Las Vegas to Springdale

From Lake Mead Marina we got back onto Lakeshore Road and were on our way towards Springdale, UT. We bypassed the northern part of Las Vegas and were on I-15N. This was a long drive of more than 3 hours through arid land. The few trees that I remember seeing were date palm or cactus, or something that looked pretty similar. However the drive was not bad at all. The route was through huge rocky formations on either side which left us feeling not only speechless but also insignificant. These structures have stayed still and witnessed so much around them through the ages. After passing Mesquite our drive was through plains –I mean these rocky structures were at some great distance. This route was pretty much through the dessert and hence there weren't a lot of people staying outside the small satellite towns that we passed on our way. However once we crossed Beaver Dam we were in for something interesting –the road was leading us into a solid rocky hill. I could not see further, just that there was a slight bend at the far end, right at the point where the road vanished into the base of the hill; there wasn't any tunnel too. As I kept driving on I saw that what appeared as one solid wall from the distance were actually two hills with a narrow opening at their base… and we were being led there.

The road through the valley was about 8-10 miles long till we reached the other side. And on either sides each bend in the road brought a new huge structure to us. I couldn't drive fast and for once I wanted not to drive. The view was mesmerizing. We stared at these huge rocky hills as we passed one after the other. I wasn't aware that we would pass through a road like this and hence was not prepared to capture that via a video -however we tried and have a link to the drive through this patch between the hills. This was the highlight of our drive to Springdale. As we approached our destination we saw the mighty hills once again.

Springdale, is a pretty small town right next to Zion National Park. There are a handful of hotels, restaurants and groceries stores catering to the tourists who visit the National Park. I liked this small town because of its proximity to the hills. We could see them right out of our hotel window!

Over the next few days that we spent at Springdale, we trekked The Narrows, Angel’s landing via Scout’s lookout and the Upper and Lower Emerald Pool Trails.