Zion National Park in a Word: Majestic

It’s no secret that I love to travel, primarily for the educational aspects, and with some attention to relaxation as well. I enjoy everything about the travel process beginning with mapping out the trip agenda. I’ve learned that a plan infused with some level of flexibility allows for the best outcome. My research sometimes includes a component of personal interview. I’ve found that destination travel on personal recommendations has saved me time and money thereby maximizing the benefits of the overall experience. Enough on my desire for efficiency though. Another thing I love is my morning coffee. This morning, with my coffee, I revisited Zion National Park.

My Utah mug.

We traveled to southern Utah in early June, 2004 where we chose log cabin accommodations at The Zion Ponderosa – an 8000-acre ranch bordering on Zion National Park. This was a fully equipped, plumbed, and heated cabin –fairly luxurious in my "cabin" experience.  

Abi on the porch. She had her own key and loved the freedom  and independence extended to her.

Abi (glam-lipped) choosing some rocks from the General  Store.

Meals at The Ponderosa are served country/family-style in a community dining room where tables covered in red-checkered vinyl cloths are shared among those passing through. There is no scarcity of freshly prepared food at The Ponderosa, and no one leaves the table hungry.  

Cowboy Bill

We had at least one meal a day with Cowboy Bill, longtime rancher on The Ponderosa.  Cowboy Bill made sure that Abi got a chance to interact with all of the ranch animals; dogs, rabbits, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, and horses. He also led the evening, hour-long trail ride that took us throughout the grounds and into the woods through shallow creeks and back to civilization.

Abi, second in command, on the trail ride.

We spent a good bit of time driving through Zion National Park, stopping along the way to fully embrace the magnitude of the scenery – a landscape that reminds me that we are but a speck in the grand scheme of nature. To take it all in-- the geology-- is overwhelming. Gigantic red rock sculpted into walls that channel sunlight down, way down to smooth floors and shallow water. More of the same red rock whittled over hundreds of years into arched crevices – windows to nothing but blue sky. Standing amid this mastery of Mother Nature is, in a word, majestic. Go ahead, and take a look at a few photos taken with a cheap camera.

Now, I rarely complete a trip without locating a couple of things that I can carry home to serve as a reminder of my wonderful travel experience. For me, that nearly always includes a coffee mug. I begin scoping them out upon my arrival, and by the time I’m ready to leave, I am sure to grab the one that speaks the loudest of my overall experience. In fact, I can say without hesitation that my coffee mug collection from my travels has probably brought me more day-to-day joy than any other of my possessions because I drink from one every single morning.  

It’s an eclectic collection with no common theme, and with more than a few chips among them attesting to how I’ve incorporated the coffee mugs into my daily life along with the thoughts, feelings, and images they resonate.