Why Go by Ground When You Can Fly?

July 6th, 2009

I typically think of July 4th as the official kick-off of summer-June gloom goes away and so does any lingering sentiments of spring. The temperature cranks up a notch and suddenly the sun is out from morning til evening- the endless days of summer.

To begin summer is true style, I was invited to fly by small plane to three national parks- Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon. I accepted without hesitation, and then wondered exactly where these parks were and what I would find there. Sadly, I have never been to a national park- not Yosemite, Sequoia, Yellowstone nor the infamous Grand Canyon. It begs to question why go half way around the world when there are so many beautiful places right here in the US?

We boarded our Moonie 94 at Mira Mesa municipal airport by throwing our bags in the luggage compartment and nestling in to the close but comfortable quarters of the plane. The lift off was quick and without incident and we quickly traversed the eastern desert region of California listening to the sounds track of "Garden State" and the Shins over the headphones, snapping photos of landscape and trying to identify landmarks like Mount Palomar and the Salton Sea. We previewed Bryce and Zion by passing them overhead and glimpsing the eroded cliffs and towers of iron-infused earth. A few thunderclouds kept us from getting to close and we touched down in a steady drizzle at the small airport of Cedar City, Utah where our rental car was waiting.

Off we went to take a spin around Zion. We did a short hike before the rain started coming down in heavy drops. A remarkable rainbow emerged. We rode the tram up to the end of the stops and back. It was narrated so we were able to plan our next day's adventure.

An early rise and we were off to Bryce National Park. You cant match the colors of the landscape at Bryce, nor the unusual passageways through the eroded soil. A short loop trail took us down to the valley floor where we could look up at the bright blue sky, puffy white clouds and brick-red hoo doos and odd rock formations. It was just a taste of what the region had to offer and I bought a Utah Mountain Biking Guide for more...

We had enough time to return to Zion for the Angel's Landing hike. If you only have a day or two, and not enough time to get into the Narrows, this hike is a must. It turned out to be the highlight of our time on the ground. We began smartly in the later afternoon where much of the trail was protected by shadows and cooler temperatures. Up and up and up you go...Until you think youre there, but wait, there is a long, much steeper trail clingy perilously to the cliffs. It isnt much of a trail at all in fact as you work your way up holding on to chains embedded into the rocks, stepping into divets in the stone, inching your way up higher, careful not to look down and the void the river has created all around you becomes more and more noticeable- the bottom of the river valley that much farther away.

I began to wonder if this was really something that the park could allow people to do. The sign said, "Falls from this trail have resulted in death." There isnt much maybe in that statement!

The view from the top was of course well worth the strain and labored breath. We spent a long time soaking up the sun from this height, and hoping that the thundering rain clouds would pass us by. We looked down on the tiny road of the tram and the river meandering its way down through the rocks, thousands of years in the making.

In the morning, we boarded the plane again did some fly-bys of Zion, Bryce and at last, the Grand Canyon. The view from the air shows the progression which you cant see as well close up, and time on land allows you to touch and feel everything around you. I may be a convert to personal plane travel as we were able to reach a relatively distant state in a couple of hours, no security check ins and no traffic, no roads, just as straight as the crow flies, liberated from the imposed restrictions of ground travel.