One could think of Zion National Park as being two parks actually: Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyons. Kolob Canyons was less crowded, quieter and, I dare say, less impressive than the Zion Canyon. The Kolob Canyons had a good 5 mile scenic drive from its entrance.
Striking was the red color of the road that matched the color of the cliffs. While the Kolob Canyons and cliffs were good, in retrospect, other places in Utah, and Zion Canyon itself had lot more to offer than Kolob Canyons.
In Zion Canyon area of the Zion National Park, we ambitiously attempted the Angels Landing hike. This was a world renown hike that promised magnificent vistas if one got to the summit. About two miles from the trailhead was a point called Scout Lookout. It was a well made hike path until Scout Lookout. While there were steep drops even until there, the path was fairly wide and safe
We all made it to the Scout Lookout savoring the views along the way. At Scout Lookout, there were great views of the canyon valleys.
The portion of the hike after Scout Lookout was not meant for everyone. The trail had extremely narrow portions with steep drops, and one needed to make ascent holding onto chains bolted to the trail path.
It was not meant for people with fear of heights. And, that included me. While I started off on the trail holding onto the chains, the fear of height and of falling off came right to me. I backed off. The ladies in our group including my wife and daughter were brave enough to go further. People who did reach the Angels landing summit were glad they did it, and their pictures were indeed astounding.
In the Zion Canyon, we then walked the narrows. Narrows was what they called the shallow Virgin river that flowed through the narrow gorges between the towering giant red walls of the Zion canyon. Virgin river was the main architect of the Zion canyon, and had been flowing and eroding the layers of rock over millions of years. Walking the narrows was an opportunity for us to experience a moment of the relentless geological action of the river over the ages, and also feel the mighty Zion Canyon walls up close and personal.
Honestly, I wish we had more time for the narrows than we did. While it is at least a half-day activity (if not a whole day activity), we merely had an hour to walk the narrows. Oh, well!