Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Day 1, Arrival & the magic of ZMR
Photo by Matthew Straub
Our first experience with Zion National Park came late at night when barely enough light shone on the magnificence as
Barb drove through the twisting switchbacks of Route 9. My head was hanging out of the window and my tongue was
hanging out of my mouth as we drove all the way through the park from the West Entrance through the East Entrance and
beyond to our destination, Zion Mountain Ranch. That was several years and several trips ago. This year I brought the thrill
of this spectacular piece of the planet together with my love of my son and the excitement of a good friend. Neither my son
Matt nor even my friend Ray in all his travels has ever visited this special spot of the Southwest, and I was delighted to be
their guide for a week-long romp on the slickrock and hoodoos.
With airlines canceling flights, crunching numbers and caring less about their customers, we found it best to drive a couple
of hours to Philadelphia, stay the night before and fly out early on a Tuesday morning. Whereas we used to take a direct
flight to Las Vegas and land at 10:26am, we were now routed through Dallas and landed around 2pm. As usual we got our
rental and immediately headed for the hills of Utah, about a 3-hour journey. One tradition we never fail to keep is a stop,
both coming and going, at the Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza about 35 miles north of the city. It's a great place to stock up on
our way in, and the food and service at their little lunch counter is great.
