Zion National Park, Utah

Today was the day we were going to visit Zion National Park. We gathered up all our gear and headed out to the parking lot to load the van, when we noticed Derrick’s parent’s van had a flat tire.  It was completely flat, so we all hung out a little longer while Derrick and his Dad fixed the tire.  Great Grandpa Dale didn't waste his energy going back to the condo; he grabbed a seat in the parking lot and waited.  I couldn't help but grab a photo of his choice location.

Great Grandpa Dale, taking a break while the tire gets fixed.

We finally got on the road, right around lunchtime.  Once we arrived it was understood why this park is ranked so high on the favorite National Parks list (currently it's #4, under Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Sequoia).  The majestic canyon walls, reaching close to 3,000 feet in some areas, are breathtaking.  The colors and diverse landscape and unique hikes make this park stand out for sure!

The hole in the canyon wall is one of the windows to the 1.1 mile long tunnel.

The tunnel was VERY impressive, at 1.1 mile long and with canyon windows along the way,
it was one of the most interesting tunnels we've driven through yet.

On the other side of the tunnel, you are out of the canyon and into the amazing sand dunes and striped landscape.

Another small tunnel hand impressive stripes from the multiple layers of sandstone.  Beautiful.

The checker board pattern to this sandstone mountain makes it unique.

After taking the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, we turned around and headed back to the canyon area to do some hiking.  Usually the canyon is closed to drivers, and people must take a shuttle, but we were traveling in low season, so we were able to drive through on our own.

The tunnel was constructed in 1920 and they made the "windows" to toss out rock
and allow for ventilation during construction.

 It was getting late, and we knew we would only get one hike in before the sun went down, so we decided to hike along the river to the beginning of the Narrows (Riverside Walk, 2 miles round-trip), one of the most popular hikes in the park.

Elliot found a few sticks and was very happy hiking along!

Great Grandpa, Grandpa Ernie and our new friend Jo came along too.

The boys were entertained with all the rocks they could climb along the way.

Ethan, 7 years

Everett, 4 years

Elliot, 2 years

Elliot had a blast rock climbing!

Ethan and Grandpa Ernie

Everett was happy climbing EVERY rock we came across!

Some of the rock's drop-offs made my stomach flip-flop watching the boys get close to the edge.

The end of the trail opens to the beginning of the Narrows, which is a more
intensive and wet hike.  Some hikers in the narrows wear waterproof shoes and waders.

The boys found a large rock to climb on near the water.

Gateway to the Narrows

After hanging out at the end of the trail for a while, we headed back along the same trail along the water.  It was a great hike and a beautiful day through the park.  Derrick and I discussed possibly coming back sometime this week to hike the Narrows, but that would take a whole day and I'm unsure if it's going to happen this trip or not. 

What do you do when you come to a large rock like this?

Race up it of course!!

I can't tell you how many times the boys had fun running up this rock...

... and sliding back down!

I don't know what was more fun, up or down?

Even Elliot was able to join in the fun!

Even though we didn't do a lot of hiking,
it was a long day and we were happy to be heading back to the van.