We nearly had an old woman fall in front of the motorhome in Zion. We were near Checkerboard Mesa and for some reason about 10-15 people had crossed the road from the scenic turnout and climbed a large (size of a house) rock. This was not a designated viewing area. Well I saw this old women coming down off the rock toward the road as we were approaching, stumble in loose sand at the bottom and almost fall into the road. We were only going 10-15 mph as it was a congested area, but I am not sure we could have stopped if she had fallen in front of us.
Then there was the young lady in the dress and flip-flops coming up the steep Navajo Trail Loop at Sunset point at Bryce. How far had she gone? I don’t believe that she hiked the whole loop as I think her feet would have been a mess.
People, in droves, walk down the middle of the road, dart into the road for a picture or stand very close to the side of the road to pose. They will go out on ledges for a better look or a photo. A woman at the Bryce Shuttle station said when she was driving home one evening, someone was laying on the double yellow lines taking a worms-eye view photo of the one of the two tunnels on Hwy 12 between Panguitch and the park.
I will add more. I’m sure there will be more.
Bryce’s Top 10 Causes of Injury (from their newspape)
#10 Unsafe Driving
#9 Climbing / Sliding Down Cliffs
#8 Feeding Animals
#7 Ignoring Extreme Weather
#6 Dehydration
#5 Leaving The Trail
#4 Over-Exertion
#3, 2, 1 Bad Choice Of Footwear
Bryce averages less than one fatality per year. Causes in order most to least:
Heart Attacks
Falling off Cliffs
Lightning
Vehicle Accidents
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