We found out that a winter storm was coming and snow was inevitable in the southern Utah area. We were going to move the trailer to Bryce Canyon area, but we knew we were going to a higher elevation, which meant 15 degrees cooler than Zion.
Instead of moving the trailer north we decided to stay because we really liked the Zion Ranch and Lexi loved all of the kid friendly activities(unlimited miniature golf), petting zoo, and the pool tables. We headed to Bryce National Park for the day.
We stopped at a fun roadside stop of taxidermy museum. It was a great museum with unbelievable amounts of "stuffed animals". We had fun and they had mule deers in back for feeding.
Back on the road we went to the only general store we found on our 86 mile trip. We needed mittens, coats, and hats. The temperature was a high of 43 degrees. We did our best at the Ruby's general store. We were completely unprepared for this weather.
It was cold but we stopped at all of the stops at Bryce Canyon. We witnessed the HooDoos and hiked the rim trail. We ended up doing the geology talk with the ranger who explained that it wasn't really a canyon. Canyons are created by a river and this was created by rain and ice. I wished it would have been better weather because it would have been incredible to take the hike to the bottom.
It was so cold we ditched the shuttle and got the truck. It just was too cold to wait for the shuttle. Lexi got her Junior Ranger badge and we headed back on the road.
It was the worst weather. It was solid raining and wind the whole way. We stopped at a small roadside restaurant for a great piece of pie and homemade vegetable beef soup. It was so delicious, all the vegetables were from their garden.
The night was crazy with beating rain and howling wind. We had a few leaks in the trailer due to condensation. We played games late into the evening and didn't wake up until after 8 the next morning.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Zion Day 2 Pictures to follow
Today we headed to the gas station in Springdale. We found an apple orchard on the side of the road which offered u-pick fugi apples. We of course stopped for cider and fresh apples. It was another perfect day at the park.
We went to Big Bend. The shuttle dropped us off at the Big Bend which is the bend of the Virgin river. On the tops of the mountains around us we say people hiking the Angels Landing. We decided the name was perfect because that looked as close to heaven as anyone could get, or if you fall you will see the angels.
The next stop was the river walk which was 2 miles round trip. It also leads to the Narrows which is a hike that is pictured in the river between huge mountains. The river was flowing to much to cross and get to Narrows which was a disappointment.
Lexi achieved her Junior Ranger badge after 2 days of work and she was excited to get her badge. We ended up coming back early. We played pool at the barn, Lexi went to the playground, and we checked out all of the facilitites
Today we headed to the gas station in Springdale. We found an apple orchard on the side of the road which offered u-pick fugi apples. We of course stopped for cider and fresh apples. It was another perfect day at the park.
We went to Big Bend. The shuttle dropped us off at the Big Bend which is the bend of the Virgin river. On the tops of the mountains around us we say people hiking the Angels Landing. We decided the name was perfect because that looked as close to heaven as anyone could get, or if you fall you will see the angels.
The next stop was the river walk which was 2 miles round trip. It also leads to the Narrows which is a hike that is pictured in the river between huge mountains. The river was flowing to much to cross and get to Narrows which was a disappointment.
Lexi achieved her Junior Ranger badge after 2 days of work and she was excited to get her badge. We ended up coming back early. We played pool at the barn, Lexi went to the playground, and we checked out all of the facilitites
Zion National Park
Pictures to follow
We had a late start to our trip due to a nail in our tire. Our journey started at 12:30 in the afternoon knowing we had an 8 hour drive to Zion Pondersosa Ranch. We did not take into consideration that Utah is 1 hour ahead of us. We had a harrowing drive, especially after Page to Kanab, it was dark and construction the entire way. We almost just stopped in a parking lot for the night but somehow carried on to the ranch. It was 9:30 and no one was answering the "emergency #" to show us where we were to park. We decided to find the RV parking and ended up at the barn and the horses. The General Manager found us there and guided us to a pull through spot. Believe me it was pitch black and there was no way we would have found this spot. We were all settled in and leveled around 11:30 Utah time. It was noisy, but we did it. When the sunlight came we found out how many people were notified of our arrival. There was a house and tent wagons within 50 feet of our site.
In the daylight of the next morning we were aware of what we drove to get to our location and it was unbelievable that we made it in the dark. We pulled into Zion the next morning and it was 70 degrees which was the best weather we have felt since April. We drove the park with the windows down. The first tunnel was great because we saw a family of Bighorn sheep walking the top of the tunnel as we entered. The next tunnel we entered was behind a tour bus so they stopped opposing traffic and we had full access of both lanes. It was 1.1 miles downhill driving with the windows down. We screamed like we were on the best roller coaster ever. In the middle were gallery windows to see the mammoth walls of Zions mountains. It was the greatest way of entering the park.
We went to the Visitors center and picked up the shuttle. The high was 89 degrees but it felt perfect. We hiked the Emerald Pool, Kayenta Trail and ended up at the Grotto. I talked Gerald into the hike even though it said it was moderately strenuous and about 2 miles. We ended up going the right way because the hard part was all downhill. We had some time and went to the Museum where Gerald fell asleep during the film, post hike. With everyone rejuvenated we hiked the Weeping Rock. The coolest part of this hike was seeing the cable structure that used to drop down mail and people, post 1930's, 2,000 feet to save 16 miles of travel. Once the tunnel was created this was not needed anymore.
We had a late start to our trip due to a nail in our tire. Our journey started at 12:30 in the afternoon knowing we had an 8 hour drive to Zion Pondersosa Ranch. We did not take into consideration that Utah is 1 hour ahead of us. We had a harrowing drive, especially after Page to Kanab, it was dark and construction the entire way. We almost just stopped in a parking lot for the night but somehow carried on to the ranch. It was 9:30 and no one was answering the "emergency #" to show us where we were to park. We decided to find the RV parking and ended up at the barn and the horses. The General Manager found us there and guided us to a pull through spot. Believe me it was pitch black and there was no way we would have found this spot. We were all settled in and leveled around 11:30 Utah time. It was noisy, but we did it. When the sunlight came we found out how many people were notified of our arrival. There was a house and tent wagons within 50 feet of our site.
In the daylight of the next morning we were aware of what we drove to get to our location and it was unbelievable that we made it in the dark. We pulled into Zion the next morning and it was 70 degrees which was the best weather we have felt since April. We drove the park with the windows down. The first tunnel was great because we saw a family of Bighorn sheep walking the top of the tunnel as we entered. The next tunnel we entered was behind a tour bus so they stopped opposing traffic and we had full access of both lanes. It was 1.1 miles downhill driving with the windows down. We screamed like we were on the best roller coaster ever. In the middle were gallery windows to see the mammoth walls of Zions mountains. It was the greatest way of entering the park.
We went to the Visitors center and picked up the shuttle. The high was 89 degrees but it felt perfect. We hiked the Emerald Pool, Kayenta Trail and ended up at the Grotto. I talked Gerald into the hike even though it said it was moderately strenuous and about 2 miles. We ended up going the right way because the hard part was all downhill. We had some time and went to the Museum where Gerald fell asleep during the film, post hike. With everyone rejuvenated we hiked the Weeping Rock. The coolest part of this hike was seeing the cable structure that used to drop down mail and people, post 1930's, 2,000 feet to save 16 miles of travel. Once the tunnel was created this was not needed anymore.
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