When we first entered Zion National Park, Kasper turned to me and asked: "How did we end up in Jurassic Park?" And as sure it is, the red cliffs of Zion canyon looked exactly like the scenery from the Lost World. 
Zion National Park is a magical place, where everything takes life from the Virgin River's scarce desert waters. Water flows, and solid rock melts into cliffs and towers. Zion's diverse topography has lead to the park's high biodiversity - apparently there are more than 1,000 plant species and 300 animal species in the park. We have seen some bighorn sheep, mule deer, chipmunks, squirrels, eagles and my favorite: a tarantula - it may sound scary, but this hairy creature was actually pretty cute and relaxed.
We stayed in Springdale, which is a surprisingly well-organized tourist town inside the park. The town has good and reasonably priced hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and a free shuttle service. This made it very easy for us to get the most out of the one full day, we had in the park.
In the morning we started in the park's visitor center, where we got some useful information about the mountain-view trails, which of course are the most fun to do when visiting the park. Angels Landing is the most famous and thrilling trail of them all, so we had to check it out. Starting at the Virgin River, the hike to Angels Landing follows the West Rim Trail up and out of the west side of the main canyon.
Angels Landing is a unique fin-like mountain formation that is in the center of the main canyon. The trail follows the narrow spine to the final viewpoint roughly 450m above the canyon floor. This last part of the trail is very steep and dangerous, therefore chains to grip are provided here. Since 2004 six people has died on this trail, which is not recommended for anybody with a fear of heights.
As you can see this last part of the trail was very crowded and steep, so of course I have chickened out, but not Kasper, his mind was set on conquering the summit of Angels Landing. So he continued and took these pictures on his way up to the top.
While Kasper was climbing along the narrow fin with dizzying drop-offs on both side, I was warming this particular stone up real good.
I can admit it now, I was not at all happy about that.
When Kasper finally came back from the summit, I asked him to tell what he had seen. He was convinced that Angels Landing and my clumsiness would not have been a good match. Well, he talked from experience, so I believed him.
After Angels Landing we continued on the West Rim trail, where we got a 360 degree view of the canyon. Actually the West Rim trail is higher in elevation than Angels Landing, but not as scary, therefore, it is not as popular among visitors. It was lucky for us, because we could have the trail almost all to ourselves.
We were not that lucky with the weather on our visit, it was cloudy all day, but just as we were about to leave the park, the sun managed to burn through the clouds and the sandstone formations were glowing in beautiful red and orange colors. It was sunset, so the mirage only lasted a couple of minutes, but it was breathtaking. 
Zion National is another wonderful place, we have visited in Utah. To be honest it is very difficult to choose our favorite from the 3 parks in this sun-drenched state, they all worth a visit and are beautiful in their own way. Should you find yourself in Utah one day, please do yourself a favor and visit all 3 parks; they are gorgeous.
