Trip to Lake Powell: Getting There

11 March 1984

In early March, wanting a change from snow and cold weather, we headed south.  Our destination was Lake Powell, located within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  We took a roundabout way to get there, driving to St  George, in southern Utah, and cutting through Zion National Park.  This route added 80 miles (128 km) to our drive, but it was worth it to get a quick glimpse of one of the nation’s premier national parks.

We covered 880 miles (1408 km) on this trip.

After overnighting (I think) in St George, we dallied just long enough the next morning to take photographs of the first LDS (Mormon) temple that was built in Utah.  Constructed between 1869-1877, it cost $1,000,000.  I don't want to even try to calculate what that would be in current-day dollars, but the white-plastered building was stunning against the deep blue sky.  (Click here for more information.)

Zion National Park (ZNP) is the result of millions of years of upheaval and the erosive forces of wind, rain, frost, and the Virgin River, which combined to cut through the layers of Navajo sandstone.  The 2,000 feet (610 m) deep canyon is one of the spectacular features of the park.  Our first visit to ZNP, which was named Mukutuweap until the name was changed to Zion in 1918, was necessarily brief.  We drove in through the East Entrance and went out through the South Entrance.  We made a few stops along the way to enjoy the towering cliffs, but that was pretty much all that we had time to do.

TEMPLES AND TOWERS OF THE VIRGIN
(1) West Temple; (2) Sundial; (3) Altar of Sacrifice

“There is an eloquence to these forms which stirs the imagination with a
singular power, and kindles in the mind a glowing response … Nothing
can exceed the wondrous beauty of Zion Valley” — Clarence E. Dutton, 1882

Court of Patriarchs

Weeping Rock

Mud deposited in lowland streams millions of years ago was covered with
windblown sand.  Centuries of pressure squeezed the mud into thin shale
layers and the sand into thick sandstone.  Water passes easily through
sandstone but not shale.  The moisture soaks into the sandstone and when it reaches
the shale, it moves sideways to emerge onto the face of the cliff as a spring.

Hoodoos are eroded surfaces of Navajo sandstone.
The rock formation near the trees on the right is a hoodoo in the making.

the checkers (or biscuits) that groove the surface of Checkerboard Mesa
are formed by weathering of horizontal bedding planes and vertical cracks.

The quick drive through ZNP whetted our appetite for exploring the park.  Subsequent years found us returning to do just that.