Zion Adventures

I feel like eventually travel bug hits everybody a little bit, and having a bit of time off to myself from working on a factory boat up north, I found it caught me rather strong this season and it only took one of those pretty pictures of Zion somewhere online to convince me that a plein air expedition was in order :-)

I was a touch saddle sore after that ride

So nearly 500 miles from San Diego later I found myself ascending the East Rim of Zion surrounded by some of the most beautiful and expansive terrain I've ever seen.

Just a bit above the trail head

I'm sure there are words to do all that came before my eyes justice, but without descovering them, I'd rather only offer up praise to God for the incredible things given in nature for which we've been opportuned to experience :-)

Protip: avoid even a slight incline when setting up your tent :-P

Once I reached the top, I looked about some, took picture and set up camp for the night. Morning greeted me with the new found knowledge that I had been the only camper up on the ridge that evening and I was free to find the best spot I could to sit for some plein air painting.

My simple painting setup cliffside 

I tried to choose a discreet place to the side of the photo-op spots while still having as best a view as I could, and was shielded from too much attention by being just a bit below the main cliff area. Here and there I was afforded the opportunity to chat with curious onlookers, which I found to be a most welcomed experience as I was on a solo trip, and a few people even offered to snap a picture for me :-)

Pre-painting sketch

Observation Point in Zion

Simply marvelous

As it turns out, while my goal was to paint some plein air pieces, nothing I did turned out, and only later did I put anything to paper worth sharing :-P I suppose it's good to remember not every attempt will be a resounding success! However, it was still a trip of a lifetime and I wouldn't trade it for what would've been a home stay otherwise :-)