A recovery day

Still feeling the effects of our long 14 mile hike to Kolob Arch yesterday, we decided to kick back and take it easy. After breakfast at the motel we drove to Springdale and had a leisurely cup of coffee on the roof patio of the coffee house. Following this, we began a leisurely bike ride into Zion canyon (notice that everything was leisurely). Even though this was a repeat of what we had done a couple of days ago, we really enjoyed it. Such magnificent scenery.

We stopped along the way and scrambled down the bank of the Virgin River for a snack. Folks often wade in the river, and in fact hike in it through the Narrows, but not today. Snow melt made for a very fast, rushing stream that I called muddy and Karen poetically called emerald. The cottonwood trees were doing there thing, so the breeze was often blowing little cottony tufts through the air. We stopped at an unnamed little waterfall not far from the Narrows trailhead and appreciated the bright yellow Columbine. After finishing our ride, we strolled through some of the shops in Springdale, especially liking some kinetic garden sculpture and the David J. West Gallery.

On the way back to the motel, we detoured and took a drive up Kolob Terrace road as far as the cinder cones (the road continues on to a small lake). There was lots of green grass and the temperature was noticeably cooler because of the higher elevation (over 8,000 feet). This could be a nice bike ride (although it is a continuous climb) and there are some interesting trailheads (including the famous subway—a slot canyon).

Links
—Biking Zion 2009 photo gallery