Day 3: Valley of Fire and Zion NP

Day 3: Valley of Fire and Zion NP

If you go to bed early, you wake up early. The heat is getting to us. The camper is too warm and we are awake again at 5:30 a.m. We watch the sun rise from our bed. The Valley of Fire State Park has a lot to offer, but it is already 30°C, so we keep the hikes to a minimum. The park is named after the red sandstone that looks like flames at sunset. At Altatl Rock, at a height of around 20 meters, we see 4,000-year-old wall paintings. The way of life of the Native Americans was immortalized here. Most of the time, animals such as bighorn sheep or people are shown. It is very impressive how these signs have survived for so long.
Then we drive through the park. Many hiking trails and the associated parking lots are closed. The hikes are too dangerous. Only 2 short hikes are possible. We choose the 1km long circular trail with more murals and red sandstone formations. A hiker draws our attention to a pair of bighorn sheep. We watch them for a while and then walk back to the parking lot. Even a short hike is very strenuous. Afterwards we visit the visitor center and the children become junior park rangers. We fill out the brochure together and answer questions about the state park with its fauna and flora. This way you get to know the park in a completely different way and pay more attention to your surroundings. Shortly before leaving the park we walk a short way to Elephant Rock. As the name suggests, the rock looks like an elephant.

Now our journey takes us north to Zion National Park. We pass through 3 states, Nevada, Arizona and Utah, and it takes over 2 hours to reach the national park. We buy an annual pass for all national parks in the USA and visit the national park visitor center. We inquire about the weather conditions for tomorrow. We also start filling out the activity book for the Junior Ranger. Then we get the equipment we booked for our water hike tomorrow. A thunderstorm surprises us and it rains very heavily. What a pleasure after the heat of the last few days, because the cold rain is soothing. The streets quickly fill with water. The risk of a flood increases. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a campsite in the national park today, despite having prepared for 5 months beforehand. So we drive about 1 hour back to Sand Hollow State Park. We spend the night there. The park has a lake surrounded by fine red sand. Many people use the lake for boating and fishing. You can drive a buggy in the sand. Luckily, we can upgrade our spot and get electricity and water. Because it hasn't rained here and it's still over 40°C. We prepare our dinner and then jump into the lake. It's very refreshing. Now we make our preparations for tomorrow and then go to sleep.

Sorry, the pictures are simply not transmitted...