Hairy Fellow

We tried Zion National Park again today. We got up early. Evidently, you must have to reset your Amazon Echo for a new time zone because the alarm (Beethoven's ninth) went off at 6 instead of 7. This would not have been an issue a week ago when my body was on Central time, but I adapt quickly and it was a bit too early to take on the heat of southern Utah.

You don't bring your Amazon Echo with you when you go camping? How do you get the morning news and time the meal in the magic pot or whatever that cooking gadget is called?

Anyway, we got to the park early enough to find a spot to park the car and take the shuttle. It was close and we were in the final third of the last parking lot with space. Maybe the Echo knew something we did not anticipate. That Amazon guy who is so rich is pretty bright.

We got in a couple of hikes about 5 miles in all. Pretty good for an old guy. We finally saw some wildlife. We each spotted one deer. This is about our average for driving out of our Wisconsin cabin driveway, but it is hot here and the larger animals must be hiding during the day.

We did see this fellow.

You have to look closely because these spiders camouflage themselves so well against a background of brown leaves and sticks. The image could have been better, but you can hopefully pick out the spider. This was the first tarantula I have ever seen in the wild. So this spider was a much better find than the deer which I must usually avoid rather than search out. On second thought, I would also avoid close encounters with a tarantula.  

Zion is kind of the opposite of Arches. With Arches you are mostly looking down into the result of millions of years of erosion that has cut out unusual structures such as the arches and hoodoos and spectacular canyons. With Zion, you are at the bottom of the canyon mostly looking up. Great hiking in Zion, better photos in Arches. This picture was taken just as the sun rose over the top of the canyon causing the bit of flair you see.