Our Week Out West, Day 3: Above and Below

Wow, are we only on day three already? So much for “short”!

Right, so this was the day we hiked Angel’s Landing. It’s a pretty scary hike for most, with narrow paths and steep drop-offs. I chickened out when dad took me on the hike back in 2002 or so, and then conquered my fears and completed it on my own in 2012. Now it was Areg’s turn!

We try to convince ourselves we're not nervous to be going 

all the way up there--to the top of that cliff above our heads

A quick look back at the trail below

That rock ledge right up front is the edge of the cliff. 

Then nothing but air until you reach that valley floor.

The trail, as expected, was pretty crowded—but we got lucky and didn’t have to deal with the Disneyland-like crowds that Felicia had warned me against. Yeah, there was a bit of waiting for others to scramble in one direction or another on the narrowest section, the last half mile, but I think all of us were happy to have a moment’s break to collect ourselves.

Areg and I with just the last, most difficult half-mile to go

(one of my favorite photos from the whole trip)

Areg and I celebrate our victory

(Today, he's sitting next to me while I prep these pictures:

"I wonder which is higher--the cliff or your hair?")

I swore I wasn't going to post much person-less scenery,

since far better photographers have already been here, 

but I can't help it

We paddle our feet in the Virgin River and celebrate our complete survival.

The river makes a great "ice" bath for me.

Once that was over, we were done with hiking for the day. I haven’t mentioned yet that I’d actually hurt my left ankle earlier this summer—pretty badly, since it had been bothering me since July. The pain wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t hike, but going down steep hills did aggravate it quite a bit, so we decided to do some scenic driving instead of any more walking. I strapped a bag of ice to my ankle and we set off for the Mount Carmel Highway.

Folks, this part of Zion is less seen than the main but it is absolutely gorgeous. After passing through the Mount Carmel Tunnel (and dang but wouldn’t I like more information on how that particular feat of engineering was achieved!) we stopped at almost every single pull out to admire the gorgeous rocks…and compare them with tiramisu, among other treats. Yep, I was hungry.

A gorgeous blind arch on the way to the Mount Carmel tunnel

This may have been the tiramisu mountain, but it's 

properly known as Checkerboard Mesa

Oh, the many faces of Areg 8-)

Chillin' in Bruce* while Areg hops out for some pictures

We had a spot of adventure when we got back to Rockville that evening—the power was out! Fortunately by the time we finished our salad, it was back up and running, so that we could order our entrees.

*Why did I name the car Bruce? It's big and grey with a tiny fin on the top. 

What, can't you see the similarity?