Keep your eye on the lions in Zion*

Zion Canyon is a really attractive place - a valley surrounded by strong stone mountains in a great palette of red ,orange and white, with plenty of greenery. Unfortunately that makes it a slight disappointment after the last few days, because it doesn't feel particularly special and our standards are now very high.

In fact the best bit of the national park is the drive in from the east, where all the rocks come in wafer-thin plates, looking from a distance like broad brushstrokes on an oil painting.

There's also an impressive 1.1 mile tunnel to get through before following switchbacks down to the valley floor, and that's the difference from Grand and Bryce Canyons: you're on the ground looking up.

Until you climb, that is. We took on a hike to Angels Landing, 2 miles long and 1500 feet up. The first bit is easy, and then you hit a *long* rise up evil, neverending switchbacks to the first plateau.

The remaining section feels more like mountaineering, albeit with the help of the occasional chain: not for the vertiginous, and I wouldn't fancy it in wind or wet either.

Yep, we have to walk along that very narrow bit there. Yep, it's quite high up.

Great views from the top in two directions, which is good, because your legs will want a breather while you feel a bit of genuine achievement. And that, plus the previous day's exertions, pretty much finished us off for walking, so we just rode the shuttle bus for a while.

We also took a drive up nearby Kolob Terrace Road, through a sinister forest of leafless trees and past some more great geology - cone-shaped rocks this time, for variety. At the top is an overlook with a distant view of the whole canyon.

A good few days round these parts, then, with Bryce definitely the winner, Grand Canyon and Monument Valley terrific, and Zion still well worth a stop, especially if you fancy a climb. Hopefully our legs will forgive us soon...

* We didn't see any mountain lions. But there are some here apparently.