Southern Utah Escapade

I just thought I needed the weekend to do some photography outside Salt Lake Valley. I was hoping to capture the fall colors in Southern Utah with the Sand Cliffs at Zion National Park in Springdale, UT. It’s not quite Fall in Southern Utah but the park was, regardless, stunning.  It was my first time and didn’t know what to expect other than what I learned online. Scroll drown for the Courts of the Patriarchs photos.

Value without the E

I planned this to be a photography escapade with hubby and didn’t want to spend much on lodging.  And, we got what we wished for and what we paid for. It occurred to me as we drove into the driveway that the Inn’s name was actually not misspelled. The signage confirmed it to be the – Valu Inn. They left the e out for its value, I guess. Pun intended. I thought the reviews were just exaggeration so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. It was benefit-of- the- doubt OK because the Absolutely-No-Refund sign at the concierge compelled us to be a good sport for a couple of nights. The concierge, by the way, seemed to have not been updated since the 50s or something.

First thing I did was to check the sheets.

Good move. There were spots of pet hair on the sheets. A young man on a loose, sleeveless shirt, saggy pants, tattoo all over his arm, no-deodorant- on came to change them. He did a great job but he left his no-deodorant scent behind, unfortunately. Since Wal-Mart was just close by, we gave the room sprits of air freshener with disinfectant and kept a wax warmer on for some kiwi-sugar-plum aroma. It made a big difference and not to mention, it's cheaper than not getting a refund and paying for a new hotel.   

We made it work and we had a good laugh on our being cheap.

We just wanted a good night’s rest so we could capture the sunrise at the Court of the Patriarchs at Zion National Park.

Time to Reminisce

The night was young and I promised a friend a visit. I normally don’t hang out but hubby and I had fun visiting an old friend, one of the missionaries who once shared the gospel with our family back in the Philippines. Meeting his family was a treat and reminiscing the good old days and remembering common friends were quite fun. I even saw my pictures back in my Young Women’s days, including my entry on his BR, Book of Remembrance. It was customary back then for missionaries to have ward members sign their journal or Book of Remember. This is so much fun to read what I wrote back when I was 16 …

BR entry. This is fun to relive. Look at the hat!

With former Elder Jenkins, 20 years later, with his beautiful wife. How great is this? Cellphone captured.

I had my siblings entries there as well and lots of fun good-old-timers' photos.

some 20 years ago!

We said we our goodbyes a few times but our chitchat just could not end. Just fun, fun, fun evening.

After the Sunrise

We left the Inn 5:45am, hoping to greet sunrise at 7am.  It was pitch black when we left but the light rose up so quickly. We came at the park 7am. From the National Park’s main entrance, the Court was the third stop. The skies were already showing its disparity from the puffy white clouds. The weather was spectacular and the colors were nevertheless beautiful. The light at 7:30 was just perfect to capture the contrast of reddish hue of the Sand Cliff against the blue skies. 

From the Trail view, we crossed the road down to the Sandbend trail to get to the waterfalls. We had a find our way to find the safest way to cross the river and to get a good angle of the waterfalls. 

I did multiple exposures to capture the river, the foliage, the peak and the blue skies as I planned to stitch three exposures in HDR.This what I came up with:

from the "falls" between 7 and 8am

from the sandbend trail across the Virgin River, between 9 and 10am

After this shot, I realize my limbs were trembling. Crossing the current with my backpack and tripod took its toll. Hubby was watching me the whole time while crossing the river, coaching me which rock to step on to ensure stability. I felt so cared for. Awww. Until he yelled, “That way, you don’t want to drop your camera!” It’s the camera, of course! 

Zion’s River Walk

This is the easiest hike at the park. The paved trail follows the Virgin River from Temple of Sinawava up to the mouth of the Narrows, under hanging gardens, past pools, brooklets and towering cliffs and accessible to strollers and wheelchair. The scene was just beautiful!

 

Weeping Rock

The Virgin River

 We left the Park around 1pm. Did I mention that Rangers were kind to let us in without charging us? We thought we were supposed to pay at the exit but no one was there. We could not complain. 

Southern Utah is beautiful! We’ll be back next time and perhaps camp at the ground to catch the sunrise.

breakfast at The All American Diner

We left stuffed. The All American Diner serves real American pancakes! As the server said, "Yeah, this is your plate and we don't mess around with our pancakes!" Indeed!