Zion - the hanging gardens

The day after Bryce we tumbled our sore muscles out of bed, stepped back in to our dusty hiking boots and headed for Zion. The road north took us through the mountainous landscape around Zion, completely and surprisingly different from Bryce.

The cliff sides where sheer, somewhere in sharp layers and somewhere in odd swirls and the curving and steep mountain road was a series of deadly accidents waiting to happen!




We arrived at the visitors center and parked the car, since all traffic through the park was limited to park shuttles. After a while of gazing out of shuttle windows we came to our first hike starting point. This was a short and relatively easy hike to a beautiful cliff side and gentle waterfall.

Cool drops were trickling down the entire cliff surface, dazzling in the sharp light. I was wonderfully cooling which was much needed, since the day was brutally hot and the sun seemed to beat down on me much harder than it had in Bryce.

There was a cool and shadowy space, beneath an outcrop in the cliff side. We sat there for a while, looking at the drops sparkeling down in front and the beautiful valley we had just walked along.


The sheer cliffs where adorned in patches with brush and little trees, and these are referred to as the hanging gardens of Zion. This we found out, has to do with layers of chalk in the mountains, and the way this effected the water flow. Even though the heat was murderous and the climate generally dry, there were broad strips of swamp plants, ferns, flowers and trees, because of the water running off the mountains and gathering in these patches.

It was really quite lovely.