Before COVID hit, Brad and I had talked about venturing to Southwest Utah to explore. We had both talked about visiting Zion and Bryce Canyon, as we had been to Canyonlands and Moab before the kids were born and loved every minute of it. Our plans were put on hold in March of 2020, but two years later we made the road trip possible and worth every moment.
ZION
Brad's mom has a pull behind camper, which we took instead of taking the van. It was much more convienent to leave the camper parked for the duration of our exploring at the St. George KOA and then drive and sight see the area as needed. We started with a place called Glitter Mountain. The kids were dying to get some "crystals" so we let them get a few pieces of gypsum and hike around the mine area. It was pretty cool!
We also went to a museum in town, where dinosaur fossils and prints were extracted and recovered from a local farm. Now, they're on display at the museum. This was the highlight of Jaxson's day: He loves dinosaurs.
Checking out the cool prints
Pretending to be paleontologists
Discovering a dinosaur print in the sand
Riding a rapotr
Maddy lounging on the raptor
Happily posing with one of his dinosaur friends.
Desert Lizards we saw racing around the area.
Red Cliffs State Park
Directly across from the KOA was access to Red Cliffs State Park. We enjoyed exploring this little area and hiking a few of the trails around the campground. One led to a decent overlook of the area and valley below. Another trail we took went to a slot canyon and sand cave, which was really cool. Jaxson wanted to be the leader the entire time, but he also wanted to be Mr. Daredevil and scale all the rocks. We had to explain to him that without proper gear or training, we simply can't be mountaineers as he is envisioning us to be. This area was definitely beautiful and glad we went to check it out on a whim.
Comparing size of his hand to a dinosaur track
Cool Petroglyph
We never saw the tortoises
Everyone had to try to hold up the boulder
Spring flowers
Sand cave, and Jaxson scouting the rocks he wants to climb along the canyon walls.
Camp!
ZION NATIONAL PARK
Our first stop was to Zion, which, to me, was the most breathtaking of the parks we visited. We didn't do any crazy strenuous hikes like Angels Landing and did not venture through The Narrows due to the water flow and weather. We did enjoy the shuttle service to some of the easily accessible hikes like The River Walk, and the Emerald Pools. I loved The Watchman Trail. I felt like I was in an old Western movie, as we made it to the top and overlooked the valley below from the vista we were on. The geology of Zion was simply astounding.
Indian Paintbrush in bloom
Cactus and views on our way up the trail
At the viewpoint
Lunch spot by the Virgin River
Along The River Walk
The infamous start to The Narrows Trail
Emerald Pools hike and waterfall
Zion Views
GRAND CANYON SOUTH RIM, ARIZONA-CLIFF DWELLERS, & NAVAJO BRIDGE.
Brad's one request was to see the Grand Canyon. Little did we know, the North Rim does not reopen until May, so we had to drive an extra couple hours to the South Rim to see her. Honestly, it was so worth it. The Grand Canyon is one of those places that makes you feel as big as an ant and pictures do not do the size of it justice. It's just something you need to see in person. It was fairly crowded and busy, but it was well worth the trek along the desert highways to see the unique scenery of red vermillion cliffs, mesas, and vistas that made up the drive to the canyon. It was very vacant and overwhelmingly desolate, but majestic all the same.
Utah Sunrise on our way to explore for the day
Arizona Vermillion Cliffs
Colorado River cutting through near Glen's Canyon Recreation Area
The Navajo Bridges
The Grand Canyon
We made a game of running to each shady spot to "recharge our powers."
Desert highways
Stretched out legs at Cliff Dwellers, Arizona
It was just his size
Balancing Act
Definitely relaxed. :)
We were recharging using the trees for our powers.
She gave him a free ride, because he complained about walking at first.
Marked vultures at Navajo Bridges
BRYCE CANYON, RED HOLLOW, AND EAST ZION
Our last place we checked out was Bryce Canyon. It was the coldest day we experienced on the trip, but it was the best hike, in my opinion. While the loop trail we did (Navajo Loop Trail to Queens Garden, then to Sunset/Sunrise Point) was adventurous and fairly crowed, my recommendation is to go clockwise on the trail. That way you avoid the switchbacks at the beginning of the Navajo Loop Trail, which makes it much easier to navigate the route up. The elevation kicked our butts, but definitely not Jaxson's. He was Mr. Talker the entire time. I don't think he stopped talking. Bryce was other worldly and fun!
We loved our time exploring this southwest and will return to hit places we didn't get to see that are on our bucket list, some day. Until next time...
Natural Bridge: Bryce
Prior to coming out, I found a road trip blog and followed some of the advice about getting off the beaten path and seeing some of the not-so-visited trails and canyons in the area. We stopped at Losee Canyon and hiked the Arch Loop Trail, which gave up panoramic and stunning views of the entire area.
We left Losee Canyon and headed to a slot canyon called Red Hallow. It was really neat to see the rock formations characteristics of rains and wind ripping through the canyons. Jaxson loved this canyon best because he was able to climb on and through the rocks and slots. He had a blast. We did have a scary moment where he disappeared to use the bathroom without telling us. We thought he had run ahead to the family in front of us, but when Brad came back to tell me he wasn't there, my whole face dropped and I freaked. Luckily, Jaxson was back near the entrance of the canyon, in tears of course, because he just needed to go pee. It was the scariest moment of our trip. We had many conversations about our hiking protocols and how we always stick together.
Straddling the walls
Texture
Looking up
Proud rock climber
Last portion of our drive home that afternoon was over Mt. Carmel Highway through East Zion. WOW, is all I have to say about that drive. One trail we didn't have time to check out was Canyon Overlook, but I made note for the next time. We saw a ton of baby mountain sheep and it was just the most amazing drive. It reminded me of my Grandma recounting her drives with my Grandpa through Utah and her details of the canyon walls that tower over the roads, the windy roads without guardrails that switch-back the side of the mountains, the long tunnel...It was great with the first hand experience. I wish my pictures of this area could do it justice, but they just don't. So here is at least one.
VALLEY OF FIRE, NEVADA, & LAKE MEAD.
The Valley of Fire was one of my top places I wanted to check out and we didn't even get to spend much time there. So Brad and I took note to return and enjoy it some more someday. The stunning area reminded me of Red Rocks in Colorado Springs, but unique to the desert landscape. It was beautiful. Since the campgrounds were full, there was plenty of BLM to disperse camp on, and we found a secluded spot off the Valley of Fire Highway to call our own. We also ventured slightly down a long desolate stretch of highway in search of the Hoover Dam, but decided it was a wasted trip, so we let the kids swim in the diminishing Lake Mead. Maddy got stuck in a sand trap. The kids enjoyed the lake. We saw wild horses and a wild burro and tons of big horn sheep. I took a stab at astrophotography, which ended up being a bit of a light-pollution fest, thanks to Vegas. Seriously, that place overpowers the night sky even 30 miles away. It was insane.
Random wild burro
Proud of their hole
Maddy helped create the fire pit
Last morning views
Brad going to help Maddy
Low lake levels and clam shells
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