When I pulled into the visitor center lot at Zion a couple of weeks ago, there were 3–three–cars in the parking lot besides my own.  If you’ve been there during the high season, you know that’s unheard of; unless you’re there at 5am, you are not getting a parking spot at the visitor center!  The solitude that comes during winter in Zion is pretty amazing.  In the canyon, there are birds everywhere–spotted towhees, dippers along the river, etc–and driving into the east side of the park, you stand a good chance of seeing desert bighorn sheep.

Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), Zion National Park, January 2010

We saw several bighorns between the tunnel and the park’s east entrance, and I do not know if I’ve ever seen one there in the summer.  Perhaps they spend the hot summer months at higher elevations, but regardless, it was a real treat to see these sheep.

There’s no question desert bighorns are true rock climbing masters; their hooves stick to the sandstone very well.  Amazingly, there is another group of specially adapted rock climbers that is often seen in Zion.  Driving up the canyon, admiring the Virgin River, we ran across a group of these climbers.

Climber on Moonlight Buttress, Zion National Park, January 2010

Zion is a practically a Mecca for rock climbers.  While I’ve always thought it would be very cool to tackle a rock wall like this, I have never gotten into this kind of climbing.  I’ll leave it to the pros!

To see all of my Zion National Park images click here.  My desert bighorn sheep images (from both Zion and Joshua Tree National Park) can be found here.