near record heat and the time of day, we didn't think it wise.  Here's a video showing what it looks like if you feel like trying something extreme:

We all had still had some energy so we decided to do one more hike.  Luke had said that he wanted to hike the Watchman trail.  We stopped at a couple more shuttle stops before getting off for this hike.  By this time, it was the middle of the day and the sun was no longer shaded by the walls of the canyon.  It was now directly overhead.



As we set out on the trail I felt like I was hiking through what I always pictured when I imagined a desert.  The temperature said it was 108º.  I found myself thinking about all the different survival shows that I like - Dual Survival, Naked and Afraid, Survivorman, etc...  As I hiked I thought about conserving energy and water and how on those survival shows they would never hike in heat like this at this time of the day.

As hikers passed us going the opposite direction I asked jokingly how much further it was to the DQ.  Luke commented that a DQ blizzard sounded great right now.  Lilly replied,

"I don't want a DQ blizzard.  I want an actual blizzard!"

 

We stopped from time to time in the shade to cool off, but there was very little of it.

 

 I even overheard this lizard say, "Damn this is hot today!"

 
Rogan found this comfy rock chair in the partial shade to rest.



Eventually we made it to the top and were rewarded with a really nice view of the canyon and the trail we had just hiked.

On the way back both Jen and Beth started to get overheated, possibly dangerously so.  Jen mentioned later that she had gotten goosebumps, a sign of dehydration.  Beth was very red faced and "glistening."

Has anyone seen the Dairy Queen ahead?

There was a small mountain stream that crossed over the hiking path at one point.  Desperate to cool off, we dunked our hiking hats into it and put them on our heads.  It did help a lot.

Eventually we made it down to the river level and Mikah couldn't resist taking a dip. 

Here's a short video clip of the hike:

Of course we made it back safely and cooled off with some fresh water.  We decided to drive back to the campground and look for somewhere good to eat. 

On the way out, Jen snapped this nice picture out the van window.

The kids were obviously pooped, too as they were conked out in no time. 

We settled on the closest restaurant to our campground, The Thunderbird Restaurant, home of the what?!?

Now, before go you starting a letter writing campaign about this sexist sign, there's a story and a reasonable explanation behind it.  

Apparently, the founder, Jack Morrison, spelled home made pie as "ho-made" so the letters would fit on the original small sign when they opened the restaurant in 1931.  It was not until later that the word "ho" got it's current meaning.  After Jack passed away in 1961, his wife Fern used her considerable grit and gumption not only continue the business but to also expand by building a hotel and golf course with the hope that one day the Zion area would grow around the tourism from the park. When the meaning of "ho" changed it was actually Fern who decided to embrace this for its kitschy appeal and to add the busty 1950's pin-up woman to the sign.

Here's Fern

Look at her.  You can't really be mad at Fern, can you?  Even if you are still mad, she's dead now so you'll just have to let it go.

And let me tell you, after that hike today, I drank about 8 glasses of ice water and enjoyed a mighty tasty meal.  Strangely, we heard "On the Road Again" by Canned Heat for the second time.  And, to top it off, Fern's pie was amazing! 




So how should we finish this day?  With a swim, of course.