Zion National Park '08

This past weekend Jim, Sadie and I took a short road trip with Bruce, Kate, and Ian. We went down to Zion National Park. Our trip started on Friday morning after dropping Ginger off at the kennel. Kate and I drove with the kids so that they could entertain each other while Jim and Bruce drove down together. We stopped at Fillmore Park (a favorite of ours) for some lunch and some playtime at the playground and then headed on our way. We separated the kids for this stretch so that Ian could take a nap without Sadie distracting him. We got into Springdale, Utah at about 3:30 or so and checked into our hotel The Majestic View. Our rooms were nice – clean and comfortable. Each room has a balcony with chairs on it and an incredible view. After getting situated it was off to the pool for some swimming and sunning. After the fun in the pool we got cleaned up and took the shuttle into town for some window shopping and some dinner. We all had some good Mexican food at the Bit & Spur and then wandered back to our hotel. We all hung out for a bit in our room and then called it a night.

The next morning we all met at around 9:00 and went to the main lodge for breakfast. The breakfast was good but the service was so slow – it seemed to take forever. Finally we took the Springdale shuttle into the park and then got on the park shuttle. We got off at the visitor’s center and hiked up to the lower and middle Emerald Pools. The hike was a good one and the kids did fairly well. We got to see lizards, squirrels, and tadpoles along the way. After the 2 mile hike we went back to the visitor’s center and had some ice cream. We then headed back to our hotel for lunch and a rest. Jim and Sadie took a little nap while I got to sit on our balcony and read. After Jim and Sadie woke up we decided to check out the wildlife museum that was at our hotel. After that we hooked up with Bruce, Kate, and Ian again and headed back into the park. Our first stop was at Weeping Rock where the water literally seeps out of the rocks and all sorts of plants grow on them. After that little hike we went up to The Temple of Sinawava and began the hike there. Ian was having a tough time (he had fallen and wasn’t very happy about it) so Jim, Sadie, and I went on ahead. While we were walking we came across a deer not too far from us. Sadie thought that was pretty exciting. We hiked all the way up the trail and on the way back Sadie began to wear out so she and I started to pretend that we were Indiana Jones trying to fight our way out. That seemed to wake her up a bit. After this hike we realized that it was 8:30 at night and we hadn’t had dinner yet so we jumped on the shuttle and went to a pizza and pasta restaurant and got some pizza. Then it was back to the room for the night.

The next day we all met at around 9:00 again and started to pack things up. Once we were all packed up and checked out of the hotel we took the shuttle into town and ate breakfast at Oscars cafe. After breakfast we started to head home. This time the kids rode with Jim and Bruce. We stopped in Fillmore once again for lunch and then we said goodbye to Bruce, Kate, and Ian and headed home to pick up Ginger. It was a great little trip and we all had a great time. As always for pictures visit our picasa gallery.