Josh had so much fun yesterday I had to join him.  Zions National Park was today’s destination, the weather was beautiful all day.  Today was the last day of the shuttle running through the canyon so we hopped on the shuttle with our Junior Ranger books.  One for Josh and one for me.  The first stop after the Visitor’s Center was the Human History Museum, a good place for us to take stock of our JR requirements and watch the intro movie, there were no Ranger-led talks today.  Then we hopped the shuttle and drove through the majesty that is Zions.  It’s difficult to describe how high the ridges rise and tower above you in the narrow canyon carved by the Virgin River.  So many trails and stops available along the way.  The end of the shuttle is at Sinewava, where the canyon narrows, it is a great place to begin hiking and see the wonders that Zions offers.  I plan to do that on our next visit.

In addition to the cool canyon, there is a 1.1 mile long tunnel that was dug by the CCC back in the 30’s to allow travel to the other side of the Canyon.  The whole area is Navajo Sandstone, used to build many of the original buildings and rising hundreds of feet in the air.

As we neared the end of the day, we scrambled to complete our Junior Ranger badge requirements, our last stop was the Visitor’s Center that has been built eco-friendly.  We finished our last activity and went in to turn in our workbooks.  There had been sixteen different activities, our Ranger, Paul, reviewed our books and bestowed on us Zions Junior Ranger status, we were sworn in and given our patches.  As we were walking out, we realized that he had given us Desert Junior Ranger patches, not Zions ones, so we rushed back to the gift store and got the patches we earned.  Josh plans to put them on his fire suit someday.  I’m really proud of him, told him that when he gets 20 Junior Rangers, I’m going to get him a Super Junior Ranger badge.

For those of you that are thinking Junior Rangers is for kids, think again about how you visit a National Park.  It is far more interesting and educational when you have things to look for, challenges to meet.  It’s not just for kids, I’d recommend it for anyone.

In addition to the cool canyon, there is a 1.1 mile long tunnel that was dug by the CCC back in the 30’s to allow travel to the other side of the Canyon.  The whole area is Navajo Sandstone, used to build many of the original buildings and rising hundreds of feet in the air.

As we neared the end of the day, we scrambled to complete our Junior Ranger badge requirements, our last stop was the Visitor’s Center that has been built eco-friendly.  We finished our last activity and went in to turn in our workbooks.  There had been sixteen different activities, our Ranger, Paul, reviewed our books and bestowed on us Zions Junior Ranger status, we were sworn in and given our patches.  As we were walking out, we realized that he had given us Desert Junior Ranger patches, not Zions ones, so we rushed back to the gift store and got the patches we earned just as they closed up shop.  Josh plans to put them on his fire suit someday.  I’m really proud of him, told him that when he gets 20 Junior Rangers, I’m going to get him a Super Junior Ranger badge.

For those of you that are thinking Junior Rangers is for kids, think again about how you visit a National Park.  It is far more interesting and educational when you have things to look for, challenges to meet.  It’s not just for kids, I’d recommend it for anyone.  I’m counting this on my list of 50 new things to try.  I’m a Junior Ranger now.