Zion National Park 10.17.2020

If asked most Americans might say the best US national parks are Yosemite, Grand Canyon and of course, Yellowstone. . . The big three. We need to rethink things. And perhaps many have and maybe we just emerged from under a cabbage leaf. Maybe we have been sitting complacently in the south and southeast thinking we've seen much of the world and much of the USA. We became a bit enlightened yesterday with our visit to Bryce Canyon. It literally blew our socks off. And even though the canyon itself is enormous, covering 56 square miles, there are trails that allow strenuous ventures into and out from the canyon floor and others that wander around the major part of the rim. Small in comparison to the Grand Canyon which measures 1904 square miles, this park is so much more engaging. Ordinary people with ordinary fitness levels can become intimate with the hoodoos and climb peaks to look over vistas from east to west and from north to south with skies of the bluest blue.

Then we drove to Zion National Park. I literally do not know what to think! The 83 mile, one hour and forty minute drive is a visual playground. Lucky us, fall is in full bllom here. Pines are green, but aspens, sweet gums and cottonwoods presented themselves in yellow, gold, and red shimmering dresses.

In the charming little hamlet, Ordersville, Utah, we passed a stand where an old fashioned bake sale was being held. Then we saw several crude roadside stands selling apples. I just had to stop! We bought a bag of guaranteed organic apples from a man who said his orchard was growing right in back of his stand. He said he personally cares for his trees and waters them straight from the Virgin River that flows through this little town and through Zion Canyon. We bought a bag of four red delicious and four golden delicious apples. Although we only wanted a couple, he sells apples only by the bag for five dollars each. We handed over the fiver.

Not wanting to wait to wash them ourselves, I polished a couple of them with napkins until they shone. (They looked very clean to begin with.) Wow! Wow! An explosion of flavor, crisp and juicy! We immediately devoured a red one and then a gold one. Want to talk about delicious??