We got up around 10 again &, after arranging for a late check-out, lounged on the beach & in the pools till noon, then showered & packed up & were on the road by 1pm--just in time for the hottest part of the day. We were headed for Zion Canyon National Park, up the 15 through Nevada & Arizona into Utah. First, though, we stopped at the NV Valley of Fire State Park (pictured above and at left, with Robert climbing around just outside a cave, Christina standing near petroglyphs, and the whole family (including Norman) in front of a Beehive Rock). Though supposedly named the Valley of Fire because of the very striking color of the red rocks, I think it was called that because it is the hottest place on earth. We drove through the scenic loop & walked up a staircase built against a giant rock to see some early Anasazi petroglyphs. Then we took half of a walk out to Mouse's Canyon--half, because I was enormously hot & thirsty & my face turned the color of the red rocks & stayed that way for several hours. We finished up the park by car, except for a brief stint inside a large cave by the side of the road, which was quite breezy & refreshing.

While driving through the heat outside of the park, we stopped for sustenance (fish & chips & a new strawberry banana limited time shake) at a Jack in the Box. Still exceedingly warm, we asked the cashier if she'd ever thought of moving to a cooler climate. ''Everyday,'' she said, & explained that she was really from West Virginia--we thought a long time, & couldn't decide which was worse.

We drove the rest of the way to Zion, crossing into Mountain Time, & checked into our motel in Springdale, 1 mile south of the park--basically in the canyon & as close as you can get. All around us are the canyon walls, & right behind the motel is a sheep farm with sheep & a sheep dog in the yard. The motel is the Bumbleberry Inn, which I found on the web & made reservations at before we left; it's only two short shuttle stops from the park entrance, has a small but serviceable room, & is cheaper than lots of hotels further away. The rooms have such basic amenities as a remote-controlled cable color TV (important when nothing in the 250-person town stays open past 9pm), phone, & decent air conditioning, but the bed was hard as a rock & the towels were pretty threadbare. Still, we were happy with our choice. After a quick dip in the pool, we hopped on the free shuttle to the park.

The park has been basically car-free since 1999, & the shuttle runs two different loops--around Springdale & around the interior of the park--all day. It's great--handy, & much better than being stuck in the typical National Park traffic jams while every moron stops to take a picture of a deer. As it was already getting dark, we just walked around the beautiful, brand-new visitors' center (a specially made energy-efficient building with a natural cooling tower that really works) & read the exhibits there.

Then we took the shuttle back to ''downtown Springdale'' & I laughed at Robert for saying earlier that there was no nightlife in the town, for there in front of us was all the nightlife I could desire--an open ice cream shop, with a half dozen or so people sitting at little tables on the porch & in the parking lot. It was a refreshing 85 or so at this point, but we were still a little on the warm & thirsty side, & I craved an ice cream soda. The menu listed a root beer float for $2.89 or an Italian soda, any flavor you like, for $1.25, or with a scoop of ice cream for $1.75. So, much to the bafflement of the ice cream girl, we ordered a hazelnut soda with a scoop of caramel caribou (caramel ribbon & chocolate-covered caramels) ice cream--excellent, & very refreshing. Then we went into a little grocery store & bought rye bread, Colby Jack, & summer sausage to make sandwiches for tomorrow, & went back to our hotel to watch the SciFi channel & go to bed. Pictured is one wing of our motel, with the Canyon behind it; the sheep field behind the other part of the motel, much closer to the red rock walls; and below, the view from the visitors' center of the canyon walls at dusk.