Day 16--Saturday
We woke up at the Springdale Hampton Inn on the edge of Zion National Park in Utah. It was a shame that we only had time to sleep there. They had an awesome outdoor pool and an outdoor lounge area facing the mountains, but since we arrived at 10:30 the night before, we only had time to wake up our neighbors upon arrival, do two loads of laundry, and eat a quick breakfast before leaving.
We caught the shuttle and Monkey-See-Monkey-Do-Girl held on just like she saw others doing.
We didn't spend a whole lot of time in the Park. It was HOT, Colombo and I had our first and only 'spat' of the trip, and I knew I wanted more time at Bryce than Zion. So mostly, we just drove through, which we'd done the night before, in the dark, to get to the hotel.
We drove through the 1.1 mile tunnel, and, as promised, came out into new terrain.
We got out to do some more 'rot timin'.
Can you spot Maddy and Nathanael?
Trevor knows one way down.
C4 would immediately regret this decision, but a pair of tweezers and 20 minutes later he was good.
Back in the car, I was thrilled to spot this dude hanging out on a ledge:
This was called "Checkerboard" something.
We left Zion around noon and it was 95 degrees. We drove through the Dixie National Forest and Red Canyon.
Part way through the couple hour drive, it poured, which was fine. We were in the car, in between stops, and the weather had called for a 'stray' thunderstorm.
We stopped at Subway just outside of Bryce and it at hailed before our arrival and dropped from 95 to 55!
As we entered the Park, that 'stray' thunderstorm was still hanging around, now more like a steady, light rain. We decided to kill a few minutes inside the museum and gift shop, since the weather app didn't even admit to the rain. We were sure it would quickly pass.
Then we decided to drive the length of the Canyon and do some of the notable take-a-picture stops.
We excitedly started out on our 2.5 mile loop into the Canyon into Queens Garden. A little bummed to not have bright blue sky for pictures, but glad the rain had stopped and thankful for the cool air to hike in.
Bryce was just as I remembered it from my childhood. It was my favorite then and still is! It is simply magnificent. Matchless beauty.
Right here, this picture, an Aisian guy says, "So cute" and proceeds to take multiple pictures of Colombo and Renna. Ohhhh...kayyyyy...
Our whole hike in those clouds threatened so we kept looking where we'd go for shelter.
Just about 1/2 way into the hike, Trevor tripped and skinned his knee a little. It bled, so you would've have thought he broke his ankle. At least he scared the mountain lions away! So he got a ride for part of the walk.
Actually, there was an Asian couple and their son who were near us for some of the walk. When they passed us, they were trying to ask if everything was o.k. I said, "Yes, he's o.k." to which the Asian father said, "He's o.k. So brave."
At a closer look they couldn't help themselves but to ask if all the kids were ours. SIX kids blew their minds. They must have said 'six kids' about, well, six times. My kids thought it was hilarious that the mom held up four fingers on one hand and her thumb and pinky of the other hand to make six.
Six kids! Since the trip, the kids will randomly hold up the same fingers and say
Six kids!
Oh, there's our Asian friends.
Six kids!
The last .2 miles or so of the hike was a zig-zag up the side of the Canyon. It reminded me of Lombard Street in San Fran. But, we began to feel the drops. I had Rocco on my back, Daddy had Renna, Maddy had the camera and we just
moved as the heavens opened.
Here you can see the zig-zag.
That's looking down where we just came from.
The kids thought it was AWESOME...except for Renna. It was the perfect combo of fun and trauma to make a lasting memory. For sure one of the top three days of the trip!
I was especially proud of TJ. He was wet, which doesn't work well for him, and injured, but he was brave! Thank goodness, the shuttle got us back to the van. Back on the road...
The boys enjoyed the car ride in their undies. Trevor noted, "This is the first time we've all been naked in the van."
Renna recovered, too.
We stopped in a rinky-dink town, Kanab, for dinner. It was slow because we came after two tour buses, but the food was excellent and we were able to eat outside with live music.
Midnight arrival at our dumpy motel room in Page, AZ.
Yeah, a top 3 day.
