Friday, June 13, 2014

Zion Day 1 6/13/14

Hello!
This morning we packed up super early at our Horse Thief campsite in hopes of getting to Zion early enough to get a camping spot.  We very quietly got ready and hit the road at 4:00 AM.  We were both groggy from the early wake up call, but we knew we had to get to Zion early if we had any chance of getting a spot.  Brad drove the whole way and let me sleep because he is a gentleman and an amazing husband.  He had a rough morning of driving with several mountain passes and very high winds.  He got us to Zion in one piece :)

As we entered Zion, we made our way to the South Camp Grounds to try and look for a first come first serve spot.  We hoped we could find one with it being the start of a weekend.  We pulled into a jam packed campsite.  Seriously, the campsites are about 20 yards away from each other.  We had just left a campsite where I could not even throw a baseball and hit the next site to us.  We saw tons of vehicles and tents.  We drove through the whole campsite about three times and then it happened.  We found a spot!!!  It was one of the maybe three left. We were so relieved and happy that we did not hit the road that early for nothing.  We pulled in and set up.  We had some lunch and decided to head to the visitors center.

At the visitors center, we planned out the hikes we would be doing while in Zion.  We decided to do the easy stuff today, the moderate tomorrow and the crazy on Sunday.  So today was The Weeping Rock and the River Walk.  Saturday will be the Emerald Pools and the Hidden Canyon.  Sunday... Sunday will be the day that we will hike up Angels Landing.  Google it if you have the time.  I do not want to give too much info about it just yet, but it will be crazy.

At the visitors center, we caught the shuttle bus that takes everyone up into the Zion Canyon.  We stopped at the trail head for the Weeping Rock.  We hiked a short ways and came up on the rock with a drizzling water fall.  It was beautiful and refreshing in the 95 degree heat.  We enjoyed the view and the waterfall.

After the Weeping Rock, we got off the shuttle on the trail head for the river walk.  We walked a nice paved trail for about a mile and ended up at the Narrows.  This was beautiful as well.  We stopped for a bit to watch the water flow and take in the scenery again.

To finish the day, we stopped at the Human History Museum and gained a lot of knowledge about the park and air conditioning!!!  This was a nice stop.  We then jumped back on the shuttle and headed back down to the visitors center that we started at.  We then walked a bit to a small grocery store to get a few odds and ends.

We walked back to our campsite and were truly exhausted.  We had a snack, took a nap, and then had a lovely evening once the sun went down.  Great day in Zion and we can't wait for the next two days.

To everyone reading, thank you!

To our friends and family back home, we love you!

-Chelsea  

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