Wrapping Things Up in Zion (Sunday, May 20, 2012)

The past few days have been more laid back and we have doing stuff that Cutter can also enjoy.  This shot was taken Friday morning following Cutter's swim in the Virgin River - which flows just off our RV Park.  It includes a wonderful walk along the river and has become Cutter's favorite place while we are here.

After Cutter had dried off from his swim, we headed out for a drive.  Can you stand just one more picture of the fabulous mesas?  I asked one of the locals if you ever get used to the spectacular views...and she just shook her head 'no way.'

We ended up at a wonderful little park in Springdale - close by Zion National Park. We had picked up a quick lunch and decided to enjoy it sort of grazin' in the grass. It was wonderfully cool and relaxing.

While enjoying our lunch, we noticed a festival of some sort on the other side of the park.  The flute music floating across the way was so beautiful we decided to check it out.

Sure enough, it was the annual Zion Flute Festival featuring Native American flute makers and musicians.

This group's name is Painted Raven, and the combination of guitar and flute was amazing.  The background music is pre-recorded and the musicians add the main tunes with their instruments.  We enjoyed it so much that we sat in the shaded concert area and listened to various performers for most of the afternoon.

As with any festival, there are many booths with vendors selling their wares, along with lots of people to meet.  Wherever we go, Cutter is usually the main 'hit' in the meeting people department.  Cutter met a very special friend who was so 'lovey' with him that he actually started to 'talk' with her.  It was pretty funny!!  As far as festival purchases, I bought a beautiful necklace set made from dinosaur 'poop'....ha ha ha!  And Dick, of course, bought a flute.

This group of Native Navajo was one of the last  to perform on Friday.  In addition to flute musicians, there were also native dances performed.  They posed for pics following their performance.  The man far to the right was one of the actors in Dances With Wolves....I thought that was pretty cool; I love that movie!  I did not get his name, but will look for him next time I watch it on DVD.

Yesterday (Saturday), we did another round of 'low key' stuff with Cutter in tow....starting out with another scenic drive.  This 'sneaker tree' had captured our attention a few days before, so we finally pulled along the side of the road yesterday to 'snap' this local artistic attraction.  It sort of reminded us of 'Boo Boo Hill' in the Bahamas at the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park...there, sail boaters make signs with their boat name and hike up Boo Boo Hill to leave there 'mark' behind.  I am sure our 'Rusty Rudder' sign is long gone by now.  

Next, we headed back to Zion National Park.  There is one trail that permits dogs, so we thought we'd give it a try.  Here, we are entering Pa'Rus Trail for the 4 mile round-trip 'easy' hike.

Cutter was on a leash anytime there were other hikers or bikers present.  It was a great trail, but a bit warm in the upper 80's in full sun.  Not too much shade during mid-day.

Soooo...there were a number of places on the trail offering river access (north branch of the Virgin River) and guess who was eager to take a swim!!  The current was pretty strong, so Cutter did some hard paddlin' to stay in the general area.  It is pretty deep where he is swimming in the pic, but he did not have too far to go to get to the shallower rocky areas.

When he wasn't swimming, Cutter was enjoying the smells and chasing the many 'lizzies' that would race and scamper across the path.

There was so much to see along the trail - in addition to the fabulous 'mountain-scapes' and mesas in Zion.

I think it was still a bit early in the season to see any of the flowering plants in bloom, but we were able to catch some of the cactus just starting to flower. Many were full of buds, just getting ready to pop.  The colors we saw were mostly  pink or yellow.  It would be a pretty sight to see all of them in bloom....but, we will be gone by that time!  

Today (Sunday) was laundry, clean, complete projects, and catch up on email and computer stuff.  Tomorrow, we will head out early...leaving Zion and Utah behind.  We expect to reach Grand Junction, Colorado by dinner time tomorrow evening and will spend the next few days in that area.  Stay tuned for the next round of sights!