It's been four days in the southwest, but due to internet issues at the hotel last night, I wasn't able to post anything. It's too bad, too, because yesterday was pretty awesome. I know I've been using that word a lot lately, but it has been true more than it has been false.

Zion National Park has just been added to my personal list of beautiful places I have been.

Wednesday was one of the three hardest hikes our group had planned. We were headed for a place called Angel''s Landing, a cliff on which seven people have died in the last 20 years or so. I was excited and scared out of my mind.

The trip up was grueling. The temperature was near 100 degrees for most of the day, and the entire first half of the hike was uphill. We began with a wandering trail through the canyon floor. It quickly became a lot steeper, though. By the end of the trail we were walking up several switch backs along the trail (over 20 hairpin turns up the side of an almost sheer cliff).

The trail led first to Scout Lookout, a lookout point. the final half mile of the trail led to the tip of a mountain from which you could see a reportedly beautiful view of the Zion Canyon, which was carved out of the Utah sandstone over thousands of years by the Virgin River. I say reportedly because I didn't see this view - I''m afraid of heights. The final portion of the trail required hikers to hold onto chains and walk along narrow paths with thousand-foot drop-offs on either side.

I stayed back while the rest of my group went forward. Of those three, only two were brave enough to make it all the way to the end of the trail. They took pictures.

While I waited at the lookout, though, I left our bags and water bottles unattended in the shade so they wouldn't overheat in the sun. That was a bad move. I watched the precipice with my zoom lens, but a squirrel was in the shade breaking into my backpack and stealing my trail mix. He also ripped through the pocket of my friend's canteen and stole a granola bar wrapper.

The hike down was much easier.

On our way back to the park entrance, we stopped to register for a horse ride through the canyon - my first horseback riding experience - and set a time for 3:30 p.m. the next day (Thursday - today).

The rest of our plans for today were to take it easy by the hotel pool and rest in the air conditioned rooms before heading to the horseback riding. Unfortunately, though, we arrived at the horseback riding late. Also unfortunately, three people on the ride just before our group had suffered heat stroke and they had to cancel our ride anyway.

The rest of our afternoon ruined, we came back to St. George and ate some barbecue ribs. All in all it was a good day.

Tomorrow we're going to hike the Zion Narrows, the area of the canyon where the walls are 200 feet high and the canyon floor is too narrow for cars or other vehicles. For much of the hike, in fact, we'll be walking through the Virgin River. I'm waterproofing my camera and bringing it along, so you can come along, too.