May 22, 2013 Zion National Park.....without OTIS!!!!

I knew today was going to be a great day!!! Last night I didn't have to pull up the extra covers, I didn't wake up to the electric heater cranking out heat & Otis didn't go to the park with us! Just kidding about Otis!?! Since Otis' pet sitting arrangements were already made, Len & I left for the park after breakfast & Otis' potty walk. I didn't pack us a picnic lunch cause "someone" forgot to bring the backpack from home (or did I!?!) & carrying our small cooler would have been a bit cumbersome as we hopped on & off the shuttle tour!
We are back in Zion National Park. Today we start off at the Welcome Center where we'll catch the FREE shuttle & jump off at any point of interest we'd like to see. The shuttle system was put into play in 2000 to cut down on traffic congestion. I wonder what took them so long to come up with this plan???

Here comes the shuttle, away we go! It is suppose to be an informative ride but the bus was full of so much chatter in soooo many different languages, it was hard to hear what was coming over the speaker.....

It's amazing how many pictures you can take when you don't have a dog riding on your lap, that & the fact there was a constant scenic view at every turn.Trying to choose the best pictures to post, hard job......I tried to figure out how to post pictures side by side so I could show more, but with my less than kindergarten computer skill level......I mean the instructions were using terms I couldn't begin to comprehend?????
Our first hop-off was at Court of the Patriarchs,

where the rock formations are named after the Biblical greats, Abraham, Issac & Jacob.

You don't have to wait long for a shuttle, & you don't have to get off at every stop. The next stop for us was The Weeping Rock Trail.It was described as Short, but steep. I wasn't too keen on the steep, but being short convinced me, & it was only a half hour trail walk.

It was an easy trail! The paved part of the trail ended at a rock alcove with dripping springs.

Next stop for us, Riverside Walk. Another trail that promises to be easy! A paved trail follows the Virgin River along the bottom of a narrow canyon.

I saw "wild life" while on this trail!

We reached a point on this trail trek, where only the "skilled hiker" was advised to continue. 

Some of those people on the shuttle were really prepared for some serious hiking. Lennie & I didn't fall into that category!!! Okay all that hiking has made me hungry! We caught the first shuttle & headed back to the Lodge

for a quick sandwich.

After lunch, we figure we can handle one more trail. The next shuttle ride drops us off at Lower Emerald Pool Trail, again rated easy to moderate. A paved trail leads to the lower Emerald Pool & waterfalls. Halfway down I was considering turning back, their idea of easy to moderate & my idea didn't match, but I forged on...

If you look REAL CLOSE, you can see the waterfall!?! H-m-m-m-m they need a  good rain, but it was still a cool walk!

the Emerald Pools were also lacking in water, still a sight to see.....

Walking back to catch our shuttle, once again we saw wild life. This guy didn't mind posing at all!

 We really enjoyed ourselves at the park, but all day long I had this nagging feeling that something was missing??? Oh, that's right, OTIS!!!! Okay Otis, we're coming home!

Otis was so glad to see us, & he didn't mess up the bed pillows!?!

The pet sitter had just pulled away when Lennie & I got home. She saw us & came back because she wanted to tell us HOW CUTE OTIS is! A-w-w-w-w do I have time to knit her a ruffled scarf!?!

After dinner I took Otis for a potty walk & saw this sight!

What a way to say "Good-Night!"