It was 7 years ago when my son I took a spring break trip to the American South-West. Specifically, we visited Nevada, Utah, and Arizona on a 10 day adventure that never stopped giving us amazingly beautiful scenery to photograph.
This story is about our adventure that we had in Zion National Park, on February 18, 2014. Specifically, we walked up the Virgin River past the last shuttle stop, into the narrows of the canyon.
If you don’t mind cold wet feet, water up to your arm pits, and the chance of flash floods at any time, it’s a wonderful adventure.
We had heard about Zion Canyon, as you went further up the Virgin River, that the canyon narrowed considerably and made for some amazing photography. So we went to a local adventure-outfitter company to get more information, and get geared up.
It turns out that you get a big walking stick, a dry suit, and rubber shoes, along with some good advice, warnings, and precautions!
This wasn’t my first time in Zion, but it was my first time in “winter”. I put winter in quotation marks because I hail from Northern Ontario and we normally get real winters! So besides being a little cooler than my previous visits, and lacking leaves on the deciduous trees, it was business as usual…. except perhaps for the temperature of the water — that was cold!
As we ventured farther and further into the canyon, the daylight was really played upon by the walls of the canyon.
We were not completely alone in the narrows. We met a few other intrepid explorers. They, like us, wondered what we, and they, had gotten ourselves into!
But the scenery, the rush of the river, and the sounds playing in the confines of the canyon conspired to make it all worthwhile!
The lighting changed at every bend, and turn in the river. It was so amazing to photograph.
The progress was slow-going. The river could be deep at times, and the current was always strong. We burned the shortened winter daylight hours quickly. Being caught after dark in this river was not an option and eventually we had to make the call to turn around so we could safely get back.
It was an adventure I will never forget!
The image below is my personal favourite from that day. It shows the adventure, the river, the narrows, and nicely sums up what was, for me at least, one awesome day with my son.
