The Cool Kids

Over the course of our near month of travels and immersion into the life of the retirees and European holiday-goers, we’ve begun to take on some of their characteristics. No, we haven’t bought visors, matching track jackets, or an RV, but we do often eat dinner before sundown and retire to bed shortly after, invent hectic schedules for ourselves involving rising with the sun, and most importantly readily talk to and take interest in strangers…especially in confined spaces.

So imagine our delight when we learned that Zion Canyon may only be traversed via free Park Service shuttle. Not only does this help to preserve the environment and avoid the traffic jams that would otherwise be endless in this immensely popular park, it offers unceasing opportunities to speak with fellow travelers, for conveniently limited amounts of time. Trust me, it’s not easy to end a conversation with an intrigued 80+’er.

Unlike Bryce Canyon, where we were amazed at how even the oldest and fattest visitors mustered the strength to enter and ascend the canyon, Zion is arranged at the bottom of the canyon leaving us plenty of opportunity to feel superior to our fellow visitors by passing them at the handicap accessible loops and moving right on to the difficult climbs of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. All of this was ground to a halt however when we met the “cool crowd”. During a late afternoon shuttle ride we encountered a group of stylishly but appropriately outfitted hikers in the 65+ crowd. After I noticed the French tips and four carats holding a walking stick and wearing wet moon boots indicating a recent trip up the Narrows (an upriver hike through a slot canyon we’d been debating) I had to know their story. Turns out this is a group, many of whom are Chicago natives transplanted to Denver, who travel together hiking the most challenging and impressive peaks and valleys in the National Parks and enjoy fine dining and high-end lodging at the end of their grueling days. In short, they’re who we want to be. Luckily, we hold a youthful exuberance they find charming. We hit it off immediately and planned to cross paths again at the 1,500-foot cliff-climb the next morning.

Thinking we’d gotten our typically early start (after all they’d talked us into making time for the Narrows in the afternoon), we worried we’d not see them on the trail…we’re really fast hikers. We should have known better than to underestimate a group that celebrated their 50th birthdays hiking the Grand Canyon, the adventure we’ve been mildly fearing for three weeks. With a lot of hustle, and a few necessary breath-catching breaks, we caught up to our friends just before they attempted the 500-foot ascent where the trail is three feet wide and drops more than 1,000 feet on either side. After congratulating them on achieving this feat in honor of their 65th birthdays, we reluctantly parted ways.



The hikes were challenging, the views rewarding, the full moon astounding, but what we loved most about Zion was being embraced by real live retirees. We are social outcasts no more. Having finally achieved this important distinction, we move on to the Grand Canyon.