Wednesday 6th April
Finally got a Buffet Breakfast in Las Vegas- like Christmas Day! Loved it.
Travelled through Nevada, Arizona, and into Utah (via state check point)
Into Zion National Park- a massively huge sandstone valley. Bigger than you'd believe.
National Park visitor centre
Shuttle Bus
Paved path up to Emerald Pools
Camping with American style tents
American gas cooker/lamp
Distance:
Total Distance:
"All you can eat" "Breakfast" "Buffet" "$7" "They have smoked salmon"
I ate about half a fish. No brown bread, no cream cheese, just a little lemon juice and a fork.
The coffe was awful but orange juice was also free.
And there was everything else too- croissants, bacon, 3 types of melon, something like a spring roll but filled with cream and covered in a strawberry sauce.
Problem with all you can eat is, when you've had the buffet last night too, you're not as hungry as one could be. So only one American sized plate for me, and I didn't even quite finish that.
But fear not! We're going hiking!
We passed through Nevada, a little of Arizona, and into the state of Utah. We were heading for the stunning Zion National Park- a valley formed as the Virgin River rubbed away at the raised sandstone Colorado Plateau. The cliffs, columns, and mesas left behind are unbelievably big. The rock is a sandstone laced with impurities, primarily iron, giving it the red colour, as well as its yellows and whites. The colour reminded me of Uluru (although the red there is from a covering of desert sand, the rock itself is grey). This felt more impressive though.
We parked up the bus just outside the park at our campground. Here we set up the tents we would be using. They are a modern version of those toblerone shaped tents all American movies and cartoons have. The sort I've never seen anywhere else. Being tents that will be carried in a trailer, not on my back, they were far larger and more robust than my usual accommodation. About 8feet long, 4 feet wide at the base, and nearly 5 feet in the centre. I could nearly stand up in it! Plus, with only four in our group, we have 14 sleeping/yoga mats to go around. Even sleeping on these rocks we should be fairly comfy.
We went into the park. It was fairly busy, but later in the afternoon at this point so becoming quiet. American National Parks are strange places after having been to the equivalent in the UK, NZ, and Australia. In all of these places efforts are made to bring people in and make the most of the space in an active manner. People hike, mountain bike, ride horses, go canyoning, swimming, rock climbing, camping, bird watching- it's a natural theme park for peoe wanting to go outside and make the most of both nature and their lives. People can go nearly anywhere in these places and are often invited to do so, within their own personal limits.
The Nationql Parks of the USA by comparison feel more like giant Botanic Gardens. To much an extent they seem to be a federal business enterprise. They advertise widely via being in to documentaries, movies, and drama series. 4th graders are given free access to the parks and at this young age taught how to respect the space whilst enjoying it. The majority of parks have good access roads (compared to NZ or Aus) making it easy for people to come in what ever transportation they have, including giant RV/mobile homes. With all of these people wanting to come visit the parks can charge significant entree fees- Zion was $50 for a day, $80 for a year pass. These fees pay for the Rangers- who are federal cops- advertising, signage, facilities, a free shuttle bus that prevents hordes of cars blocking up the roads, and maintenance of the park. With so many people, and to make access easier, the park only has a relatively small number of hiking routes. It is drilled into visitors to never leaver these paths so as to maintain these places, which is fair given what could happen if thousands of boots tore up the land every day. This seems very effective as the pristine wilderness creeps right up to the edge of the walk ways. Visitors are also made well aware that feeds animals is bad for everyone, as is any interaction with them. This doesn't stop the chipmunks and squirrels knowing that flaky granola bars and trail mix are liable to drop the odd treat around picnickers. Yet it also means that most animals don't view humans as any form of threat. Thus the big eared Mule Deer will happily stand grazing as the hikers walk by.
It's fair and reasonable that the National Parks are maintained in perfection and enable thousands to see such landscapes everyday.
But there's part of me that doesn't find it as fun as the wilderness of UK/NZ/Aus. There's a lot fewer people though so those 3 hikers per day probably aren't eroding the landscape on unpaved muddy tracks. Likewise emptying last nights stale beer or Coke onto some tree roots once a year is simply going to feed the local ant colony. However if a tenth of the Americans who visit these parks did such a thing the place would be over run with ants!
At first I wasn't too sure about the National Parks. They seemed too constrained and uneventful compared to other places. The purpose of them is different however, and it seems fitting that they are run as they are. A museum of North America's geology and a botanic garden rolled into one whilst trying to teach the public here how to look after a place.
I just wish they'd take the messages of don't litter and look after the environment back into the city with them!
We made use of Zion's infrastructure that evening. Taking the free shuttle bus we went down to the start of the paved track to the Emerald Pools. These are comparative puddles, filled with green slime, compared to their namesakes in New Zealand. The walk was nice though, under a long waterfall, through woodland, over rocks, up cliffs. We even saw a number of the park's Mule Deer- small shaggy coated, big eared, deer, there were a few does and a couple of calves. We'd even see a mother and child pair carefully fording a shallow river later.
That evening we cooked dinner on the gas stove. Light was provided by gas lamps attached above the gas tanks. In the days of electric lamps, especially solar ones, I feel like this is inefficient and a poor use for a fossil fuel. But this is 'Merica, and it's what they do.
At least we had marshmallows for the camp fire later on that evening.
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