The new lens and another great day of hiking


Weeping Rock
Went back to Zion National Park today to do some more hiking and to try out my new camera lens. Our intent was to hike to Weeping Rock and then to Hidden Canyon. Weeping Rock went well, easy hike and interesting to see this enormous rock face that is always went and constantly has water running down it. We started up the Hidden Canyon trail but it was vey icy so we changed courses and decided to take the Grotto trail to the Upper Emerald Pool trail. We knew we would see some of what we had hiked through on Tuesday but I didn’t have my camera and lens with me then (those photos were actually taken on my phone) so I was more than willing to repeat.

The last part of the trail to the Upper Emerald Pool gets a little steep, glad I had my hiking pole, these short legs sometimes need some help. At the pool we met a couple from Michigan that had brought along Santa hats. I took some photos of them with their hats nad they lent them to us for a photo. The photo didn’t turn out though. Dale has only ever used a point and shoot so he couldn’t quite figure out my camera and never seemed to get them in focus. Oh, well another time. The upper pool also has a waterfall into it and at the base has a huge pile of snow. We sat and enjoyed chatting with Dale and Laura from Michigan and ate our lunch. Now this is a great way to eat lunch, couldn’t ask for a better ambiance. Oh and the new lens is working great. It has such great range, I can take photos of people standing near me, I can go macro, and I can zoom in to get great shots (270mm). I am liking this lens!

Trail to the Emerald Pools
All together our hikes took about 3 hours but what a great day, it was overcast today but the temps were in the mid to high 50’s so perfect hiking weather. There are a few other hikes we would like to do here but we will see. If the weather continues to be warm and more of the snow and ice go we may go back and tackle Hidden Canyon and Angel’s Landing. They are more strenuous hikes so we’ll see if these old folks can handle it. 

We have several other places to go to. I think tomorrow we may check out Snow Canyon state park and next week we want to go up to the Kolob Canyon entrance to Zion and checkout the Parowan Petroglyphs. There is plenty to do here and of course we need to throw in  some days to do nothing, after all we are retired. 
View from the trail

Happy Trails......

Comments

  1. Along the Way with JnKDecember 9, 2010 at 11:57 PM

    Zion is such a gorgeous place and your photos are excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ThE MidLiFe CrUiSeRDecember 10, 2010 at 12:01 AM

    Those views are absolutely breathtaking!! I'm sad we missed going to Zion this year. Glad you guys are getting to explore that area! Can't wait to see where else you decide to go.


    Nellie
    http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com
    (36 year old fulltime RVer living la vida loca with a cute-butt husband and a stink-butt dog!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Karen and AlDecember 10, 2010 at 2:55 AM

    I'm glad your liking your new lens.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownDecember 10, 2010 at 5:47 AM

    Enjoyed your post today. Zion has been a favorite since I was a kid.

    ReplyDelete
  5. owensontheroadDecember 10, 2010 at 6:04 AM

    Terrific pictures. Enjoy that lens! Nothing better than a good zoom :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Travels with EmmaDecember 10, 2010 at 8:42 AM

    It's great that you are getting to do those trails in the off season. It makes it nicer to contemplate the beauty of the area. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Freely Living LifeDecember 12, 2010 at 7:31 AM

    Wow. Beautiful shots you have there! Glad to see you are enjoying and putting your new lens to good use. Looking forward to seeing more of your creative photos. {{hugs}}

    ReplyDelete

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