Week 11 ~ Zion National Park

Week 11 ~ Though we were stationary for the entire week, we had some of our fullest 7 days in Zion National Park in Utah.  Word has gotten out about this stunningly beautiful place - it was popular and busy, but gorgeous nonetheless.  Our first day at the park, we were able to go on one of the hikes as a family, something we rarely get to do because of our family’s range of abilities.  Through the rest of the week, Dad, David and I took several mornings to go out on longer hikes, while Mom and Dad took the little ones back out in the afternoon. 

We took a half day to drive up to a lake for a picnic.  We had hopes of being able to do some hiking and swimming, though things didn't quite work out like planned. Regardless, a nice lunch by the coolness of the lake was good enough for me. 

One of the most unique hikes I have ever been on also took place at Zion.  Dad, David and I got up early one morning and headed out to the park to do a hike called “The Narrows”.  The Narrows is essentially a long walk through a river – yes, literally through it.  Rocks and sand hugged the side of the canyon for portions of the hike, while you had to walk through the river at other places.  The hike was slow going, and took us about an hour to go each mile.  To top it all off, the hike didn’t even begin at the river.  We had to hike a mile to the beginning of the hike.  We made it about two miles up the river before finally turning back. It was a fun time!

We took off on our second rather extreme hike two days later (we needed a day to recover from the first one!)  This hike is called “Angel’s Landing”, and twisted two miles up a mountain before taking us on a riveting half mile up the sheer side of a cliff to the top.  I made it about half way up the cliff before turning back.  Dad laughed when I told him I thought trying to finish it would taking a “foolish and unnecessary risk”, but it was true.  One of our fellow hikers commented to her son, “Be careful.  If you fall off a mountain, you die.”  Thankfully, we did not die and were free to enjoy the view and the much less strenuous couple of miles back down the mountain.

On our trip out of Zion back to Colorado, we stopped at Bryce Canyon. Bryce, I am told, is somewhat of a mini version of the Grand Canyon. We spent only a couple hours there, but it was such an amazing view.

Now we are back to Colorado for the week – wahoo! Colorado is my all-time favorite, and I’m excited to enjoy the cooler temperatures and hiking opportunities.  Our time is beginning to wind down, but we are continuing to enjoy it while we have it.