Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Day 15 & 16: Zion
Yesterday we left at 7:10 (pretty good) for Zion. The girls helped a lot in getting us ready. ☺ We were here by 9:30 and it was already getting hot. It took us awhile to choose a campsite, but we eventually opted for one that was very close to the river and had a great view over one with shade. We don’t have electrical hookups (because I didn’t make reservations soon enough) so we won’t be able to run the A/C.
After we settled in, we were really hot, so all of us went down to the river. We ended up spending most of the day playing in the water – which was great. It’s quite cold and the air was about 101. We had an early dinner and then we headed off for an evening hike to the Emerald Pools. The hike leaves from the Zion Lodge, so we took the shuttle. The shuttles at Zion are excellent and this time they had a talking description of the geology as we went which was really great.
The kids were resisting the hike, but after we got them going they were great. We ended up taking the longer way up (to the middle pool) and then 0.5 mile additional up to the upper pool. The excitement began on the way down. All of the kids went in front (except Kate, who was walking slowly with blisters – I stayed in back with her). When we got to the middle pool Patty and Catherine realized the couldn’t see the other five kids. We yelled and yelled and then split up on the three different ways down. There was about 45 minutes of worried searching, but Catherine eventually caught them (on the wrong trail) and all ended up well. It was nerve racking for awhile, primarily because it was getting close to dark. We had promised the kids ice cream, but the lodge ice cream had closed. They recommended we go down to Springdale, which we did. When we got to the store in Springdale, they had closed their ice cream counter. Luckily they had some other ice cream alternatives, so we did ok. We walked back to our campsite from town in the dark. All in all it was a fun but eventful evening.
Today we got up and headed out at 9:00 for the Riverside walk and the Narrows which I’d been wanting to do since we were last here. We did the 1 mile Riverside walk and then plunged into the Virgin river and walked up the narrow end of the canyon (with hundreds of other folks). It turned out to be a great experience. The 6 kids all had a blast and helped each other over the rough (rocky), underwater terrain. It’s slow going, but lots of fun walking through the cold water. We probably walked/waded a mile and a half each way. I wore my hiking boots which turned out to be an excellent choice. Everyone had a blast. The only downside was that my knee got more and more swollen as we went. When we were done we rode the shuttle to the Zion Lodge and had lunch, then rode the shuttle to town and had more ice cream.
When we got back we spent the late afternoon in the river, although there were a couple of brief rainstorms that drove the kids back to camp to play more games of Clue. Tomorrow the Fisses are leaving early for Vegas and we’ll leave in the late morning. I had really wanted to hike to Angel’s Landing, but I think my knee isn’t up for it. So we’ll get up, make breakfast, pack up and head off for one night of real running water and electricity in a hotel room before heading off for June Lake. I should have wifi in the hotel tomorrow and therefore should be able to push a bunch of this up.
After we settled in, we were really hot, so all of us went down to the river. We ended up spending most of the day playing in the water – which was great. It’s quite cold and the air was about 101. We had an early dinner and then we headed off for an evening hike to the Emerald Pools. The hike leaves from the Zion Lodge, so we took the shuttle. The shuttles at Zion are excellent and this time they had a talking description of the geology as we went which was really great.
The kids were resisting the hike, but after we got them going they were great. We ended up taking the longer way up (to the middle pool) and then 0.5 mile additional up to the upper pool. The excitement began on the way down. All of the kids went in front (except Kate, who was walking slowly with blisters – I stayed in back with her). When we got to the middle pool Patty and Catherine realized the couldn’t see the other five kids. We yelled and yelled and then split up on the three different ways down. There was about 45 minutes of worried searching, but Catherine eventually caught them (on the wrong trail) and all ended up well. It was nerve racking for awhile, primarily because it was getting close to dark. We had promised the kids ice cream, but the lodge ice cream had closed. They recommended we go down to Springdale, which we did. When we got to the store in Springdale, they had closed their ice cream counter. Luckily they had some other ice cream alternatives, so we did ok. We walked back to our campsite from town in the dark. All in all it was a fun but eventful evening.
Today we got up and headed out at 9:00 for the Riverside walk and the Narrows which I’d been wanting to do since we were last here. We did the 1 mile Riverside walk and then plunged into the Virgin river and walked up the narrow end of the canyon (with hundreds of other folks). It turned out to be a great experience. The 6 kids all had a blast and helped each other over the rough (rocky), underwater terrain. It’s slow going, but lots of fun walking through the cold water. We probably walked/waded a mile and a half each way. I wore my hiking boots which turned out to be an excellent choice. Everyone had a blast. The only downside was that my knee got more and more swollen as we went. When we were done we rode the shuttle to the Zion Lodge and had lunch, then rode the shuttle to town and had more ice cream.
When we got back we spent the late afternoon in the river, although there were a couple of brief rainstorms that drove the kids back to camp to play more games of Clue. Tomorrow the Fisses are leaving early for Vegas and we’ll leave in the late morning. I had really wanted to hike to Angel’s Landing, but I think my knee isn’t up for it. So we’ll get up, make breakfast, pack up and head off for one night of real running water and electricity in a hotel room before heading off for June Lake. I should have wifi in the hotel tomorrow and therefore should be able to push a bunch of this up.
# posted by Craig @ 10:00 PM 
