Majestic and mystical -- these are the terms that have been used to describe Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks in southern Utah. No words could describe these parks any finer. Zion is so majestic, looking up from the canyon floor at the rugged sandstone monoliths, and Bryce Canyon's eerie and mystical hoodoos hover below the rim, providing their vivid ruggedness.

America is truly blessed to have such beautiful, natural wonders as Zion and Bryce Canyon. Visitors to these parks always exclaim this beauty as breathtaking and beyond imagination.

In October, 12 people from Orangeburg or with Orangeburg connections traveled to experience the sensational beauty of Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks. Everyone was in total agreement with the breathtaking beauty they experienced. The group, colloquially known as "Atkinson's Expeditions," has set out over the past 11 years to visit as many national parks as possible -- to see firsthand the beautiful, natural scenery that exists across the United States.

Zion National Park

After an entire day of traveling by plane and rental vans, our group arrived at picturesque Zion National Park. As usual, we always try to stay in the historic lodges at all the national parks we visit. However, the lodge at Zion was different. Here, the main lodge consists only of a lobby, restaurant, snack bar, gift shop and auditorium. All the rooms are in two rustic motel-type buildings and log cabins in the adjacent areas. Upon our arrival, just before sunset, we were greeted by a small herd of mule deer grazing on the expansive front lawn of the lodge, oblivious to all the human traffic walking around nearby.

The next day, Saturday, the weather was somewhat trying. A storm front was moving in, bringing intermittent misty rain and soft snow flurries that melted before hitting the ground. Thus, we changed our plans for a major hike and instead went on the Zion shuttle -- propane-powered buses -- to all the scenic stops along the six-mile canyon floor to get the lay of the land. At the end of the line, we got out at the beautiful Temple of Sinewava and hiked along the Virgin River for one mile to the beginning of the Zion Narrows. The Narrows is where the canyon walls close in to form a slot canyon that ranges from several hundred feet wide down to 22 feet at the narrowest area, with the walls more than 1,500 feet high. This slot canyon was formed by powerful erosive forces of the north fork of the Virgin River over millions of years in geologic time.

Because the temperature stayed in the middle-40s all day, with the misty rain and snow flurries, several of our group chose to go on a shorter hike to the Emerald Pools later that afternoon.

On Sunday, expedition members went on the most awesome hike in Zion National Park -- the trail to Angel's Landing -- aptly named because of its lofty access and

remoteness, suggesting only angels would be there. It was a two-mile hike with a 1,050-foot elevation gain to get to Scout Lookout, a relatively flat landing area before the final steep and rocky ascent to Angel's Landing. That last half-mile would ascend another 500 feet over some of the most harrowing trail anyone could imagine. It consisted of hiking up narrow, uneven rocky ledges and holding onto chains embedded into the rocks with 1,500- to 2,000-foot vertical drop-offs.

All of us were in agreement that this last leg was not in our cards, save Curt Campbell, who displays no fear of heights or steep drop-offs. He ascended the rugged, hair-raising final trek with his usual fearless expeditionary skills. The view from the top of this lofty perch was astounding -- 360-degree views of the entire canyon floor below. Another member of our group, Bonnie Journey, was able to make it halfway before her inner spirit said that that was enough.

While the rest of us waited at Scout Lookout, we met a couple from Gaffney, S.C. During the course of our conversation, we discovered that the wife knew one of my daughters. What an amazing coincidence! Also, while there, we met a young man who had just graduated from Georgia Tech and was on a three-month sojourn to experience nearly all of the national parks across America. Needless to say, we "adopted" him, and he stayed with us for the next five days on the remainder of our adventures and meals.

On Monday, we tackled the infamous Zion Narrows hike. To do so required hiking up the Virgin River, which averaged 20 to 30 feet in width, with the water ranging from ankle to mid-thigh in depth. We rented the appropriate equipment from an outfitter in town: sturdy, waterproof boots with sticky soles; 5-millimeter-thick neoprene socks; dry pants; and a sturdy wooden hiking staff. The water temperature was 54 degrees as we gently hurdled over the ubiquitous rocks throughout the river. Occasional sandbars and shores provided welcome relief from walking over all the submerged rocks in the river bed. As the hike progressed, the canyon walls narrowed down to 22 feet wide and 1,500 feet high in the infamous Wall Street section. The raw, natural beauty of such a narrow slot canyon was incomparable to anything that we had ever seen before. The majestic beauty of these intricately carved walls was astounding. Altogether, we forded this rambling and curved river for three miles upstream before turning around to retrace it back downstream to our starting point. What an unforgettable experience!

On Tuesday, as we left Zion on our way to Bryce Canyon National Park, we traveled through the Zion Tunnel, a one-mile tunnel carved through one of the mountains in the 1920s. Unique to this winding tunnel was the fact that there were several windows carved out to see the canyon below.

Bryce Canyon National Park

After a nearly 100-mile drive, we arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park. Upon checking in at the lodge there, we were told by the desk clerks to keep the gas fireplace logs and the heaters on all night in our log cabins and to leave the faucets dripping, as the nighttime low temperature was going to be 19 degrees. What a change -- just days before, we were experiencing mid-80-degree temperatures and air-conditioning in Orangeburg.

A late afternoon stroll on the rim trail exposed us to the unique rock formations below the rim known as hoodoos. These ragged and colorful figures were caused by erosion from wind, water, ice and snow over millions of years. These intricate spires created a vast fairyland of rock pillars. Experiencing both the sunsets and sunrises here provided moment-changing views as the sun changed angles above the horizon.

Our first full day at Bryce Canyon started out with us going to such vantage points as Bryce Point and the appropriately named Inspiration Point. It was of interest that we noted at both Bryce Canyon and Zion the large number of foreign tourists present. These were predominantly German and French tourists seeing some of America's natural beauty, as exhibited in these parks.

Our hike of the day was to go below the rim and journey among the intricately carved hoodoos. We started our hike at Sunrise Point and descended the Queen's Garden Trail to the bottom, before hiking back up on part of the Navajo Loop Trail. The last half-mile or so was through narrow slot canyons that exited in steep switchbacks at Sunset Point on the rim. The scenery on this hike was unbelievable, truly a fairyland of hoodoos.

On Thursday, our group divided and went on different escapades. Most went on the Peek A Boo Trail among a different type and color of eroded hoodoos and exited on the other half of the Navajo Loop Trail. Others went on a tour of all the overlooks along the 15-mile road to the southernmost tip of the park. That afternoon, three in our group hiked the rugged Fairyland Loop Trail, while the rest of the members took the rim trail from Fairyland Point back to the lodge. All groups reported the scenery, again, was magnificent.

Friday, unfortunately, was the day we had to depart from this trip of exceptional beauty in two of our nation's most stunning national parks. The shortest route of return was to go back through Zion National Park. Upon entering Zion, we took our last hike on the Canyon Overlook Trail. The pristine beauty looking down the canyon was beyond compare, a fitting tribute to what turned out to be a trip of a lifetime.

Back in the 1910s, someone coined the phrase "See America First" to promote visiting the national parks our great country offers. Zion and Bryce certainly fit the bill. No one could ask for a finer trip to showcase the extraordinary beauty our national parks exhibit.

Majestic and mystical -- those terms certainly personify the rugged beauty of Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks that we experienced. Nothing could be said more aptly.

Dr. Gene Atkinson is an Orangeburg civic leader who has authored two pictorial histories of Orangeburg. He also makes periodic contributions of historic articles to The Times and Democrat.

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