Zion as Seen from Horseback

Brad and I woke up at 7 am to catch the shuttle that allows access to the upper reaches of the canyon. There is no driving allowed in a good portion of the park. I thought this to be a brilliant idea that other parks should adopt. Sure, it may be a bit annoying to take a shuttle. But they have a good system and there is never a long wait for a shuttle and it lessens our giant footprint on the park. The roads were less congested and there were not parking areas everywhere, only shuttle stops and trails. I am for mass transportation. Anyway we rode the shuttle to Zion Lodge and walked to the horse corrals. Brad and I were getting ready to be cowboys. We were soon assigned horses. To my delight Brad was assigned the horse I most liked to look at. She was white with random gray speckles. She had kind eyes and as we were waiting I found myself transfixed while looking at her. She was also very tall so her and Brad made a nice pair. Her name was H-b, which made me a little sad because it felt like her name was not personal. Maybe there is some hidden meaning behind the name. After the cowboy in chaps asked me a few questions he chuckled and assigned me to Hoosier. I got the immediate feeling that Hoosier was a beloved horse that did not always behave. Hoosier did what he wanted for the most part. But once I became stern he would immediately listen. I liked his personality very much. He was brown in color and although he was plain and simple looking he looked old and wise too. I was glad to have him because he had bangs. Most of the horses were shaved but not Hoosier. He had wild hair so we made a good pair in that regard.

This is Brad with H-b and Me with Hoosier -

We mounted our horses and the cowboy said to me that it is obvious that I had ridden before. Either I am naturally a cowgirl or those bits of riding from my childhood were safely stored in my brain and I was able to put them to good use. Either way it did not feel strange to sit on a horse and as I always have I loved it. Hoosier wanted to walk around for a while and it took me a minute to get him to stand still and we nearly got into a disagreement with a larger horse. We started to behave and stand still. Brad and I were placed at the back of the single file line. The cowboy said that the best were in the back. I am not sure if this is true or if we were just put back there. Regardless there was not a guide near us for the entire length of the ride. At first this made me uneasy because we did not know these horses and we are in no way seasoned riders. By the end of the ride Brad and I were happy to be in the back because it allowed us to pause for a while and then gallop up to the rest of the group. We each did this a few times and it was so much fun to trot on the horse rather than just walk. The walking was nice though. We were guided through the canyon and up a mountain ridge. This not only allowed us to view Zion on horseback like the early settlers did, but it also offered awesome views to some of the Zion Canyons peaks and famous views. The scenery was wonderful but the heat was pretty intense. It was so hot and I was wearing jeans in the over 100 degree weather because I wanted to be a cowgirl. When we were on top of the ridge and there were no trees to offer shade I felt as though I was going to melt right into the saddle. I could not help but sing the country song, "I should have been a cowboy." Luckily for everyone around I only sang it loud enough for Brad to hear. Not only was riding on this horse guide a neat way to get a glimpse of the life of a cowboy but also it was a awesome way to be a tourist of Zion. The entire trail we did not run into anyone else. This is pretty intense considering how many people visit Zion every year. Along the Wild West journey we discovered how a horse would say crazy. N-a-a-azy. You have to stutter the Naa like a horse and that is how a horse would call you crazy! We trotted along and we were both getting more comfortable atop our horses. The weather was beautiful and the sky was so blue. It was so blue that it looked more like a child’s colored picture than an actual sky. My favorite view that we trotted past was the patriarch peaks.

This view is of the three peaks which make up the Peaks of the Patriarchs. They are named Issac, Abraham and Jacob -

Rather than being startled and uncomfortable when our horses picked up the pace we were learning to control them and want and enjoy the trotting. I wanted the horse ride to last all day. I could ride all day around the canyon, but I would need a more comfortable saddle. Our saddles were hard and the ride was bumpy. The time came when the loop trail ended back at the corral. I was a little sad to see the cowgirl portion of the trip come to an end but already my bum was beginning to hurt so I knew it was probably for the best to dismount and travel the remainder of Zion on foot.