Trip Report: The Perfect Family Trip!
EDIT: I wanted to add this link here at the beginning. Ragusa's Summer 2014 Trailer Hello friends! We have been home for two months, but I am just now feeling like getting to the trip repo...
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ZION: Part 1
One of the most often asked questions about our trip is which part was our favorite? Every little piece of it was a favorit in some way. However, if we were really squeezed to give an answer, it would likely be Zion!
We had 5 nights at "The Watchman". Our site was perfect, with views all around and privacy from every angle. Highly recommended.
Our days usually consisted of a sunrise hike, nap during the hot part of the day, and a sunset hike. We must have hiked 20 miles in this park alone.
The weather was perfect. A little warm at the hottest part of the evening, but nothing finding a shady spot couldn't fix.
Hiking "The Watchman" trail, we came across this. Kingsnake, we were told. Fairly rare to see.
"The Watchman" was one hike that we time wrong. We did it in the afternoon with full exposure to the setting sun. You can tell from the photo that we were hot. For all the other hikes, we timed them well for being on the shady side of the canyon.
Like I said, great campsite! There was a fire ban for our whole stay, except the first night, so we grilled some chicken!
Looking the other direction. And, one of the boys playing the PS3 gaming system. That really helped the kids cope with being on the road so long. They didn't get to play much, but it was a great tool for Mom and Dad to have some peace once in awhile.
Herds of deer, every evening, with this backdrop. Yes, from the campsite!
We hiked "The Narrows" on the first morning, for fear of rain closing it later. We would have been crushed if we couldn't have hiked it. This time of year, they hadn't had the rainy season yet, so the water was very low. There were a few spots that got over our knees, but most was like this. We hike a total of 9 miles round trip. Could never do that on land, but the scenery was motivation to keep going. It was a spiritual moment making this hike. It's everything we hoped it would be. I will say, we took the 6am shuttle, so we had the entire hike in, to ourselves! That made a huge difference. It was like our own private eden.
On the way back, it was a different story. By noon, it was jam packed with people, and completely changed the experience.
One of the views from "The Upper Emerald Pools" hike.
We spend so much time picnicking, etc. at the Upper Pools, that we lost track of time. We realized that we might not catch the last shuttle bus of the night!!! So we hustled down the mountain and with just minutes to spare, caught the bus! THAT saved a long walk home! Here we are showing up back at the truck. The length of sunlight had us confused most of the trip. This picture was taken at close to 10pm.
ZION Part 2: Coming soon...
One of the most often asked questions about our trip is which part was our favorite? Every little piece of it was a favorit in some way. However, if we were really squeezed to give an answer, it would likely be Zion!
We had 5 nights at "The Watchman". Our site was perfect, with views all around and privacy from every angle. Highly recommended.
Our days usually consisted of a sunrise hike, nap during the hot part of the day, and a sunset hike. We must have hiked 20 miles in this park alone.
The weather was perfect. A little warm at the hottest part of the evening, but nothing finding a shady spot couldn't fix.
Hiking "The Watchman" trail, we came across this. Kingsnake, we were told. Fairly rare to see.
"The Watchman" was one hike that we time wrong. We did it in the afternoon with full exposure to the setting sun. You can tell from the photo that we were hot. For all the other hikes, we timed them well for being on the shady side of the canyon.
Like I said, great campsite! There was a fire ban for our whole stay, except the first night, so we grilled some chicken!
Looking the other direction. And, one of the boys playing the PS3 gaming system. That really helped the kids cope with being on the road so long. They didn't get to play much, but it was a great tool for Mom and Dad to have some peace once in awhile.
Herds of deer, every evening, with this backdrop. Yes, from the campsite!
We hiked "The Narrows" on the first morning, for fear of rain closing it later. We would have been crushed if we couldn't have hiked it. This time of year, they hadn't had the rainy season yet, so the water was very low. There were a few spots that got over our knees, but most was like this. We hike a total of 9 miles round trip. Could never do that on land, but the scenery was motivation to keep going. It was a spiritual moment making this hike. It's everything we hoped it would be. I will say, we took the 6am shuttle, so we had the entire hike in, to ourselves! That made a huge difference. It was like our own private eden.
On the way back, it was a different story. By noon, it was jam packed with people, and completely changed the experience.
One of the views from "The Upper Emerald Pools" hike.
We spend so much time picnicking, etc. at the Upper Pools, that we lost track of time. We realized that we might not catch the last shuttle bus of the night!!! So we hustled down the mountain and with just minutes to spare, caught the bus! THAT saved a long walk home! Here we are showing up back at the truck. The length of sunlight had us confused most of the trip. This picture was taken at close to 10pm.
ZION Part 2: Coming soon...