No bighorn sheep again today in either Zolob or Zion Canyons.  We did see more pronghorn antelope as we crossed from Nevada into Utah yesterday, but otherwise no large wildlife have shown themselves.  This morning, after breakfasting on bacon and blueberry pancakes courtesy of Lizzie, we drove south toward Zion National Park, first stopping at the Zolob Canyon entrance, where the red rock canyons were dazzling.  The pictures do not do justice to the colors--especially the rich red hues, yellow streaks, and black rivulets of moisture cascading down through the red chasm sides.

At Zion, we decided to use the shuttle system, although during the winter/spring period you can get a permit to drive into the canyon in your private vehicle.  The shuttle came every 4 minutes today (Sunday) with 19 buses running up and down the canyon.  The parking lots were full and getting a parking space was a challenge, but we managed, and had our crackers-and-cheese lunch then boarded the shuttle to go all the way to the end of the road for walking along the Riverwalk trail.   This trail is slightly up through the Virgin River canyon, and is paved, suitable for wheelchairs and strollers.  At the end of the trail begins the Narrows trail, which is currently inaccessible due to high flows of the Virgin River.  You then reverse and walk the mile back out.

This is a popular and easy 2 mile walk, and there were plenty of tourists in addition to ourselves. Pictured below are Helen and Liz as they lean over the river to get a shot of the narrowing canyon walls:

We then boarded the shuttle to drop down the canyon to the Weeping Rock site.  Helen was tired and my knee was bothering me a bit, so Lizzie took the short 0.5 mile uphill walk (roundtrip) to the weeping rocks while we waited below and watched other tourists.  We then boarded the shuttle to return to the Visitor Center, only Helen somehow boarded the back compartment, and we lost her until we reached the visitor center, when we hoped dearly we would find her again.  We did.

A landslide has closed the highway to Bryce Canyon, so we are going to have to re-think this portion of our journey.  We probably will turn back into Nevada and go to Cathedral Rock State Park to see what is there.