Zion Canyon

Day 17

Today we left Lake Powell and headed towards Zion Canyon. We stopped along the way at Kanab, Utah to see the Frontier Movie Museum. Early on, it was dubbed Little Hollywood and has been at the center of western movie production ever since . The first movie filmed here was “Deadwood Coach”. Since then hundreds of Hollywood productions have taken advantage of the surrounding landscape. Movie producers continue to find cinematic gold in the surrounding hills including Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales” The museum also includes a gift shop and movie set “old town”.

We then moved on to Zion Canyon with its towering cliffs and massive canyon walls. The first stop was at the distinctive Checkerboard Mesa. The majestic criss-crossed mountain appears as a massive hill towering 900 feet above the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway and resembles a giant, extended chess or checkerboard. The vertical and horizontal fissures are more evident on the north side of the mesa, where most of the photographs of the mountain are taken. The left to right deep scratches are due to a north to south wind direction while the vertical cracks are a result of weathering, a cycle of freezing and thawing.

Travelling through the (1,711 m) tunnel that follows the profile of the Pine Creek Canyon wall at a consistent distance of 6.4 m from the outside face of the rock to the centerline of the tunnel. The tunnel uses galleries to provide light and ventilation through the canyon wall to the outside air. The bus slowed so we could take photos from inside the tunnel.

We then took a guided tram to the bottom of the canyon where streams meander through the high cliffs. Erosion continues to sculpt the canyon walls, creating natural arches and other rock formations

We then returned to Zion Lodge where the cottonwood trees were in bloom and blowing across the grounds. We had the afternoon at leisure.