Zion: The Call and The Narrows

One of the most memorable experiences I had at Zion was receiving the phone call from Glacier informing me that I was being offered the job. Now, normally, I can't stand seeing people talking on cell phones in national parks. In fact, I usually have to resist the urge to rip it out of their hands and throw it over the edge of the cliff. Seeing "that guy" blabbing away on his phone (it's never a woman doing this...it's always a man) when he should be enjoying his vacation is a source of constant irritation for me. So, you can imagine my disgust when I suddenly realized I had, at least temporarily, turned into "that guy". Not only that, but my father-in-law just happened to be ready with his camera to capture it.

Of course, the fact that this was an extremely important call that would ultimately reshape the course of Sonja and my lives, I think I can forgive myself for the temporary lapse in judgement. And, yes, this photo does actually capture the precise moment when I learned I got the job at Glacier. Pretty cool, huh?

So, after all the excitement of "the call" we all needed to go cool down in the Virgin River that flows through the heart of Zion Canyon. We headed up the Riverside Trail to the beginning of the Zion Narrows, one of the more famous and popular hiking spots in the park.

No one but Sonja and I had the guts to go wading upstream, though. So while Mom, Dad and Nick relaxed at the end of the foot trail, Sonja and I splashed our way up into the Narrows.

There were a lot of other people with us, so it wasn't the most tranquil experience, but it was a lot of fun. It also felt really nice to be partially submerged in 58 degree water while the sun was baking us overhead.

Next up: Angel's Landing and Antelope Canyon