President's Day in Zion

President's Day rolled around and we thought we'd take advantage of the nice weather we've been having and go to Zion National Park. Because, you know, ZION. It's our thing.

So we hopped in the car after lunch and drove down, and the closer we got to Zion, the windier it was getting. Right around Virgin, the road goes right by some steep cliffs and there were about 40 tumbleweeds blowing straight UP those cliffs. And dust devils were swirling and plants everywhere were getting flattened by the wind. So we began to rethink things.

We decided we might as well stop at Zion Rock and Gem as long as we were all the way up there. The wind wasn't too bad, and I figured that once we got in the canyon, we'd be pretty sheltered.

Luke bought a wolf slingshot (a dear ambition of his for many years) and Madelyn got some geodes.

Angel's Landing. There is a hike (which is Mark's favorite) that goes clear to the top of that thing, which I am never, ever going on.

We decided to go ahead with our plans, and we lucked out. The wind died down in the canyon, the weather was nice and it was FREE! Our park pass had expired and we were going to have to pay $80 for a new one (the National Parks pass that gets you into all of them). It was an awesome coincidence that we happened to go on a fee free day. And it wasn't even crowded, either!

 

 We decided to stick with some easy walks and went up to Weeping Rock. Madelyn insisted on calling it "Hanging Gardens". Water seeps out of the rock and drips everywhere. It takes 1,000 years for the water to make its journey all the way through the rock.

 

 This particular hike is so pretty in the fall. Check out the zillion pictures I took here in October a couple years ago.

We had to stop to poke around the stream and this giant fallen log for quite a while.

Every time we come here, Luke is obsessed with playing in the powdery sand.

 Isabelle was 7 weeks old the last time we came to Zion. It was 100° F that day, I remember it very well! We were crazy to go in July with a new baby.

After Weeping Rock, we thought about going on our old favorite hike to Emerald Pools, but it was getting cold and dark and we were running out of time, so I walked the Grotto Trail with Luke and Madelyn while Mark and Isabelle drove to meet us at the Lodge.

 

Luke was hitching a piggyback ride when he spotted a group of deer right by us. The kids were so excited. We ended up seeing at least a dozen.

 

 It was such a pretty trail--I've never walked it before and I'll bet it's gorgeous when everything is green in the summer.

 As we were leaving, Mark decided to take us on a detour to the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel, which cuts directly into the mountain for over a mile and brings you out to the east side of the park. It was built as a shortcut to be able to reach Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon more easily from Zion.

Can you spot the opening in the side of the mountain? There are several "galleries" that allow you to see glimpses of the canyon as you drive through. 

 View from inside the tunnel gallery.

 Mark took these pictures of The Watchman as we were leaving the park to go home.

 We live in a beautiful place!