Zion NP and Croshaw’s Pies

Went to Zion National Park today. Man is it touristy and congested. There was only a short line to get in but once in there was NO parking. People were driving around stalking pedestrians in hopes they were leaving and freeing up a space. In fairness to the park there was a sign just before the entrance “All Parking Lots Full”. The park is beautiful and consists of a deep canyon created by the Virgin River at the canyon floor. Here’s a couple of pictures……

The pics don’t do justice to the park but you get the idea. Rugged peaks of red and white sandstone, dry desert- like land with a clear trout stream running through it. Turns out, the park is mostly a central road through the canyon following the river, and it’s closed to traffic, since the 1990’s. You park (theoretically) and then purchase a ticket for a bus that takes you through. Hikers can get off at any one of several stops. The last return bus is at 7:15. After some time and frustration we found a spot to park and walked the river trail 3.5 miles, 7 total, beautiful weather and scenery. Added 3 new birds to my life list, Golden Eagle (yes I’ve seen one before but never posted one to ebird), Scrub Jay and Spotted Towhee. Oregon Junco too, but that’s a subspecies. We won’t go back tomorrow; not into bus rides and even though we didn’t see the best views, they say Angel’s Landing is beyond description, we’ve seen enough. On to Bryce Canyon. Not sure where we will stay tomorrow. Got to get to work on that before bed. Might try a freecamping.net site.

We got back just before Croshaw’s Pies closed. We like to eat at local places and roadfood.com is one of our main go to’s for finding them. They hit the bullseye with this one. They make quiche, pot pies, and 34 different sweet pies. We had quiche, soup and a blackberry/ raspberry pie. Perfect.

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