Today is last full day in the area of Zion National Park. I have a little work to do, so the quick excursion to the Kolob Canyons section of the park was the perfect activity, taking up the afternoon.<\/p>\n
It was just a short drive up I-15 to the visitors’ centre for that section of the park. Here, you can see a series of slot canyons. I really want to come back and hike in this part of the park, but the prospect was too daunting for my current drive-through the area, requiring permits and equipment for overnight stays. I especially want to do the hike to the Kolob Arch, considered to be the second largest natural arch in the world. It’s doable as strenuous 12-hour day trip, but I would have had to plan for a permit in advance for that, so it was still not a reasonable to-do item for this trip.<\/p>\n
Besides long hikes, the only activity in this part of the park is the 5-mile scenic drive to a lookout point and 1-mile trail to a further lookout point. So the road ends with a giant turn around that has toilets, a nice view, and the trail head. I met a nice couple with two beautiful older dogs who gave sweet kisses and liked to be petted. Yup, definitely a dog person now. \ud83d\ude42 BTW, Zion, like most national parks in the US, is NOT dog friendly.<\/p>\n
When I came back from the hike, a man asked me what part of SK I’m from and I explained to him that I’m about 2.5 hours south of Regina, 45 minutes north of the Montana border. He confidently informed me that Saskatchewan does not have a border with Montana, only North Dakota, and that I am mistaken… But he did correct a German or Dutch lady who asked me how to pronounce the name of my state, informing her that it’s a province, so he gets points for that. \ud83d\ude42 The lady got the name correct after only two tries and sadly informed me that she would forget in minutes how to say it.<\/p>\n\n\t\t