Every day at Umder-the-Eaves began with breakfast at Oscars’, only twenty yards down the street.  The guest house took a small per diem charge to get us a hefty, Mexican breakfast. The mornings were sunny, and we ate on the open-air patio.

The walls of Navajo sandstone and red Kayenta loomed behind all the buildings lining Zion Park Boulevard. You felt enclosed by the canyon before you even reached the Park Entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ranger Jason gave us geologic background, both on a Saturday talk and on a Sunday walking tour of the Par’us Trail. The long evolution of the Canyon was captured in his acronym:

 

 

 

D– Deposit

U–Upheaval (plates)

D–Downward cutting (river erosion)

E–Erosion (rain, wind, fluctuating temps)

He gives credit to his Southern California upbringing for this succinct acronym.

Thanks to Jason for animated stories and caution to get us out of a thunderstorm. We got off the trail with good memories.

The end of the day was perfect for life at Zion. We ate upscale at “The Spotted Dog,” which probably has the best backdrop in Utah– a looming canyon wall with all the colors of a DUDE landscape: creamy white Navajo sandstone to the rust-iron Kayenta layer to the darker, Moenave formation to the Chinle basement. We ate on the patio in the early evening and felt the shared awe of a sacred ground.  Good food, good friends, awe-inspiring  Zion.

Beautiful, beautiful Zion.