ok.. so this time we did make the 0545hrs ((definetly still dark!) bus, and again, had to evict Mickey.. although.. could have been Minney.. anyway the MOUSE left the back door of the van courtesy of a right hand forehander.. last seen disappearing into the hot evening.. talk about hot.. just checked, and it nudged 35 here yesterday, and dropped to 20 at the lowest last night.. whew!
So, anyway.. scoffed down a hurried breafast, slurped down some coffee and headed off.. the bus was full of likewise somewhat crazy people, and was quite a jovial atmosphere..
The walk up to AngelsLanding can best be described as short, steep and stunning!
if you go to www.nps.gov/zion and then look for something about Angels Landing E Trek.. you may well be able to see where we went. Never do I recall suffering from any kind of fear of heights.. but this put me close to the edge!! Some of you will have been there, and know what I mean.. for those who haven't, either put it on your "Have to DO" list, or find the highest tall building neaby, and add a walkway about 3ft wide to the edge (add a wee bit of outward slope!) and try walking along it.. Surprisingly it took us around an hour to the top, mostly in the dark, and then the best part of three coming down, due to stopping to go "WOW" ot take photos, or both! Even got to watch the sunrise from the top.. ok.. very small confession.. the TOP top was still about half hour away, but we both felt a little uneasy with the slightly sloping and slippery (due to sand) footing.. so stopped about Scouts Lookout.. still ridiculously good view and nothing between you and about a 1000ft vertical drop.. made for interesting and difficult photography.
Treated ourselves to a coffee (me) and yoghurt icecream (Ali) at the Zion Lodge Cafe. again really nice place.. icecream $2, coffee$2 (bottomless) hamburger $5.. then got caught in the trinkets shop.. dangerous place.. actually did ok.. left a a couple of postcards (30 cents each) and a stunning poster.. $9. We've had a lot of people recommend this place, and then also the Angels Landing and Narrows walks. TTHANKS.. cos you were right.
The Angels Landing walk is not for everyone.. and does have people fall off every so often.. apparently just in the last couple of weeks, a woman became another victim of the place. It is interesting to again visit a place where there are no real safety nets in place, and just lots of signs warning that it is dangerous.. in a way, it is refreshing, after having so many people do everything they can to make sure that once you leave your house, you should not be able to hurt yourself.. Kids would have a great time here, and probably scare their parents silly!
Had to get the Ranger to come give us a jump start, as I'd left the fridge running (0n purpose) but this time, it had been too much for the battery.. Nice guy, happy to oblige, and the cruiser all set up with an external plug just for jump starting cars for silly people like us!! He came equiped with 9mm auto and 3 extra clips on the right hip, a phaser (stun gun thing) on the right hip, handcuffs, torch etc etc.. wonder what a cop carries!
At least the chain looks almost solid! Imagine Anne on that!!!!!!
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