When we rode the shuttle yesterday, we figured out that each shuttle can carry two bicycles, and also that the end of the road, 8 miles north, is at a slightly higher elevation than the Visitor Center. Ergo, we could put our bikes on a shuttle, ride it to the end, hop off and ride our bikes back, mostly coasting. So we did.

At the end of the road, we parked our bikes at the Temple of Sinawava and hiked a little ways toward The Narrows.

The Narrows is one of the most unusual hikes on the Colorado Plateau. Hiking is done largely in the Virgin River as, for a third of the route, the river runs canyon wall to canyon wall.

We didn’t go that far, but there were plenty of hikers on our shuttle who were geared up for the hike/wade/swim up into the sheer, vertical-walled canyon. We were told that hiking in the river is strenuous: the water is often murky, the bottom of the river is covered with round, basalt rocks about the size of bowling balls, and water levels can vary unpredictably – most hikers will wade at least waist-deep and many will swim a few short sections. Dangerous flash floods can of course occur, so hikers also have to keep an eye out for thunderstorms.

The morning was cool and crisp, so we bundled up a bit and then off we went. It was so fabulous! Best bike ride ever!

At bike speeds we were able to see all the beautiful formations so clearly,

and to stop and spend time looking at anything we wanted to.

Because only park vehicles are allowed on this road, we were alone for almost the whole ride, and at an elevation of only around 5,000 feet (compared with the 7-9,000 feet we’ve lived at for the past several weeks), we felt as though we were flying.

We stopped again at the lodge and sat outside for a while with a cup of coffee and a muffin, soaking in the view.

After we got back to the Visitor Center, we put the bikes on the car and drove back up the switchback road that we came in on Tuesday, stopped in places and took photos. We’ve been having fun with taking series of pictures and then “stitching” them into panoramas:

We could see the ventilation/ view port in the tunnel from the outside,

and then we drove through the tunnel again and saw the view from inside:

There is so much to do at Zion! We’re already thinking about coming back here again and spending a week, on a future trip we’re planning to New Mexico.