Getaway for a Day - Trip to Zion National Park

2008-06-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

The crew and I set off to Zion National Park in Springdale Utah this past weekend to meet up with Johnathan from Zion Adventure company to do some canyonering and hiking the Narrows. Well, I was not exactly sure what both of those things would entail but knew I was in for quite a surprise. So off we went driving from Vegas to Zion.

The drive was absolutely amazing and it was so very cool to see the little farms and boutiques along the way. Springdale is one of the cuties quaint little towns I have even seen. We were only supposed to be be there for a two day shoot but I wanted to stay for a few more just to walk from shop to shop.

When checked in at the Majestic View Lodge and it was an experience in itself. Coming from a big city to a hotel with taxidermized bears all over the place was pretty surreal. The rooms were all done in a rustic fashion with big logs beds and dressers. It was pretty cool.

When we met up with Johnathan from Zion Adventure company we met one of his guides, Scott as well as meeting up with Kevin from the St. George Tourism Bureau. We all got in Johnathan's 4-runner and headed to a secluded area called Snake Ally. We started the trip by scrambling up the side of this massive canyon. Lloyd , my producer, was the camera man for the day and he really proved himself to be a true superhero as he scrambled up the boulders with a 20 pound camera and steady cam in front of him the whole time. Never once did he drop it...which surprised us all.

So all the way up the hill we all just cracked jokes about each other and made fun of Lloyd "the camera man" and how he was like a buffalo. This started after Johnathan made a comment about how a buffalo has a high speed to weight ratio. Of course I did this scramble in my heels...cuz that's what I do. The guys thought I was nuts and poked some fun at me too. I think they were all waiting for me to trip and twist my little girly ankle. Well I showed them, I made it all the way to the top and even jumped some boulders just to look like a big shot.

When we reached the top and Johnathan was getting all geared up to send us down the side of the canyon via repelling, my heart started to beat a tad faster. All of a sudden fear set in as I realized I was about to be strapped to a rope and sent down a rock wall with nothing but rock to stop me. But of course this is my job, right...to show the world my first time taking on an adventure. With fear mixed with adrenaline I put on a brave face and hoped my long legs would serve me well on this one. There was some very scary moments of slipping, but after I took my sweet time....oh yea, I made them wait on me, I finally made it to the bottom. Watching the rest of them come down so fast and without any hesitation did make me feel like a bit of a pansy. Even Lloyd repelled down like a champ with the camera still rolling.

Then we did the spiderman crawl through some pretty narrow spots which again had my heart a racin, and another repel that was not as bad as the first. After all was said and done I would say that was one of the most thrilling things I've done, and I've done quite a bit. The best part of the whole experience was the fun I had with Jonathan and Scott. Usually when we go out on a shoot with guides from a company they tend to be very reserved because they are going to be on television and they have no idea what we are going to leave in or edit out. Not these guys, Scott let out an enormous fart during one take when Johnathan and I were having a conversation just before the repel, Johnathan just kept me laughing, and at the close of the piece Scott literally tripped over a branch right in front of the camera and fell flat on his face. I don't think I have laughed more on a shoot than I did on this one. These guys were game for anything.
I will have some pictures of this adventure up on the show site soon as well as this episode. So keep looking for it. It's bound to be a great piece and I would suggest not looking for outtakes at the end of this one...there was nothing but outtakes.

In my next blog I'll tell you all about the next day when Johnathan and I went hiking in the Narrows. He really should have his own show!

Getaway for a Day with Roni Taylor

Getaway for a Day - Trip to Zion National Park