21st Day - day 21 (for English scroll down)

Getting up early to avoid the crowds and heat. With a picnic and plenty of water, we took the Zion Shuttle Bus, which went parallel to the Virgin River, up to the end of the Senci Drive, to the Temple of Sinawawa. Our hike started on a well-maintained path for 1.5km. But the most beautiful part of the Zion Narrows was still ahead of us. Now, we began the 3-hour (one way!) trek through the river. The reward was towering sandstone walls up to 600 meters high, with gaps narrowing to just a few meters at some points. It's a great adventure for people with good fitness and balance in flowing water... (which we definitely do not have) There was always a sense of unease, as the forecast predicted "flash floods likely". The ranger told me that two weeks ago, there was a flash flood that reached 2 meters high and damaged some hiking trails, resulting in their closure. But since it hadn't rained yesterday or today and there wasn't a cloud in sight, we decided to go for it anyway. It was truly beautiful, impressive, strenuous, and fun. Of course, Zoë fell once, but she got up so quickly - you could hardly blink. The reason was her mobile phone in the backpack ;-) But other than a few scrapes and a skipped heartbeat, nothing happened. We returned to the motel completely exhausted. Shower, return the equipment, visit the laundromat (by now I think I know every laundromat in the US), and have a Margarita. Yes, life can be so beautiful :-)

Early wake up to avoid heat and people. With our picnic and loads of water we boarded the Zion Shuttle who took us on the scenic drive, parallel to the Virgin river to the terminal the temple of Sinawawa. The hike started on good ground for about 1.5Km. The nicest part of the Zion Narrows laid ahead of us. We started our 3 hour (one way!) hike wading through the river. The reward was up to 600 meter high sandstonewalls with a shrinking gap of a few meters at some points. It is a real cool endeavour for fit people with a good balance in running water.... (which we are of course NOT) there was a queasy feeling as the forecast gave: 'flash floods probable'. The ranger told me that 2 weeks ago they had a flash flood of 2 meter height and it destroyed some hikes which were closed now.. But since it did not rain yesterday nor today and there was no cloud to be seen at all we dared the adventure none the less. It was really beautiful, impressive, strenuous and fun. Of course Zoë fell into the water once, but she was so quickly up you could not even blink - she was that quick. The reason for it was: her mobile phone was in the backpack. But other than a few scratches and a heartbeat stop nothing happened. Real, real tired we came back to the Motel. Shower, returning the gear, visit to the Laundrette (by now I think I know every one laundrette in the US) and grab a Margarita. Yes life can be wonderful :-)