En Route to KOA St. George/Hurricane, Utah

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Zion National Park is a 1 and 1/2 hour drive from Cannonville. So instead of backtracking, we decided to "pull up stakes" on Thursday for the KOA St. George and Hurricane area,  a 40 minute drive to Zion.  

We have seen these beehives on Utah highway signs. At Escalante Visitor's Centre, I discovered why! Utah is home to 600 bee species! When we were hiking the forest trail at Bryce Canyon, we rounded a corner and were surrounded by a field of yellow flowers and buzzing bees. 

                               One of two arches we drove through on this section of highway.

                                                               Right side of road

                                                  Directly opposite on the left side

                                                    Use of naturally sourced power!

"New" Germany in Orderville, Utah

At Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, and Bryce, J and I heard many languages spoken. German was the most common, followed by Dutch, Italian, Russian, and Scandinavian languages.  Perhaps, this restaurant is a destination for German tourists? If our visit was any indication, it certainly was! German was spoken by many of the restaurant staff. 

http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-checkerboard-mesa.htm

 Through Zion National Park, rocky hills shifted into mountains on the left and right of our drive. It is said that the difference between Zion and Bryce is that when visiting Bryce you see rock from above and look down, here in Zion you see rock at ground level and look up.

Do you see the goat's head in the far left corner of the above photo?  His head came out of view when he was eating, then his head popped up to have a look-see, then he disappeared from view, again. This process was repeated several times. Zion Comedy Sketch! 

                                                     3rd tunnel of the day

 4th and final tunnel of the day. The park ranger at the gate measured the length and height of Skylark to make sure we would fit. She told us we would! She gave us an official paper to post on the inside of our windshield. A ranger at the tunnel entrance checked vehicles before we were permitted to enter the tunnel. The next two pictures I took are from the drive through the tunnel. There were several windows that gave a glimpse of the rock outside.

It was one way traffic through the tunnel. It took about two minutes to drive through. This photo shows our exit from the tunnel returning to the light! 

Can you see the little hole in the rock?  That's one of the windows where I took a photo from inside the tunnel. 

http://www.pointofinterestroadsigns.com/utah/impassablebarrier.html

Such an interesting phenomenon of colours and textures.  My first view of this rock design.

                                                        Getting closer to our KOA!
                                        http://stateparks.utah.gov/park/quail-creek-state-park

   This is the mini-golf course at the KOA St. George/Hurricane. The damage was caused by flash floods from a recent rain storm.  Sections of the main entrance to the campground were also washed out. When we arrived, a dump truck and bulldozer were working to rebuild some of the road.

Historical plaque and stone house at entrance of campground

                                              http://www.leedstown.org/community/history/

During our visit @ KOA St. George/Hurricane, our Skylark was parked next to a wonderful shade tree. Sunday morning (Sept. 14), I heard a chorus of what sounded like monkeys from the tree. I discovered the sound is from quails. I saw 2 male and female pairs in the tree.      
                                       http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/california_quail/id