Happy Halloween! It looks like we're skipping Halloween this year. We had started a tradition of carving pumpkins on our Halloween trips, but we decided it's too cool here. We brought all our carving instruments, but the temperatures drop off very quickly as soon as the sun drops behind the West Temple. Carving in gloves doesn't seem like a great deal.
Today was shopping day. We drove up to the Visitor Center and boarded the tram to Zion Lodge. Carol wanted to look for t-shirts and souvenirs, and we wanted to check out what was left of the fall color in the main canyon. The main canyon was a huge disappointment. Some of the cottonwoods still had golden leaves, but only where they hadn't blow off yet. There wasn't consistent color anywhere, including in a single tree. All the maples were nothing but sticks. It was a stark reminder of how important timing is with fall color. If we had arrived a couple weeks earlier, we would have spent all our time shooting in the main canyon and loving the scenery. This week, we probably won't even bother shooting in the canyon. I'm glad we're not dependent on this trip for our only shots of the main attractions of Zion.
While we were riding the tram, the driver pointed out the climbers on the valley walls. Zion has gotten to be a very popular place for climbers. I still think they're crazy. The sandstone walls here are the definition of "vertical." And there's something about depending on sandstone to arrest your fall that isn't so comforting. Granite is one thing, but sandstone is made up of glued together sand.
Carol bought her stuff at the lodge, and we re-boarded the tram to return to the Visitor Center. Our tradition in Zion is to sponsor a bighorn sheep on each trip that we see one. Since we have seen bighorn sheep every day we've been up in the slickrock area, we each sponsored a bighorn again this year. The program seems to be a huge success, based on the increase of numbers we've seen since our last trip. Carol bought some other gifts and I bought a resource book for our next trip, but we both managed to end our shopping spree without buying any t-shirts. That may be a first ever.
The afternoon
was spent in the slickrock of an unnamed canyon we call "Pothole Canyon."
We parked in the wide turnout
beside the road, hiked down the road a few hundred yards, and dropped into the canyon. The sand and sandstone slabs of the canyon floor were framed by the towering cliffs on each side. We even discovered a huge arch on the west wall that we had never noticed before. After about 1/4 mile,
we reached a string of potholes filled by the recent rains. They were perfect for shooting reflections of the peaks at the far end of the canyon. Climbing over another series of benches, we reached the upper segment of the canyon to discover even larger and deeper potholes lining the canyon floor.
As we peered back down toward the road, the potholes looked like dark pearls on a necklace. We decided not to climb the next ridge to enter an upper canyon, and started our hike back toward the Explorer. Hiking down to the final pearl on the necklace, we turned around to see the peaks
glowing in the golden light. Although the canyon was now shaded, the light on the peaks was fabulous. It was a good way to end the day.
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As it turned out, it was not the end of our shooting. When we drove up the road to turn around, we spotted a herd of 10 bighorn sheep just above the road. They were all ewes and appeared to be the same herd we had seen a day earlier. They stayed in a very tight group the entire time. They finally straggled off, single file up a ridge that no creature should be able to climb. They came to 3-foot "steps" and simply jumped to go from one step to the next. It was effortless. I've seen it before, but it doesn't make it any more believable.
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Tonight was all about simple. We had soup for dinner and enjoyed an evening of TV. How can you beat that?
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