[Next it was time to explore the neighborhood. Zion National Park was only a little over a half an hour away. Get an early start, beat the crowds.]
[And we picked up two more Alexandrians when we got there. Before we all left, we discovered Kathleen and Bruce Pohlig would be at Zion, staying at a local lodge, this very day, so we made arrangements to meet up with them for park exploration. 🙂 ]
[Actually, we were arriving . . . ]
[We’ve boarded the shuttle for the ride in the park . . . ]
[Shot out the window . . . ]
[Shot out the roof.]
[Go Cardinal fans!]
[Our photographer. I believe his name was Fred. But that’d just be a guess.]
[This is where we were. The end of the line, The Temple of Sinawava, where we will hike along the Virgin River Trail.]
[Kathleen and Ken . . . ]
[The river . . . ]
[The walls . . . ]
[A lovely stroll, beautiful cool weather to do it in.]
[Hanging gardens . . . (subsequent DNA evidence proved the gardens innocent and they should not have been hanged).]
[I think I was shooting the hikers by the water but not successfully.]
[Kathleen believed the object at hand to be a tree, a flora of the woody variety.]
[We had to be alert at all times for dangerous critters – this guy (or gal) had absolutely no fear of us.]
[Bruce contemplated a two-and-a-half gainer with a full twist but decided the water was too cold.]
[You know, they do fall . . . eventually. And you wonder about that.]
[“Scoop” Howell in action.]
[Duck!!]
[Reminding . . . it’s still desert.]
[Kathleen checks our Triptik.]
[One of the most popular, if long and strenuous, “hikes” in the entire country. If you look closely at the closer-upper shots, you can see lines of people working their way up on switchbacks. We didn’t do it this time. so let’s take you back to those glorious days of yesteryear . . . ]
Zion National Park, 32 years ago . . .
We visited Zion National Park twice on this trip, during which time I regaled our captive audience about the time I climbed Angels Landing. It was exactly 32 years ago (pre-Super), and my traveling companion in those days was Basketball Dan. It’s a strenuous, 5-mile, 5-hour uphill hike, and now there is a sign at its commencement noting that 6 people have died from falls on the trail in the last decade! Oy!
[With Basketball Dan, same time of year in 1983.]
[Back in current time, the group is on the move from the Grotto (eyeballing Angels Landing) to Zion Lodge.]
[And at the Lodge we took this trail.]
[As you may know, Continental Bridge out of Alexandria, Minnesota, was previously Bruce’s company, and many bridges such as this all over the country have his trademark on them. Whenever we came to a bridge, Bruce hustled up to see if it was one if his. He has some here but not this particular one.]
[The view from “not Bruce’s bridge.” And those are our ‘peeps’ on the bridge.]
[And here we have “Scoop” Howell in action again, under the watchful eye of his producer/director.]
[Did you see Kim Kardashian?]
[Goodbye for this day, from another “not Bruce’s bridge.”]
[So let’s have a little outdoor lunch before we say goodbye to the Pohligs.]
[Pterodactyl?]
In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man – if you want anything done, ask a woman. ~ Margaret Thatcher
Up next: Day Eight.
alexandriacardinals 
