Zion and Return

Happy Juneteenth 

Virgin River Gorge
I-15, Arizona
June 18, 2026

I wrote yesterday about the early morning alarms in the building. Well, there was another alarm about 7:30 AM or so and Chris and I evacuated the building as directed. Before evacuating we gathered our supply of water and sunscreen to head off to Zion National Park! Although the trip to Zion had been planned for today, we had been awake since 4:30-ish AM and determined that an early start to the trip would be advantageous. 

Selfie
Zion National Park, UT
June 18, 2026

And so we were off, like a herd of turtles!

The drive was about 2.5 hours. There are parts of the drive which are boring, but as we approached the mountains, about an hour out of Vegas, things got interesting. We drove I-15 through Virgin River Gorge on our trek to Zion National Park. We were surprised at the gorge. It was a beautiful drive and we did stop at one of the few pull-offs for pictures. 

Zion National Park
Utah
June 18, 2026

And then onto Zion. The drive through Utah to the park is fun. There are vistas to enjoy around every turn. It was a busy day at the Park. Parking space was almost non-existent, even at the pull-offs to enjoy the spectacular views. But we managed to enjoy the park despite the crowds. And there were crowds. 

I overheard a ranger telling a group that June was the busiest month, as well as the hottest month, at the park. Note to self, if ever we make a return trip we will aim for October!

We enjoyed our trip very much and are thankful that we made it to Zion. We are not hikers, but we saw there are many opportunities for hiking. We followed one trail for about a quarter mile just to see around an outcropping and the view was worth the effort. Yes, we took water and stayed hydrated. I was about 8 degrees cooler at Zion than the 100+ temperatures in Vegas.

-- Bob Doan, Las Vegas, NV