Zion Canyon National Park on E-bikes

 In the morning we went swimming in the pool that is part of the complex that the AirBnB is in. Two pools and two hot tubs and we were the only ones there for about an hour. Then we shopped for and packed a picnic lunch and headed for Zion Canyon National Park. The village just outside the park boundary is "a little Banff" according to Chris; lots of hotels, rentals, restaurants, outfitters and shops. I had forgotten my camera so the pictures in this blog post were taken by Mike, Aimee or myself on our phones.

Chris had organized an e-bike rental for all of us and after some initial "glitches" (involving getting baby seats put on the bikes)

we were ready to roll. Jason had Maya and Cigi behind him. Mike had Avery and River behind him. Chris, Aimee and I just had our own bikes.

For the first km we were riding through town, on a bike lane. Then we paid at the entrance and basically the park roads had bikes and buses on them. You had to park at the entrance and use the shuttle buses to get around. Those of us on bikes had to stop and let the buses go by, they had priority.

The road followed the Virgin River through the canyon. At the start there was quite a wide valley and plenty of vegetation. Jason and his passengers saw deer.

Although hot there was a breeze funneling between the steep cliffs on each side.

As we got farther into the park, the canyon narrowed

and there were steep cliffs on either side.

It was impossible to get a bad picture

every where we looked it was magnificent.

After about an hour we pulled in to a shady spot and had our picnic and filled up our water bottles. Hot and dry and we need to drink a lot. I tried a quick sketch.

Mike tried taking a picture over his shoulder and taking a video while riding.

We reached the end of the road and Aimee used the "selfie stick" to get our family portrait.

Chris, Maya and I sat on this log while Maya did some colouring and I painted

this pinnacle.

Mike, Aimee, River, Jason and Cigi took a short walk along a trail

beside the river. There had been trails to take at each of the places that the shuttle bus stopped along the road but we had wizzed by them on our bikes.

I had a slight mishap when stopping and getting off the road for a bus to pass. I hit the gravel and fell over. I wasn't hurt, but the bike was too heavy for me to lift while pinned by it. The bus stopped, 3 strapping young men jumped out and lifted both me and the bike upright. Put all my kit back in the basket and, once I assured them I was fine, carried on their way.

The ride back was equally stunning as you can see from River's response.

At one point we saw a Condor soaring high above the peaks. Not close enough to positively identify but it was a huge bird and they have been re-introduced and now thrive here.

A Wild Turkey near one of the washrooms and we saw a lizard while taking a break.

Lots of these yellow flowers were on shrubs in the wider part of the valley. No idea what they are but the bees certainly loved them.

I haven't sketched in a while and it showed. The one on the left at lunch time and the one on the right, the pinnacles at the end of the road.

It is an absolutely beautiful park and was quite busy today, a Sunday, some long lines waiting for the shuttle bus. Most people were hiking the trails and many of us were biking. We enjoyed the e-bikes, although you still had to peddle you could get the battery to assist as much or as little as you wanted.