After Death Valley, we took a little detour on over to Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. I did not get any pictures, my energy was DOWN. Still is, truth be told. Constant travelling, constant sight seeing and learning and doing and going-going-going is taxing. So I ended up sitting out the visitor's center, the Hoover Dam, and yes, even Las Vegas. The kids and Bill had fun, though, so it was a win-win.
We picked up the pace again and headed out for Zion. The Watchman campground is open, though it's the only one right now. I was worried about finding a spot. Zion is hugely popular, and during reservation season, is almost always 100% full. And while there are a lot of people here in the campground, we did find a space we fit into and are happy occupying.
We got to our campsite at lunchtime, so we ate our lunch and then hit the visitor's center and toodled around. My asthma was acting up, so we just did the driving tour. Because it's off season, we got to drive the scenic loop instead of having to take the shuttle bus.
We hit the Zion Lodge (K was sure to keep us on track with what the Jr. Ranger book required), and there were turkeys!!!! A whole bunch of 'em, just hanging out on the front lawn!
We didn't get any opportunity to check out the narrows because of high waters and the serious threat of flash flooding. The narrows were closed the entire time we were staying at Zion, though it was scheduled to open several hours after we left. Hmmm....
The rock formations were just stunning. The kids were immediately saying they were glad we made it to this park. And even though we didn't spend a great deal of time exploring, it was nice just to be among these impressive rock formations.
For our first full day in the area, we travelled to Bryce Canyon National Park. Much of the park was closed due to the heavy snowfall they had recently received. If we had been properly prepared with cross country skis or snowshoes, man, would it have been a blast! As it was, we explored just a wee bit of the Navajo Loop and then did the drive until the road was closed, stopping at all the stops so the kids could play in the snow and Bill and I could take a look at the rocks. We've gone to a bunch of Utah's parks now, and love to see the rocks. I gotta say, though, my favorite is still Goblin Valley State Park.
The snow makes the rocks really stand out with their colors against the white. So beautiful. And cold. Love me some seat heaters. The kids think it's highly unfair that only the driver and front passenger get seat heaters, but that's life on a limited budget!
This is up at the top of Navajo Loop, on Sunset Point. The hoodoos and fins were spectacular. The trail was covered with snow, but we slipped and slid our way to see some cool stuff.
Someone built this little guy. He's a cutie. We found several other small snowmen throughout the park. Just a little winter fun. One of the few days of late that we've been thankful for having our winter coats with us. The day after this we spent back at Zion, though we only hiked the Pa'rus Trail. It was almost 4 miles round trip from our campsite and back, so it was a nice little jaunt. Utah rocks!
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