Should have happened a long time a go. The trip. And the post.

I moved out here to Utah in 2010. That’s five years ago. And for those 5 years I have been thinking about, dreaming about, and talking about going to Zion National Park. There were lots of opportunities I guess but I just never made it there. Presidents’ Day Weekend presented the perfect opportunity. We packed our lunches the night before. Then we packed up my sweet roommate Kati’s car, picked up her brother and went on our way.

Pretty much once you get south of Payson the highway is surrounded by…nothing. We drove fast, blasted music, stopped for gas, slept, read books and took a wrong turn or two. We also made a pit stop in the town of Virgin…yes, you read that right…just to take this picture.I don’t know the origin of the word “virgin” but I think it’s kind of strange to give a town that name.Finally we arrived a Zion National Park. We were unaware that it was free national parks weekend or even if they accepted credit cards. So as we approached the gate we begin frantically trying to scrounge up the $20 entrance fee (because we’re college students and don’t plan these things ahead of time) only to be told that because we were all “so cute” he would let us in for free ;)

I had spent about 5 mins online looking up potential “hikes” of interest (because we were not all about the infamous Angel’s Landing) so when we entered the park we really had no idea where we were going. It wasn’t until about driving for about 20 mins and seeing the “Exiting Zion National Park” sign that we realized we’d missed a turn somewhere (turns out the turn we wanted was 11 miles back). But the drive provided some great scenic views and chances to practice some YOGA poses.We turned around and finally made it to the correct location where we ate our lunch and then hiked up to “Weeping Rock.” I use the word “hike” loosely here-it was a paved trail, up hill, that took 5 minutes. But the view was definitely worth the walk!Then (at risk of falling from a cliff) we hiked “Emerald Pools”. This was a beautiful hike with amazing views and plenty of places to stop along the way to enjoy the scenery. It was also pretty easy as far as hikes go-I give it a thumbs up! Em tried to take a nice picture of Mike and I but this child was in every shot.When I asked Em how it came out she replied “It looks good. Except that there is a random child in your pictures.” And then from behind her a woman angrily commented, “That’s my random child.” Whoops. But its whatever-that child was a real pain and was throwing rocks down the cavern while everyone was standing around. Dangerous. Control your kids!It was a fun trip! I can’t wait to go back. Or maybe hit Arches again. And I still need to see the Grand Canyon. Lots of adventure awaits!