Utah,
Zion, perched mountains,
deep river
From route 12 towards Panguitch, take on the left route 89, the perfect bitumen of which soon turns almost purple.
Long laces now reveal high, conical mountains, the surface of which are covered with powerful tiled rocky scales like an armadillo shell.
Elsewhere the rock takes a woody appearance, or that of huge oysters that even the giant Atlas could not manage to open, even if he had the right knife.
Or it is streaked with very fine rock layers, at one point crossed by vertical erosion lines, the whole forming almost regular geometric figures.
A colossal and crispy puff pastry baked too quickly and which would not have risen.
Then the little mountains become a true mountain.
Short stop for vehicles in both directions : a quiet group of mouflons from here (or rather next door, since it is the Canadian mouflon) grazes in the surroundings, without fear of any of the visitors.
At "Mount Carmel Junction", we turn east on Route 9.
Further on, the road ends up taking a long and ancient tunnel carved into the rock, flush with the cliffs, to finally lead to other magnificent mountainous landscapes, and descend in laces towards a valley, that of the very long and thin river Virgin , in the Zion National Park.
The tunnel has only two lanes, one in each direction, separated by a small continuous central wall. Its modest size is such that vehicles such as camper vans can only access it on request ; it is then under the control of rangers who neutralize the tunnel between the ends to allow passage.
The Mount Carmel tunnel
This tunnel, named the Mount Carmel Tunnel has a history, that of works and efforts to pierce the red sandstone for almost 2 km, between 1920 and 1930, with the means of the time.
The idea was to open up the Zion Park region and access Bryce Canyon and the north side of the Grand Canyon from the west.
Because before the tunnel, the "Pine Creek Canyon" was from the west closed obliquely by the high vertical wall of the mountain.
It was decided to drill this tunnel inside the sandstone massif, parallel to the cliff a few meters away from it (see the dotted line in this 1930 plan).
In addition to the axial drilling, several windows on the cliff were drilled, which were then used to bring light, allow ventilation and pour into the void the rocky masses released by the drilling.
Sandstone, more friable than basalt for example, required to consolidate from time to time the tunnel with cement masonry.
Collapses interrupted traffic in 1958. Today it is controlled 24 hours a day.
"Popular Mechanics" from June 1930, page 927
East entrance to the tunnel
On the switchbacks from the west exit
To the Virgin River Valley and Zion National Park
At the bottom, route 9 follows downstream in a southerly direction the steep-sided valley of the Virgin River, into which the "Pine Creek" flows.
This long sloping valley widens at the level of the green village of Springdale (the valley of the source).
Note on route 89 by which we came a village called Glendale, whose etymology is "valley of valley".
Springdale is obviously focused on tourism.
But against the backdrop of the ocher mountains, it does not lack charm, in particular when certain shops are rather soberly adorned (performance !!) of western facings.
A statue to the glory of a rider taming a mustang sits alone, in the center of a huge empty parking lot, and a pizzeria disguises itself as a church, with its pointed bell tower devoid of cross.
The pleasant nonchalance of the late season. Sparse tourists.
You can't go up the valley upstream ("Zion Canyon Scenic Drive") otherwise than by shuttle.
The shuttles (a bus with two articulated wagons), the use of which is free, - again driven by seniors who are also guides -, leave from the vast Visitor Center, and go up the very winding valley to the north.
In the large car park (another lower one accommodates motorhomes), a lonely fallow deer (or an antelope?), suffering from alopecia areata, grazes between the bumpers, not even disturbed by approaching visitors.
Upstream, the valley of the Virgin narrows and gradually enters between high rock walls.
From the bus, the panorama is limited when you are neither at the front nor at the back : only open air vents in the ceiling of the bus allow to see fragments of the heights.
Sideways through the windows, the gaze collides with the walls, which are still quite close.
For example, it is impossible to savor the majesty of the intermediary site of the "Three Prophets" without getting out of the vehicle. The counted time does not allow to get off for taking the next shuttle.
Our goal : the site called "Temple of Sinawava".
Along the gorge, the high walls approach, vertical, between which the now peaceful river must sometimes become enraged when rainwater to force its passage.
upstream
downstream
After having covered more than a kilometer on a path built at the bottom of the balcony along the valley, a ford must be crossed to go further upstream towards "The narrows".
Only those who rented suitable shoes at the Visitor Center cross the stony river and go beyond. We ignored this possibility.
From there it will be enough for us to contemplate the high mountains in the gap of the river.
On the way back, a downpour that shines the rock faces takes us by surprise.
When the sun returns, a small squirrel (of a different variety than those in Bryce Canyon, here with a supplied tail) stands on its hind legs, tended towards our hand, insolently defying the ban for animals to beg for food from humans ($ 100 penalty).
But we will not denounce it.