This post is for Thursday, August 2.
It’s me, Sarah Ann. You've GOT to check back in a few days when we have enough internet to post our photos because they are really cool.
Wednesday was a really fun and busy day. After eating breakfast, we went to the visitor’s center to meet our cousins and take the shuttle through Zion National Park. The first stop we made was Emerald Pools. It was kind of short, but lots of fun – especially with my cousins. Zion has steep, red rock mountains everywhere. It’s really pretty – and really striking. So as usual, the scenery on the hike was really pretty and we took lots of pictures.
We got on the shuttle again. The next hike we did was Riverside Walk – it’s two miles roundtrip. It’s the hike the leads to the Narrows. We pushed Rachel in a wheelchair and Christian and another cousin in a stroller. At the end of the hike, we ate lunch. My cousin and I named all the little islands in the Virgin River and hopped across rocks to get there. We even renamed the Virgin River just for fun. That hike was hot on the way back because there wasn’t much shade.
Next, we did the Weeping Rock hike. It’s really short but there were some stairs. There was a curved shaped rocks. This rock wasn’t red. It had water dripping from it so it looked like the rock was crying. That’s why it’s called Weeping Rock.
After that hike, we got on the shuttle again. We went to our cousin’s motel. We swam for about five minutes but then there was a thunderstorm so we had to come back in. We folded origami and played games until the storm passed. The older kids went to the pool again and swam for a longer time. Then we came back and ate dinner, took baths, and met our Uncle Jeff who was the only one of my dad’s relatives who wasn’t there yet.
The next day (Thursday), some of the adults and Taylor (Rachel couldn’t go because of her foot) hiked to Angels’ Landing. Most of them only made it to Scouts Lookout. To get the rest of the way, you have to hold on to these chains. We met the hikers at the Visitor’s Center at about 9:30. Then we drove another part of Zion – this road with lots of nice views called Mount Carmel Highway. We went through this tunnel that is 1.1 miles and when it was built was the longest tunnel in the world. We also did a 1 mile roundtrip hike called Canyon View Overlook. Rachel and the babies stayed in the parking lot with Grandma. It was a fun hike. I’m glad there was a fence and railing on parts of it because it was a steep drop and you could fall straight down with nothing to catch you.
Then at last – wahoo! – it was time to hike the Narrows. It was me, Taylor, my mom, my aunt and uncle and two cousins. We took the shuttle to Riverside Walk. We were going to do the Narrows on Wednesday but we couldn’t because it was closed because of bad weather. Bad weather in the Narrows can cause flash floods that are dangerous. This time the weather was beautiful. There wasn’t a single cloud to spot to in the sky. After walking Riverside Walk, we crossed the river and started started hiking the Narrows. The Narrows is a hike mostly in the Virgin River through the canyon with big cliffs on either side of you. We had to hike through the river almost all the time. It was so pretty that we could have taken pictures every minute. We had to wear lots of sunscreen. There were parts in the sun and parts in the shade. Most of the water wasn’t too deep – about to my knees. But sometimes it got higher than my stomach. We stopped at this really pretty place. My mom said it looked like a part of the Narrows called Wall Street. We ate a snack and turned around even though there’s lots more narrows ahead. We only did part of it. My cousins were wearing cotton so they got really cold because they were wet. We helped them warm up and headed back.
We got back to our campsite just as dinner was starting. We ate with our cousins and relatives and went to bed. It had been a busy day!
It’s me, Sarah Ann. You've GOT to check back in a few days when we have enough internet to post our photos because they are really cool.
Wednesday was a really fun and busy day. After eating breakfast, we went to the visitor’s center to meet our cousins and take the shuttle through Zion National Park. The first stop we made was Emerald Pools. It was kind of short, but lots of fun – especially with my cousins. Zion has steep, red rock mountains everywhere. It’s really pretty – and really striking. So as usual, the scenery on the hike was really pretty and we took lots of pictures.
We got on the shuttle again. The next hike we did was Riverside Walk – it’s two miles roundtrip. It’s the hike the leads to the Narrows. We pushed Rachel in a wheelchair and Christian and another cousin in a stroller. At the end of the hike, we ate lunch. My cousin and I named all the little islands in the Virgin River and hopped across rocks to get there. We even renamed the Virgin River just for fun. That hike was hot on the way back because there wasn’t much shade.
Next, we did the Weeping Rock hike. It’s really short but there were some stairs. There was a curved shaped rocks. This rock wasn’t red. It had water dripping from it so it looked like the rock was crying. That’s why it’s called Weeping Rock.
After that hike, we got on the shuttle again. We went to our cousin’s motel. We swam for about five minutes but then there was a thunderstorm so we had to come back in. We folded origami and played games until the storm passed. The older kids went to the pool again and swam for a longer time. Then we came back and ate dinner, took baths, and met our Uncle Jeff who was the only one of my dad’s relatives who wasn’t there yet.
The next day (Thursday), some of the adults and Taylor (Rachel couldn’t go because of her foot) hiked to Angels’ Landing. Most of them only made it to Scouts Lookout. To get the rest of the way, you have to hold on to these chains. We met the hikers at the Visitor’s Center at about 9:30. Then we drove another part of Zion – this road with lots of nice views called Mount Carmel Highway. We went through this tunnel that is 1.1 miles and when it was built was the longest tunnel in the world. We also did a 1 mile roundtrip hike called Canyon View Overlook. Rachel and the babies stayed in the parking lot with Grandma. It was a fun hike. I’m glad there was a fence and railing on parts of it because it was a steep drop and you could fall straight down with nothing to catch you.
Then at last – wahoo! – it was time to hike the Narrows. It was me, Taylor, my mom, my aunt and uncle and two cousins. We took the shuttle to Riverside Walk. We were going to do the Narrows on Wednesday but we couldn’t because it was closed because of bad weather. Bad weather in the Narrows can cause flash floods that are dangerous. This time the weather was beautiful. There wasn’t a single cloud to spot to in the sky. After walking Riverside Walk, we crossed the river and started started hiking the Narrows. The Narrows is a hike mostly in the Virgin River through the canyon with big cliffs on either side of you. We had to hike through the river almost all the time. It was so pretty that we could have taken pictures every minute. We had to wear lots of sunscreen. There were parts in the sun and parts in the shade. Most of the water wasn’t too deep – about to my knees. But sometimes it got higher than my stomach. We stopped at this really pretty place. My mom said it looked like a part of the Narrows called Wall Street. We ate a snack and turned around even though there’s lots more narrows ahead. We only did part of it. My cousins were wearing cotton so they got really cold because they were wet. We helped them warm up and headed back.
We got back to our campsite just as dinner was starting. We ate with our cousins and relatives and went to bed. It had been a busy day!
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| Us with our cousins in front of Checkerboard Mesa |
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| The hike to Canyon View Overlook |
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| At the top of Canyon View Overlook |
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| The Narrows! |
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| We had to wade through lots of water! |
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| A view down into the narrows - see how NARROW the canyon is! |
And just think, I grew up only a few hours from all of that beauty and didn't even go to Zion's National Park until I was grown. I've never hiked the Narrows. Some day before I get too old to do it, I'm going to hike the Narrows. Do you think I could get grandpa to take me there next summer? I would love to see it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great post Sarah Ann! We are so glad we got to spend time with you and have this fun memories. Next time I will do a better job preparing our children for the hike.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Sarah Ann. These photos are beautiful. You must be loving all these awesome hikes! Just reading about this hike has me wanting to hike right now. I have to wait for Grace, Calvin, and Amelia to wake up first. We were up late all weekend while we were away at our friends wedding.
ReplyDelete