After leaving Zion National Park, our next destination was Bryce Canyon, which is about an hour and a half drive from Zion. We spent the night at a comfortable motel about five minutes from Bryce Canyon. After a delicious home style meal, we watched the sun set before settling down for the night. It was a quiet interlude before the next day's activity. 

A forest of tall Ponderosa Pines provided a beautiful backdrop to the quiet meadow where horses grazed in the fading light. Ponderosa Pines grow in mountain elevations of 3000 to 9000 feet and can grow over 200 feet tall. Their huge trunks measure 3-4 feet across and their bark can smell like vanilla or butterscotch. Yes, really. The next day, I smelled a few pine trunks at Bryce Canyon that had a faint butterscotch scent. And I wasn't the only tree sniffer! 

Ponderosa Pines are evergreen and can live for over 500 years. The wood is ponderous, or heavy, and is the major lumber tree of the America Southwest. As the tree ages, its bark changes from black to orange. The bark is very thick and cracked, giving it the appearance of a rugged jigsaw puzzle. It is also fireproof, unless a thick undergrowth has grown. In many places, the U.S. Forest Service is thinning out trees and doing controlled burns so that forests of Ponderosa Pines continue to thrive throughout the Southwest.

In the morning, we would visit Bryce Canyon National Park, which is located in the High Plateau region of the Colorado Plateau, also known as "Red Rock Country." But for now, we enjoyed the quiet beauty of this peaceful meadow resting in the golden glow of the setting sun.

~ Debbie

First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.
Seventh stop - Zion National Park here.
​Eighth stop - Between canyons here. 
Ninth stop - Bryce Canyon here.

The next stop on our journey through Utah was Zion National Park. In contrast to Glen Canyon filled with the waters of Lake Powell, which we viewed by boat, and the Grand Canyon, which we viewed from it's rim looking across and down, our view of Zion National Park was from the canyon floor looking up at multiple peaks of solid white and orange rock. And it was a glorious sight! 

The Virgin River, a tributary of the Colorado River that empties into Lake Mead, runs through Zion Canyon and provides an oasis for unique plants and animals to thrive along its green banks as the river winds its way along 15 miles of the canyon floor. Mormon settlers in the 1850s settled in the canyon and farmed the land until the canyon became a National Monument in 1909. Because of its awe inspiring beauty, the canyon was named Zion, a reference to the ancient city of Jerusalem and the future Heavenly city.

With over 4.3 million people coming to Zion National Park in 2019, it was the fourth most visited National Park in the United States. (The Grand Canyon was second.) Many of the stately mountains protecting the canyon were given names by early visitors and explorers of the canyon. A Methodist minister gave Biblical names to several prominent peaks, including Great White Throne, Angels Landing, the Watchman, and The Three Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The weathering of this white mountain reflects its name, Checkerboard Mesa.

As our time in Zion Canyon drew to a close, I couldn't help but play this old hymn in my head, Marching to Zion

It will be my final destination, and I hope yours. In the meantime, I will continue marching through this world with my eyes open in wonder, awe, and praise to our Creator, the King of Zion.

~ Debbie
​
First stop - Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden here.
Second stop - Montezuma's Castle here.
Third stop - Sedona here.
Fourth stop - The Grand Canyon here.
Fifth stop - The Desert Watch Tower here.
Sixth stop - Glen Canyon and Lake Powell here.
Seventh stop - Zion National Park here.
​Eighth stop - Between canyons here. 

The mighty Colorado River begins its 1,450 mile long journey to the Gulf of California as a tiny stream that forms in a wet meadow 10,184 feet high in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado. As it flows southwest, the river is joined by many tributaries, gaining strength and size before cutting through the vast Colorado Plateau, twisting its way through numerous gorges and canyons before passing through the Grand Canyon. One of these canyons is Glen Canyon.

Before the 20th century, the Colorado River would periodically flood the land along its banks from Wyoming to Mexico with a mighty rush of water from melting snow or heavy rains in the spring. In an attempt to tame the river, prevent flooding, and harness its power, many dams have been built to control its flow and divert its water for use in the irrigation of crops, to generate electricity and supply water to nearly 17 million people who populate the Colorado Basin states. The largest of these dams, the Hoover Dam located on the border of Nevada and Arizona, was completed in 1936.  Glen Canyon Dam, near the border of Arizona and Utah, was completed in 1966, and is the second largest dam on the Colorado River. Both dams serve as reservoirs, which store water in the vast artificial lakes created by the dam and serve as recreation areas for boating and fishing.

In preparation for the building of Glen Canyon Dam, a new road was built, along with a steel arch bridge, in order to cross Glen Canyon and facilitate the construction of the dam. Completed in 1957, the Glen Canyon Bridge was the highest of its kind in the United States, towering 700 feet above the Colorado River below.

After the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam, it took over 17 years to fill Glen Canyon and create Lake Powell. Lake Powell is the second largest man made lake in the United States, the first being Lake Mead, which was created by the Hoover Dam. Its shoreline encompasses 1,960 miles, a distance longer than the west coast of the United States. Lake Powell's primary purpose is to store the water needed for release to the states of Arizona, Nevada, and California, as well as to the two Mexican states that border the Colorado River Delta where it empties into the Gulf of California, although often the river is dry before it gets to its delta. The tour guide who spoke with us at the Glen Canyon Dam likened Lake Powell to a savings account and Lake Mead to a checking account.

The beautiful deep blue water of Lake Powell originates as melted snow from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. According to the predicted snowmelt runoff, water releases from the Glen Canyon Dam are adjusted accordingly in order to maintain Lake Powell at an optimal level. Water released from the dam is 46 degrees, whereas before the dam was built, the temperature of the Colorado River ranged from just above freezing in winter to over 80 degrees in summer. This change in water temperature, along with other aspects of taming the Colorado River, has significantly affected the vegetation along its banks and the native fish that live in its harnessed waters. Despite ecological concerns, the beauty of Lake Powell is stunning.

Our group took a boat tour into Antelope Canyon​, one of the side canyons into which Lake Powell spills. The windswept canyon walls painted in shades of orange and red were decorated with dark streaks of desert varnish, a natural patina composed of minerals, manganese and iron oxides, sand particles and other trace elements, which can take thousands of years to develop on exposed rock surfaces in arid areas.

As the tour boat twisted its way through Antelope Canyon, we were able to get a close view of the canyon walls. Here and there tenacious plants grew in nooks and crannies of the massive rock walls. The late afternoon sun cast a golden glow on higher west facing canyon walls, while other walls remained in the shadow.

Leaving Antelope Canyon behind, we headed back to the marina surrounded by the stunning landscape of this one small portion of Lake Powell. And I am again reminded of the One Who brings life giving water to those who thirst.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" John 7:38

​"I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water." Isaiah 41:18

As we headed to our room for the night, we lingered to watch the sunset which painted the sky with pastel pinks, blues, and purples. It was a pleasant way to end another amazing day of our tour through parts of Arizona and Utah. In the morning we would visit Zion National Park, so we took in the beauty of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon before the night hid the view from sight.