I returned to the campground... to two screaming kids and a crying baby in the next site. The wind was also quite fierce. So I decided to walk to the visitor center to ask about weather conditions tomorrow for hiking the Narrows.

The wind whips up a small dust storm.

No flash floods... that's what I needed to know!

Outside the center were rows and rows of informative signs about the canyon and surrounding areas. The signs continued down a small path alongside the river.

Despite the visitor center's large size, no fossil fuels are used to heat or cool it.

Instead it relies on passive solar by means of a south-facing "trombe" wall which catches and releases the sun's heat. The towers cool the center in the summer as dry desert air blows across water-soaked baffles in their tops.

A model of the canyon

Here's the end of the road, where I plan to being my hike tomorrow.

Photo of Zion Canyon

Map from the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante expedition. They passed within 20 miles of here.

Kaibab Paiutes, circa 1904. Their name for Zion was Oawingwa (meaning a place where the stream flows).

Ouch!

Blue Grama grass is long-lived and very tolerant of drought, heat, cold and most soil types.

The Desert Spiny Lizard eats a variety of things... ants, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, other lizards and even some plant material.

Hey! I've been warned about you!

I was going to do another nearby trail but couldn't find it. That probably wasn't such a bad thing since my feet were somewhat sore and could use the rest. I returned to the tent and went to bed early... or at least tried to since the kids were still screaming and crying.