Vacation Cont.

Day 3: Driving

We spent the night in Pleasant Grove with my sister Becky and her family.  After some time visiting we continued with our trip and drove down to Hurricane, which is outside of Zion National Park.  We had reservations at the KOA and had planned on camping there.  When we arrived it was 107 degrees outside and the camping sites were tiny, with no grass and no table.  We asked for a refund and got a hotel room in St. George (about 10 miles down the road).  This was an unexpected expense.  We ended up hauling all of our camping stuff and food down there for nothing,  but were glad for the air conditioning and the comfy beds.  And the kids loved the pool.

Day 4: Zion National Park

I had been to Zion National Park when I was a kid, but it was very different than what I remember.  They now have a shuttle system for all the tourists.  You park in town and take a shuttle into the park and then catch another one that takes you to see all the sights.  We really liked it.  

 Riding the shuttle

We did two hikes with the kids.  The first was Weeping Rock.  It was a short, but very steep trial up to a rock that water seeps out of.  It feels like it's raining when your up there.

 Getting ready for the hike.

 Charlie actually did really well in our baby backpack.  I wasn't sure if he'd still like it, but he didn't mind it one bit, and it made things easier for Tony and I.

 Daddy and the kids

 Mom and the kids

The other hike we did was Riverside Walk.  It's a trail you take to get to the Narrows.  The trail as you would assume follows the Virgin River at the bottom of the canyon.  At the end of the trail there is a great place to play in the river.  The water is a light green color and was cool and refreshing.

 Alaina enjoying the water.  She later would go all the way up to her shoulders.

 Daddy

 The Canyon was beautiful!

 Carson who eventually went all the way under.

 Mom was less adventurous and just got her feet wet.

 Charlie loved gathering rocks and throwing them into the river.

 All over there were signs to not feed the animals.  There is a $100 fine.  Well, these animals were fat and were not afraid of humans in the least bit...so I'd have to say that they were used to being fed.

 Alaina playing in the sand.

We had planned on going to see the Emerald Pools too, but we were all just too tired and hungry.

After some rest and food in our bellies we took a drive up the canyon to the 1 mile tunnel.  I forget what it's called.  It was built in 1930 and was really cool to drive through.

Day 5:  Long Drive Home

We left St. George around 11:00 in the morning and ended up home in Rexburg around 7:30 p.m.  The kids did amazingly well.  I will attribute our success to naps, treats, drinks, and Ipads with movies uploaded to them.  I think back on all those long hours in the car as a kid with my siblings and think my parents must have been saints to endure those long drives without the modern conveniences we enjoy today.

We had a great time but are glad to be home.  In a cooler climate, in our own beds, and real food (fast food gets old after 5 days).  Now to to get the kids ready for school, which starts in a little over a week!