More summer fun, Part 4

Several years ago, Mark and I toured Zion National Park. At that time, we went to the places where all the usual hoards of tourists go - the south and the east areas of the park. Little did we know that there is a much smaller portion of the park, inaccessible by car from the more heavily-visited portion, that is tucked into the far northwest corner where few venture: the Kolob Canyons. And since our route to California last month led us right by the entrance to Kolob, we decided to explore. First stop - the Visitor's Center.
Everyone who knows me knows that I love cactus plants - and they were everywhere!
The scenery was breathtaking - but wait - I already said that about the Colorado National Monument a few posts ago. What a beautiful world God created - there are breathtaking sights all over the place!
To explore the Kolob Canyon, you just take a five-mile drive into the heart of the canyon, where the road dead-ends, and from there you can take a short hike to a wonderful viewpoint. You can also hike clear across the national park to the south east (most visited) portion. We later found out that David had hiked that very trail when on a backpacking trip years ago while he was a student at Corban. We were quite content, however, to just hike the shorter trail this day.
We were awestruck by the beauty and drama of the area. It was well worth the detour off the main highway.
Everywhere you look, there are massive red cliffs and narrow canyons.


At the end of the five-mile road, we parked and hiked a half mile to the lookout. It was well worth the time.
This beast of a rock was right in my way. Too tough to shove aside, however!
Some previous visitor(s) had made many rock formations by stacking lots of little rocks on top of one another. They almost looked like a group of curious rock-snowmen enjoying the view!
The sign said that in the view below, the furthest point on the horizon is the Grand Canyon. Cool!


Below is a short video clip of a panorama of the scenery. As we gazed around us, the only appropriate response was worship.

"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being." Rev. 4:11

Don't bother to turn up your sound - there is none. For beauty such as this, there are simply no words.