DAY 38 hit us early (relatively speaking) due to the amount of warmth of the sleeping quarters. Getting 6 hours sleep is a vast improvement on the 2 or so hours the night before. On our way to the multiple parks we were to hit for the day, we ended up stopping at the Navajo Bridge (another rich source of architecture and history) in the Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area. We then proceeded through the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. What a beautiful drive.

We made a stop at Pipe Spring National Monument and took a walk around the grounds and a short hike into the hills. This place was rich with history, some things not so great. You really learn the effects of changing environments when seeing things first hand. We could have spent more time there, but we needed to keep somewhat to a schedule. We were off to Zion National Park next.

The drive in held amazing views! We still had one more park on our agenda for the day, but we decided to alter plans a bit so we could take the shuttle through the canyon. I think it was a good choice. One really notices how small they are standing below the towering walls. We did forgo the movie so we could make it to a campsite before it got dark.

Our plan worked out well as we found perhaps the best campsite of the trip thus far, right before our next excursion. We were able to cook a meal and enjoy the night sky uninhibited by noise or light pollution. The quiet was so intense that when I heard a noise in the tree-line nearby, I wasn’t sure if it was a bear or mountain lion. What a relief when I shined the light in its direction to discover it was simply a deer. We settled in for what seemed would be a perfect night’s sleep.