It's true, even in a desert oasis like Zion, rain is the very mechanism that sculpted the canyon and continues to bring life to the valley floor. As the sun peaks through the smell of the wet sage, mesquite and other flora intensify teasing your nose. With every layer down the canyon wall, the topography changes as does the weather, from Navajo sandstone, to Kayenta mudstone where dinosaurs once walked, through petrified forest layers and at long last, to the Virgin River which will in just a few miles, connect with the better known Colorado river at Lake Mead, the lowest point on the Colorado Plateau. As I watched, clouds dropped from the sky along the canyon wall and followed the middle layers above the broken landings and crept slowly toward the inner canyon only to disappear in a moment. Our spot on the valley floor is much warmer than the upper rim and if weather continues, we might even see a bit of snow in the higher elevations. We'll see what Mother Nature delivers in the next day.
