As we left our campsite, we spotted three mule deer browsing for breakfast in the campground. They walked away when they saw us, but they didn't seem particularly concerned about us.
We took the free shuttle to the Weeping Rock Trailhead and did a fairly easy half mile walk up from the canyon floor to a place where water was dripping down through the sandstone. Apparently the water starts at the top of the cliff and over the course of very many years gradually makes its way down through the sandstone until it comes to rock which it can't penetrate. Then it leaks out and drops down to the earth below.
After this we also took a somewhat longer walk up the mountain. We got about halfway up before we were hiked out, but that was still far enough to get a great view of the canyon below as well as the huge rock formations all around us.
When we returned to our campsite, we were surprised and pleased to note that our tent was still standing in spite of the strong wind blowing, because someone had apparently seen it in a state of disrepair and firmly reanchored it so that it would remain standing. It may have been people from a neighboring campsite to whom I had loaned a hammer the previous day or perhaps a park ranger. We never did find out who the good Samaritan was.
At 5:00, after a short nap, we went on a guided hike to the second of three emerald pools with a park ranger. She was a woman in her early fifties who began by telling us how she had decided that she wanted to be a park ranger when she was in her forties. She first got herself hired as a shuttle driver and then for four years also did volunteer work in the park until finally they hired her as a ranger. Like most of the park ranger tours, this one was quite good, and she had obviously put a lot of work into preparing to lead this hike.
One of the most interesting things she told us had to do with the "tumbling tumbleweed" which breaks off from the root and then tumbles around dropping off its seeds along the way. First of all, it is not even a native plant but was brought here accidentally, probably on someone's clothing. We are a nation of immigrants - plants as well as people. Another story was about a woman who rented a big warehouse and then filled it with tumbleweeed, which she rents to movies requiring a western background or to individuals to decorate for a celebration of some sort. I suppose this is a variation on making lemonade out of lemons. We also saw a small snake along the path, which is the first snake we've seen on this trip.
In the evening we went to the lodge for an interesting slide presentation of scenery that is famous at other parks but can also be seen in Zion.
This is one of the most amazing places that I have ever visited.
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