Zion National Park

Just the drive into this park was enough to blow you away!

There is a tunnel constructed in 1930 which takes about 2 minutes to drive through, with no lights, ventilation, it has 6 large windows cut out where you can briefly glimpse the reddish Navajo sandstone cliffs, as you carefully proceed. It is cleared in each direction and approx 10 cars go through at a time - it seems they didn't factor in RVs and big rigs 80 years ago! BTW the tunnel fee is steep $15 (even after your national park fee) - they must be saving up to widen it.

 After securing a spot at the RV camp we boarded the shuttle and travelled the full 10k to the end of the Zion Canyon to start the light hike to The Narrows.

The Narrows.

 Our campground (another cheeky last minute booking) was in an amazing spot, surrounded by mountains, by the Virgin river and with a great pool.

And then we head off the Bryce Canyon - just up the road.

Olivia turns 6 in the US!!

Livvy celebrated her 6th Birthday at Lake Powell, Utah in the morning.... (check out the Rapunzel hair extensions!!)

......and the rest of the day in the Zion National Park. Followed by cake!!

Lake Powell, Utah

After the Grand Canyon, we set off for Lake Powell, Utah which we had heard is really nice - however, we didn't know much more than that.

This lake in fact has a really interesting history. The lake was the idea of Major John Powell after visiting the Glen Canyon area. It was created in 1963, after construction of the dam wall (pic below) - which apparently required concrete to be poured 24 hours a day for 3 years, nearly 10 millions tonnes in all - and took 17 years to fill to current levels, after diversions of the Colorado River were in place. The levels fluctuate around 30 to 50 feet from season to season and it is a spectacular playground for any water enthusiasts - like us! On a serious note, it is the "savings bank" of water for many of the surrounding states, and also California.

Anyway, we were blown away when we first entered the national park area, and then also by our RV site! It had a great view of the lake - and sunset.

The next morning even though it was around 42 degrees - we walked about 15 mins down to the water for a dip in the chilly water! It definitely felt like the desert

Later that day we took one of the boat tours to check out the canyons, which was very interested and visually exciting - we took hundreds of pics, but here are just a few.

Lake Powell has serious boat ramps too - 12 lanes I counted! - Everything is bigger in the US.

Then we snuck into the nearby Lake Powell Lodge for a dip in their pool - as it was still stinking hot!! The view from there were also amazing.