October 31, 2015

It was a peaceful night sleeping beside the Virgin River.  Today, I was up early and heading to one of the classic sunrise locations – East Canyon Overlook.  Later in the day would see me spend a great afternoon at Kolob Canyons.

I was the first in the campground to awaken and I was on the road to East Canyon by 6:30AM.  As planned, I arrived at the trailhead while it was still dark, and had just a tad of trouble finding it.  One I found it, it was a quick 1/2 mile up to the overlook.  The morning was still near pitch black and I was thankful to have my headlamp.

I lingered at the overlook for about 90 minutes before getting impatient not knowing how much the light might change, but sensing that any future change would be of the overly harsh and bright variety.  Again, no clouds to keep it interesting.  I was the third person to the top, and about six more joined.  I sat and enjoyed the view, and of course took pictures along the way.  I still need to figure out how to better forget the camera and just enjoy the moment.

On the way back down, this not so fond of heights person saw what the headlamp did not reveal on the way up.  Nothing extreme, and there were railings in the iffiest sections.  These shots are on the way down.

Next, it was on to a late breakfast at the Spotted Dog Café, where I struggled with what to do next.  I was not ready to commit the day to bus ride into the canyon, and as I would be doing that on Day 3, I decided to check out the much less visited Kolob Canyons part of the park.  I am very happy that I did.

At the end of the drive into Kolob Canyons, there is a short but scenic one mile trail up to a lookout.  The Timber Creek Overlook Trail led up to a quiet oasis of distant vistas and impressive rock formations.  I had the place to myself, and did my best to just sit and enjoy a few hours alone, reading some and taking photos as well.

The arrival of a large family with small kids coincided with my urge to move on and so I did.  From there, I meandered back to my campsite in Springdale enjoying the warm weather and top down views along the way.  After cleaning up, it was on to dinner and the market for the next days provisions before another night beside the river.