On Friday, August 27, I arrived in Zion Canyon at about 2:00. After driving around the Grotto Picnic Area parking lot for about ten minutes, I finally squeezed the car into a little parking spot and managed to scrape the bumper on a rock that I didn't see. Great start! It'll be nice when the shuttle program begins and parking is no longer a problem in Zion Canyon.

I then proceeded up the Angels Landing hiking trail. It is very steep and I was glad I had taken a couple of short evening hikes last week to prepare for it. Believe it or not, the trail is paved for the first two miles with concrete, asphalt and a combination of both, looking like it was done a little at a time over the course of many years. If you had a wheel chair with a big engine, you could almost take it up this path, but it is very steep with lots of switchbacks. The paving wasn't done to provide access for people with disabilities so I can't understand the need for it.

...continued on next page