Some years ago, back when we were wedding photographers, we vacationed typically in wintertime because it was the slow season. We visited Zion National Park on one cold & cloudy day, taking the winding Route 9 up through the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel, leading to the park’s lesser-used Northeast entrance. Given the tunnel’s size, RVs generally aren’t allowed through the tunnel anymore. When it was built in 1930, vehicles weren’t as big as some are today. While technically we could tow Ellie the Airstream through it just fine, it’d be a bit nerve-wracking.

Since it’s over a mile long and has a good bit of elevation change, you can expect the weather to sometimes be different when you emerge on the other side. We did not know this on our first visit, and were taken aback by the abundant snow falling on the red rocks all around us. Yet it was beautiful so we pulled off to just sit and watch it for a bit.

Just goes to show how everything changes, even when (perhaps especially when) we’re not expecting it.

The other side, indeed.