Craig had a Monday off so he decided to take the Friday before so we could take a long weekend and head down to southern Utah to check out the parks. Craig had been down there once as a kid but I had never been down that way, so we were excited to take the kids. On Thursday when Craig got off work we loaded up the Jeep and took off south. We got to Lehi and spent the night there and then Friday morning we got up and finished the drive to Zion's. We parked our car at our hotel and then grabbed the shuttle into the park. We took the shuttle all the way to the last stop so that we could hike the Narrows. It was a mile walk to get to the part of the river where you get in. We then walked a mile up the river before turning back. It was pretty busy but it definitely thinned out the further we went. It was was over 100 degrees outside so the 58 degree water felt amazing. Most of the way was only about knee deep but there were parts that McKay had to swim and there were parts when the current was fairly strong so the kids would hold our hands, but they did really great. There was a part in the river where there was a bend that the kids were able to catch the current and float down stream for a little while. It was truly beautiful and just so different from the surroundings that we are used to. Afterwards we made our way back to the shuttle we then grabbed some dinner at a restaurant near the visitor center and then caught the city shuttle back to our hotel for the night.
Saturday morning we had to get up with the sun so that we could get into the park as soon as possible so that we could get hiking before it got too hot. We were able to get a permit to hike Angel's Landing so we got to the entrance of the park just before 6:00am. We were able to get on the 3rd shuttle out and ate our breakfast as we drove in and then started our hike just before 7:00am. A good majority of the hike was a bunch of switch backs. People were amazed with the kids as we cruised along and didn't take very many breaks. We made it to the point where the ranger had to check our permit and they had the chain that you could hold onto up to the very top. We did get a few funny looks for taking the kids on this portion of the hike, but we knew they would do just fine, and honestly they were more comfortable than most of the adults that hiked that part. There was definitely some bouldering and some spots where we had to use the chain, but we were really just in awe of the beauty surrounding us as we hiked. When we got to the top we had spectacular 360 degree views. I thought the way down would be a little bit more sketchy, but the only thing that made it harder was that there were so many people coming up at that point that it was a little crowded and we had to wait for people to pass. The kids got a cool water bottle sticker from the ranger when we made it back down and then we quickly hiked the rest of the way down. We found a cool little cave that the kids climbed into on our way back down. It took us about 3 hours to do the whole hike which was just over 5 miles. Once we got back down we took a little break and ate some snacks and got our cooling towels wet again before heading off on our next hike to the Emerald Pools. By this point it was almost 100 degrees outside and there was zero shade on the trail. This hike was shorter, only about 3 miles round trip, but we were all so hot and the end point was not near as pretty as Angel's Landing so we were ready to be done. Once we got back we caught the shuttle back to our hotel. We had already packed all of our stuff up early that morning but luckily we were still able to get into the pool area. We all jumped in the pool and got all the dust off of us. The kids swam for a little while before we all got changed and hopped in the car to head to our next destination, Bryce Canyon. The kids and I all fell asleep as Craig drove the hour and a half to Bryce. We checked into Ruby's Inn and got all our stuff unloaded before we went and found some ice cream/sorbet. It was a well deserved treat. We then all crashed early since we had been up so early.
Sunday morning we were once again up early. We grabbed some breakfast at the hotel and then caught the shuttle from our hotel into the park to Sunrise Point where we started our hike. We decided to do a combination of 3 hikes, Queen's Garden/Peek-a-boo Loop/Navajo Loop. We figured this would be the best way to see as much as possible. We ended up hiking about 6.5 miles and it was quite hot and the hike provided very little shade. The hoodoos (rock formations) were so amazing and it was so cool to be down there with them. There were amazing arches and caves and the views were just spectacular. We were definitely tired when we finished, but it was well worth it. We caught the shuttle back to the hotel and Craig took the kids over to the pool and I took a shower and a nap. The kids played in the pool for a couple of hours acting like they hadn't just hiked 20 miles in the last 48 hours. We grabbed an early dinner at Ruby's and then drove back into the park to take in the views from a couple different look out points. It was neat to see the views from different angles. I couldn't get over the natural beauty of the place. After a few stops we headed pack to the hotel to get some things packed up and then head to bed.
Monday we got some breakfast at the hotel before loading up the car and starting our drive back home. We wanted to stop in and see Craig's Grandparents in Bountiful on our way back home and it ended up being the perfect break in our drive. It is always so good to see them, I wish I would have gotten some pictures. After lunch and our visit we were back on the road and made it back home around 6:00pm. It was a long day of driving but everyone did great, even me (Oh how I HATE driving long distances)! I am so glad that we made the effort to do this trip. I had never seen anything like these parks before and it was so worth it. I loved the time we got to spend as a family and the memories we made!
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