With a long day ahead of us we set off early to collect our rental car. We drove north for a few hours out of Nevada, through Arizona and on to the Zion National Park in Utah. A stunning canyon lies at the heart of the park with towering red walls and wonderful rock formations. We took the shuttle bus deep into the canyon where we walked a section of the famous Narrows hike - an upstream walk through the Virgin river which fills the base of the canyon between it's increasingly narrow walls.
Next we stopped to look at the Weeping Wall where water permeates through the canyon wall and tarantulas guard the pathway back to the shuttle bus! Our final stop in the canyon was at the Court of the Patriarch - three rock structures of biblical proportion which at 2000m tower above the canyon floor.

Our drive away from the canyon weaves around the sandstone mountains and through an impressively long tunnel all of which looked stunning which the dusky red hue of the fast approaching night. We stopped in a smal town of Kanab for a quick bite to eat at a truly authentic American cafe where it was difficult to tell whether the pistol hanging from the waitresses side was for fancy dress or to deter non-payers! The final stretch of our drive took us along the north rim of the grand canyon. Well we think it did but by now it was pitch black so we will have to wait until tomorrow to uncover the witness the beauty of this natural wonder.