Courting the Morning Sun

Driving to and from our campground, we have passed the La Verkin Overlook just off Route 9, wondering where it led and what one could see from it. Curiosity finally won.

A dust-producing, mile and a half drive to the overlook rewarded us with this view, looking west with the town of La Verkin, UT, below.

A couple of hiking trails connected with the overlook. Not far from the overlook was this large crevice with the red cliffs to the east. These mountains are outside Zion National Park.

Walking across the desert-like terrain, I was checking for snakes and other critters. I was looking for plants to photograph and came upon this scene.

Continuing our efforts to find good vantage points for sunrise photos, we took these two photos of the Court of the Patriarchs. Shown here (above) are the peaks Abraham and Isaac; Jacob is not shown.

In 1916 Frederick Vining Fisher, a Methodist minister, gave the religious names to the sandstone peaks. (Isaac is shown here.)

Instead of hiking to reach and photograph Jacob, we opted for photographing more cliffs with the sharp light of the morning sun.

We wondered if people living near Zion ever took the cliffs and their beauty for granted.

"Every day is something a bit different," was the usual type of response.

These last three photos were taken from overlooks as we drove the length of the scenic drive through Zion.