Moon Flower or Sacred Datura
View of Lower Emerald Pools
This morning Tim and I slept in a bit and had a small breakfast. We then headed out for a run on the Pa'rus trail. I felt bad he did not get a chance to experience that trail yesterday since he went back with Leah so we decided to run it. It was a little cold but we made it and it was just as beautiful as the day before. After that we got ready for some more time exploring and hiking. We got on the shuttle and stopped at the Court of Patriarchs which has 3 really tall mountains right next to one another that are named Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then we did a hike called the Kayenta trail which lead us up a mountain and then hooked up with the lower Emerald Pools trail we did the other day. It ends up at the Zion lodge so we had a nice picnic lunch on the sprawling green lawn there. Then we went to our final destination which was the Narrows. We started off doing the Riverside walk which is a nice walk along the river. Then the trail ends and your only option is to hike into the river, upstream. We were not sure this would happen as the water was only 50 degrees today. But all of the kids wanted to go in! So, Kevin and I braved the bitter cold and walked into the water with the kids. We went maybe ¼ of a mile up the river. I just wanted to make it to the part where the canyon narrows a bit and we did. One day we will do the entire 16 miles…but in the summer when it is warmer. Unfortunately, the camera battery was dead so no photos from this day. The rest of the day was hanging out at the campsite. We splurged and had a great dinner of steak, salmon and baked potatoes cooked on the fire…they only took nearly 2 hours to cook but were worth it. The Renwick's brought some happy hour food and wine so that kept us busy while we waited for those potatoes. Then we had a campfire with smores and roasted Starburst. Then it was time to start packing up because we were leaving early the next morning. Our last night in Zion was lots of fun!
The gyrating lizard tail
Posing at the top of the Watchman Trail
Halfway down Watchman and taking a break
Tiger Swallowtail CatepillarThis morning we ventured out for yet another hike. This one is right off of our campground and it is called The Watchman trail, named after the mountain we hiked up. All of the hikes in Zion start going up because the park is located on the canyon floor. The river cuts through the bottom of the canyon and you look up and see all of the towering mountains which are all tinted with a beautiful red hue. So our hike started going up from the canyon floor and slowly climbed the watchman mountain. The kids had fun hiking together and Ryan caught a lizard tail…the lizard got away from him so he was left with a gyrating lizard tail…much to my disgust! After a while we finally made it to the end of the hike which was a good distance up the mountain and it had great sweeping views of the valley below and the mountains on the other side of the canyon. We had a snack, took photos and then headed back down. My littlest one, Leah made it! She had a few visits from the hiking fairy that leaves Starbursts on the trail and that helped her along the way. After that hike it was back to camp for some lunch. Then it was on our bikes for a ride on the Pa'rus trail which is the bike path that runs through the canyon floor. It started off rough as we got separated from half of our group but we caught up…then it got a little worse when we got separated again and then later learned that Tim and Leah had to turn back because Leah had fallen into a fence, then into a bush and couldn't make it. She is just learning her bigger bike and is not quite feeling confident yet. So, we finally all caught up and enjoyed a truly amazing ride through the canyon floor. Tons of wildflowers off the side of the path, beautiful trees, the mountains and several crosses over the river on these really cool bridges. It was really great! It was then back to camp for hanging out, playing games and some relaxation. The kids discovered the biggest, coolest looking caterpillar at our campsite…later learned it was a tiger swallowtail caterpillar, so that was fun. We had dinner at our camp and then it was back to the amphitheater for another ranger program. This time it was about secret arches of the canyon. Ranger Mike was very knowledgeable, fun and engaging; he has been a ranger at Zion for 27 years and started off the program with question and answer which is always fun and informative. So, Zion has the second longest arch on a mountain and Arches National park has the longest but there is debate about that. I know now that I will always be looking for arches on mountains! After the program it was straight to bed…another fun day!
Posing at the Visitors Center
Upper Emerald Pool
Today we started off the morning with a big breakfast. We then went off to do our first hike of the trip. Zion has a great set up as a National park and we took advantage of some of those today. At the visitors center at our campground they have a water filling station so we filled up our packs and then we took the park shuttle which takes you all along the canyon floor to various stops where you can get off and hike. So today we took the Emerald Pools trail. We started with the lower pools trail which is a hike through the canyon but it is quite shaded with foliage. Then you arrive at this area where the rocks are literally leaking water from above and you walk under the rock with the water falling in front of you. The kids loved to get wet and walk through the mud. We continued on to the Upper Emerald pools trial which was a little steeper but worth the climb. It ends at this pool of water surrounded by the beautiful red canyon streaked with black. The kids had fun walking around on the rocks and going out onto sand benches. We had a picnic lunch there while taking in the view. Then it was back down the same way we came up! The hike ends up at the Zion Lodge so we did have to stop and get our usual ice cream… even though it wasn't that hot it still tasted great. We went back on the shuttle and made a stop at Weeping Rock which has a small walk up to this beautiful rock formation that has water seeping out of it. I love seeing all of the plants growing out of the sides of the rock. We took some photos and then headed back down. Then it was back to camp. The kids were so anxious to go in the river…even though we heard from a ranger that the temperature was only 48 degrees! Well, they did it, all of them swimming in the river except Noah and they had a blast! It is incredible how kids are so immune to the temperature of water. After the river Tim and I went for a trail run on the Watchman trail right off of our campsite which was fun. Then we had a nice dinner of burritos at the Renwick's camp…it was so yummy and very filling! We then did campfire with smores and just hanging out. At campfire we were led by Megan in the Coke or Pepsi book which just asks lots of fun questions…she was quite the task master in moving us along with the questions and she made it a lot of fun. It was a great day in Zion!
Glen Canyon Dam
Watchman Mountain from our campsite
The full moon over the mountainsToday was driving day to Zion National Park! We left at around 8 in the morning and had a nice drive. We made a stop in Flagstaff for gas and then drove through the beautiful Painted Desert. We made a stop at Glen Canyon Dam for a picnic lunch on the lawn of the visitor's center. The Glen Canyon Dam is on Lake Powell which is just outside of Page on the Utah border. It is a beautiful lake…it just makes you want to rent a boat and go exploring…well, maybe next trip! After that it was back on the road. The Mount Carmel highway is a nice drive as well…lots of winding, canyons and trees. We had 3 deer run in front of our truck and we enjoyed watching them leap over a fence and through the meadow…they were lucky they did not become hood ornaments. My deer lover Leah would have been horrified! There is a really cool tunnel we have to go through right after we enter the park…it is 1 mile long and it is so narrow, we have to be escorted through and ride down the middle lane. So, finally we arrived at our campsite around 5pm. We stayed in the Watchman campground which is right on the Virgin River. Our campsite was nice and was right next door to our traveling buddies the Renwick's. It was all familiar as we stayed here last summer. The campsite if full of cottonwood and aspen trees with sweeping views of the red canyons above. We spent a while setting up camp and then we had a nice dinner together. Then we attended the Ranger program at our campground which was on birds in Zion. The ranger showed us many photos of birds and went into great detail about the songs they sing and their different characteristics. This ranger was quite literary and included a lot of poems in her talk. After the talk it was straight to bed…we were tired after a day of driving! 28, 40, 44
