Zion National Park

We were all really excited to head down to Zion National Park. Well, I'm not sure the kids knew what was coming, but they were excited to get out of the van! We arrived ready to camp for a few nights but quickly found out that everyone else did too. The closest campsite that might, just might, have a space left was 30 minutes away. La Quinta it is! We stayed at a hotel just outside the park and it was a great decision. Did you know it gets hot in southern Utah? Really hot. Plus look at this view.

We went on lots of great little hikes, or adventures as we ended up calling them. The word hike started not sounding fun to the kids, but an adventure, now that enticing. The kids did great. Adalyn wanted to walk the whole time! Emmett didn't but we encouraged him to keep going as long as he could and he made it. Benton did great walking the whole time, and climbing on everything he could find along the path.

On one hike we found lots of friendly squirrels. The obviously have been fed a lot by the hikers, which they ask you not to do, so when they saw us them came running. It was fun for the kids the see them so close, they thought it was fascinating.

See what I mean about climbing on everything? Benton found this massive boulder on the side of the path and asked to climb it. Dallin helped him a little bit, but he mainly did it himself! Emmett joined him with a little bit of help and Adalyn was disappointed that she couldn't go up too.

Benton, AKA The climber.

It was so beautiful. The scenery was so different than any place that we've been before. During the bus rides up to the different hike paths, they had a recording playing that told us a lot about the history of Zion. It was fun to listen to.

On the way back from our last hike we found a fun spot on the river to play. The kids went wild and played for a long time. They would have lasted a lot longer if I wasn't concerned about them getting sunburned. They threw rocks in, walked up and down the river bank jumping in and out of the water. Basically any kids dream, right?

Zion was beautiful. We spent two nights and three days there and were able to do a couple little hikes. I'm really excited to go back in a few years when our kids are a little older and we can try a few of the longer hikes. Plus, to keep things completely honest, I will probably enjoy it a lot more when I'm not pregnant. I may or may not have been a little cranky during this trip... Regardless, it was an awesome place to visit and I will definitely enjoy going again.