Springdale, Utah, is a draconian parking lot disguised as a small town. Every business lot has stern signs enforcing time limits; every street curb is lined with spots; even the gravel pulloffs at the outskirts of town have parking meters. All these spots are filled. Zion’s interior lots fill up by nine in the morning, so countless Zion-goers pull in, pay for parking, and ride a shuttle bus into the park. Such was the scene when I arrived in Springdale, and since I enjoy paying for parking about as much as I enjoy someone else pumping my gas, I decided to wait it out.
I spent most of my time at the ultimate free parking location: the library. The Utah library system has impressed me so far. Some of the places I’ve been have neglected these community cornerstones, and I’ve even seen a few trailer libraries. Springdale’s was small but well-constructed, and I felt at home between the shelves, reading and writing and passing the time. William Least Heat-Moon wrote that in order for a town to be a true community, it must have a post office, a bar, and a stop light; I think it requires a library.
After lunch, I went outside to the park across the street. I kept at my books while a pair of blond ragamuffins shrieked and tumbled on the playground. The red cliffs of Utah stood proudly in the background. All in all, a pleasant afternoon.
Finally, at 5:30 pm, the park started letting cars in. I drove through the gates and past the visitor center—and found that the main chunk of the park is only accessible via shuttle bus. And the last one had left the visitor center at 5. Crikey. I stubbornly drove through as much of the park as I was legally allowed to experience, then returned to town to drown my frustration in hamburger.
I’m camped close to the entrance. The first shuttle leaves at 7 tomorrow morning. I will be up with the sun, get that free parking, and have a great day. I am speaking it into existence.
Not that it has the slightest pertinence, but…
There was an item on the local news channel tonight that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources has issued an URGENT plea to all visitors at state parks to PLEASE STOP jamming their telephone lines reporting sightings of Big Foot.
Honest.
Thought you might like to know.
It will give you something to look out for the next time you visit.
Jeff and I have been to Zion twice. It’s his favorite National park. The first time there were no restrictions on cars in the park. That’s how we traveled around and viewed all that there was to see. When we wanted to get out and walk, there was plenty of parking available. The second time the National Parks had begun to require that cars be parked outside of the park and used shuttle busses to take visitors around to see all of that beautiful scenery. You could get off the bus at any of the many stops and walk around and pick up another shuttle at another stop or at the one where you had exited the bus. I was surprised at how convenient and at how well it worked. This was an attempt to keep the air as clean as it could possibly be. Seems all the cars going inand out and driving around we’re causing a lot of air pollution. I hope you enjoyed it today when you went there. Looking forward to seeing you soon! Love, Grandma