Down in the Valley....

Awesome walk this morning down to the river, along side it and back...I left when it was just 60 F degrees outside and it had warmed up to 72 by the time I got back (going to be 94 today). 

The main photo is looking between the cliffs going north. If you notice a break in photo on the bottom that is where the river is, curves to the left and just beyond the parking lot the river starts heading between the cliffs. The city park has three lighted baseball fields along with a tennis court and... 

In the extra collage you have,
A tangled web
A small part of the river looking south (top right)
A small part of the river and one of the red cliffs (lower right)

Here how important this river is.....

The Virgin River originates just north and east of Zion National Park and flows through southwest Utah, northwest Arizona and eventually all the way to Lake Mead. It is a critical source of life for a remarkable array of ecosystems. With parts of the watershed in the Mojave Desert, Great Basin, Utah High Plateaus and Colorado Plateau, the river is largely responsible for making Washington County one of the richest “hot spots” of biodiversity in the United States.

From Joshua tree forests to aspen meadows, this region boasts an elevational gradient equaled by few places in the West. The river supports a landscape with 40 state sensitive species, 12 federally-listed species and six native fish. Its critical riparian corridor is vital for nesting, wintering and migration for an amazing assemblage of neotropical birds including the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, phainopepla, vermilion flycatcher, Wilson’s warbler, and many more.