Zion National Park

On the second day of our Southern Utah trip, we went to Zion National Park.  It had been over 10 years since Dave and I had last been and the first time for the girls.  Grandpa and Grandma go every year, so once again they were great guides.

I should mention that it was the middle of July in Southern Utah and the temps in St. George were about 108 degrees.  Fortunately, in the canyons of Zions Park it is a little cooler but it was still hot.  Good thing our primary activity was to hike the Narrows.  Pretty much access to the park is by shuttle bus.  You park your car at the entrance and hop on a shuttle bus that takes you through the park and makes intermittent stops.

We decided to go straight for the narrows because we knew that hiking in the river and getting wet would keep us cool.  Plus I doubt Paige would have had enough patience to wait, she wanted to go straight for the water.  When the bus dropped us at the trailhead for the Narrows we each ate a granola bar for a snack and began the 1 mile walk to the Narrows.  Zions is so beautiful and the red rock canyons are breathtaking.

Once the trail entered the river we learned that it's not easy to walk on a rocky river bed against a current.  We found Dave a huge walking stick but with his neuropathy and balance problems it was pretty likely that he might fall so he went with us for a little ways and then decided to wait while the rest of us went ahead.  Grandma, being the loving mom that she is, also stopped and went back with Dave.

Grandpa, the girls and I decided to keep going for just a little ways longer, and then all of a sudden I felt a rumble in my stomach.  I think it was the granola bar not sitting well with me and I knew that if I kept going up the river, I'd be getting farther away from a bathroom, so I turned back too!

Thank goodness for a fit Grandpa who stuck with the girls and kept going.  By the time I got out of the river, I decided to hike back the 1 mile to the bathroom -- better safe than sorry.   In the meantime, Grandpa and the girls finished their hike and came back to a little water hole were Paige jumped all-in and went swimming.  They had so much fun.  It was great to just sit and watch them especially in such a picturesque setting.

After finishing at the narrows, we rode the shuttle and made a few stops at the Lodge, Big Bend and Weeping Rock.

Once we left the park, we stopped to eat at a great pizza place.  I think it was in Springdale, I don't even remember the name of the place.  I just know that we were so hungry and thirsty that everything tasted so delicious and we all ate a lot of pizza!!  What a fun day.  This was a major highlight of our whole trip.