Utah - Zion National Park
Today the cards fell in the right place. The stars were aligned. I found my common sense. The Master Planner did good.
First stop in the morning: Wal Mart. I grab a cheap camera and even cheaper sunglasses, then we're on our way to Zion. It's 10:30 but the place is already packed. We park the car in Springdale then take the shuttle to the Visitor Center, and from there, the park shuttle. All in all it takes about 1 hour until we get in the park. I did not count on it being so busy; it's Sunday, all the hotels, motels, inns and campgrounds in the area have "no vacancy" signs blinking so I imagine all these people are in the park. Everything is very well organized, the shuttles run ever 5 minutes or so, the signs, maps and markings are accurate, and it is amazing how smooth the whole operation is.
The park is impressive. Huge canyon walls, the already familiar red, but with lots of vegetation. We see lots and lots of squirrels, wild turkeys and some mule deer. We hike. First a short warm up trail next to the main road, then we climb up to the Weeping Rock. Here a soft mist dripping from the rock wall helps cool us down, and we get a great view of the canyon behind us.
Mikey is handling it well. We're already at least 1 mile in. We stop at the little creek at the end of the trail and play in there for a while. Mikey also gets to climb on all the rocks, and even takes a fall from one of them, luckily on the soft sand.
We then take the shuttle to the end of the canyon, and we start the big hike, 2 miles round trip. This is a mostly easy hike, more like a walk, on a wide, clear path going next to the river. However it is so crowded I am afraid I will lose Mikey. NYC Subway could not be more crowded than this trail. I am starting to feel claustrophobic. 15 minutes into the hike, the skies grow dark, we hear thunder, and it starts to rain. Lots of people turn around, but we keep going with a few others, facing the torrent of people returning from the Narrows and trying to beat the rain. It rains for about 5 minutes and then it clears up, so we made a good decision by not turning back. Slowly but surely, the canyon walls start getting taller and closer together, until the trail ends and the Narrows start.
You can still explore the canyon by going through the water. I hear it's beautiful. We're not ready for this, we only venture in maybe 100 yards. But Mikey gets to play in the river for a while, and he is happy about that. On the way back we try to stay away from the main path, which is by now relatively empty, and go along the river when possible. It's more peaceful like this, less crowded, and closer to nature. I prefer dirt, rocks and grass under my feet to clear cut paths, and Mikey enjoys it too. He walks barefoot and plays in all the mud puddles in the way.
I can see in his eyes how tired he is, but, oddly enough, he does not complain. I am proud of him. We hiked at least 3 miles today without almost any peep. He just enjoyed it. And I loved it. We talk about coming back to Utah in 3-4 years when he is older and I am not old yet, and then we can do the more serious hikes through the canyon and maybe to the top. I know I would love that. But for now we're good, I broke him in!
By now it's almost 5, we're tired and hungry, we've pushed it and did all we could do in one day. We take the shuttles back, and, an hour later, we are in our car. Quick stop for dinner at a "cowboy" place with huge hot dogs and wild boar burgers, then we visit the petting zoo and the little wild wild west exhibit out there. I am surprised at Mikey's energy, because I am wiped out. Right about now I am very grateful for the hot tub waiting for us at the hotel.
We wrap up the day with pretty flowers and fun in the pool. The balance has been restored.
First stop in the morning: Wal Mart. I grab a cheap camera and even cheaper sunglasses, then we're on our way to Zion. It's 10:30 but the place is already packed. We park the car in Springdale then take the shuttle to the Visitor Center, and from there, the park shuttle. All in all it takes about 1 hour until we get in the park. I did not count on it being so busy; it's Sunday, all the hotels, motels, inns and campgrounds in the area have "no vacancy" signs blinking so I imagine all these people are in the park. Everything is very well organized, the shuttles run ever 5 minutes or so, the signs, maps and markings are accurate, and it is amazing how smooth the whole operation is.
The park is impressive. Huge canyon walls, the already familiar red, but with lots of vegetation. We see lots and lots of squirrels, wild turkeys and some mule deer. We hike. First a short warm up trail next to the main road, then we climb up to the Weeping Rock. Here a soft mist dripping from the rock wall helps cool us down, and we get a great view of the canyon behind us.
By now it's almost 5, we're tired and hungry, we've pushed it and did all we could do in one day. We take the shuttles back, and, an hour later, we are in our car. Quick stop for dinner at a "cowboy" place with huge hot dogs and wild boar burgers, then we visit the petting zoo and the little wild wild west exhibit out there. I am surprised at Mikey's energy, because I am wiped out. Right about now I am very grateful for the hot tub waiting for us at the hotel.
We wrap up the day with pretty flowers and fun in the pool. The balance has been restored.
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