May 17th

First stop was the Grapevine Trail just outside Zion’s official park.

This hike is impossible to find  information on. Honestly, we only stopped because we saw a tiny sign for it and there was nobody in the parking lot!! No people? Ok… must be our style :).

You start off walking on flat, dry desert terrain for maybe 500 yards. Then you hit the cliff edge. The ground is mostly lava rocks and cactus and is a little over a 1 mile trail that descends 300ish ft straight down to a river. 

The hike down was fun.  Steep steps down through lava rocks and lots of quick zig zags.  With 2 kids under 5 it was about a 45 min hike down.

Once we got to the bottom, there were large round boulders to lay on, soft beach like sand, and best of all…..cold, cold, crystal clear river water!  The kinds you want to just drink up…but probably shouldn’t!

Of course we quickly changed into our swim suits and got to work; building little stick dams to create pools, catching lizards and frogs and laying out on the hot boulders in the sun.  It was a mini paradise, just for us! We didn’t see a single other hiker on this trail the whole day.

It was nearing 3 pm so we decided to hike our way out.  As usual Fletcher’s legs were done so he rode like a monkey on my back.  Best leg workout ever!  Riley was a champ and climbed the rocks like a mountain goat!  Always 10 steps ahead of the rest of us.

We took a drive through Kolob Canyon and couldn’t get over the views!  Took a break on the side of the road and enjoyed the views from the roof of the Maj. This is the kids favorite place to be. The roof!

We found a nice little turn out to sleep that night. Lots of BLM land around means great boondock spots! It was a really hot day and the wind was dry and dusty.  We retreated into the Maj for most the evening.  Before the sun went down it cooled a bit and both kids, adorned in rain boots, took spoons and empty cans to go dig in a nearby ravine and look for lizards.  I love when they get adventurous on their own!

May 18th

Turns out, we camped near the bottom of an old Red Bull Rampage bike trail.  We woke up to witness bikers getting some serious air off the jumps as we sat in our Maj and ate breakfast.  It was a good pre-game show!

By 8 am we were packed up and headed to Zion National Park.  We drove through Springdale to the official park entrance around 9 am.  The line was already amazingly long.  Looking back, we should have gone during the middle of the week. Not on a weekend! Live and learn I guess.

We got to the front of the line and the booth lady said that RV parking was already full and we’d have to turn around and find parking in the city and shuttle into the park.  This seems to be the case in most national parks. They don’t like RV’s!!  Not many places for us to park and they tend to send us out.

As we pulled forward to turn around a ranger motioned us over.  Not knowing where we were going, we pulled up for a chat.  He asked where we were headed and we repeated what the lady at the booth told us.  He smiled and said, “I just heard there was a cancellation at Watchman Campground ahead.  You guys interested in staying the night?”. YES!!!! One cancellation at the exact moment we needed it. WHAT LUCK!  Our day had just turned from exhausting to exciting!

This campground is pretty nice.  LOTS of trees and shade in each spot.  You feel a little secluded, even though your neighbors are still fairly close to you.  We didn’t test out the showers or bathrooms, but they exist. There is a free sewage dump and water hook ups.  A huge plus!  Did I mention they have full electric hookups at each site?  AC it up!!

We quickly hooked up and locked the doors so we could race to the first hike and beat the heat.  We decided to take the bus to the first hike (turns out, that’s pretty much your only option).  The line was CRAZY long.  The kids got really antsy by the time we got to get on an actual bus. The bus is still Fletcher’s highlight in national parks.

First up? Weaping Rock.  It’s a quick easy hike for kids (and literally the shortest hike in the whole park). Basically you walk up a sidewalk about 10 minutes and climb a few stairs until you reach an alcove where water trickles down the rock face.  It IS really pretty and the views from the top of the trail are amazing.

We even had a deer sighting that made the kids beyond excited.  After fighting for views between tourist groups we decided to hike back down.

As usual, the kids had more fun at the base of the trail.  Right before you cross the bridge to take the “hike” up to the rock there are some steps that go down into a little ravine with a stream. We sat down there and had lunch while the kids hopped from rock to rock and played in the water.  Most people were up top in lines for buses…we had the river to ourselves. Ahh..peace among chaos. Our favorite thing!

As we rode the bus we realized that our kids probably wouldn’t make many of the other hikes for the day.  We decided to reign it in and headed back to the campsite.  This was confirmed to be a good choice during Fletcher’s near meltdown on a public bus.

Luckily there were some fun travelers next to us that helped us entertain the kids enough to make the ride back to the campground. One of which was an older couple (88 and 92). They were recently married since both of their prior spouses had passed within the last few years. They were from Canada and had just purchased an RV. Their goal was to hit every state in America.  And with a side whisper, the wife added (and HIT it in every state!)  I about died laughing!!  Overshare, but it made my day. Way to go you too! I hope you make it!!!

Back at Watchman’s Campground, Fletcher and Brian passed out for an afternoon nap.  Riley and I had some bonding time.  I read in the shade while she sang me songs on her ukulele. It was a fun combination of “Shake it off” by Taylor Swift which morphed into a primary song, “Book of Mormon Stories”.  In a million years I wouldn’t have thought of that mash up….but she nailed it!

When the boys woke up we decided we needed to cool off before dinner.  The Virgin River runs right next to the campground so we “suited up” and headed to the water (a common theme for us).

The water was maybe 58*, which meant we were the only crazy people swimming in it.  Private river!  There were some spots deep enough to jump into and not hit the bottom.  Brian taught Riley how to float down the mini rapids on her back while Fletcher and I played monster trucks on the beach.

Once we were numb to the core we headed back to fill our bellies with a classic hot dog/hamburger night.  It was so nice outside!  One thing we forget about Utah in the summer is that the sun NEVER seems to go down.  It was nearing 6 or 7 and the kids were WIDE awake from the sun.  We decided to take a ride up the canyon on our bikes.

The Pa’rus Trail is a smooth trail that follows the Virgin River deeper into the park.  There are a few fun bridges that the kids loved.  Fletcher would yell “I see bridge” from my bike (mind you it’s hard to tell what he was yelling since he had a binky securely in his teeth while yelling). Each time we’d cross he’d yell “weeeee” the whole way.

This may have been my favorite part of Zion.  Biking through the cool night air, watching the giant red canyons around us move slowly by.

The views were stunning!  We ended up taking to the road and continuing our ride all the way up to Zion National Park Lodge.  There is a large tree in the middle of an even larger grassy area with seating all the way around.  We took a break and let the kids run amok and get their energy out (while we recovered from our lazy bike ride).

 One little deer slowly made its way to the grass area and was quickly swarmed by tourists, getting way too close for a picture.  Soon it scampered off.  This was much to the dismay of two older ladies sitting on the bench to our left.  I started talking with them and they mentioned how magical this spot is at night (when the tourists behave).

They said that if you come near dusk, a herd of dear usually come out to nibble the grass around this large tree.  You can sit and watch from the benches around the edges.  Sadly I think there were too many people for us to witness that magic.  But you could feel it in the air.  Some places just have a special reverence. This was one of them.

We hopped back on our bikes and headed back before it got too dark.  The kids didn’t fall asleep until well past dark that night.  It was also the first night we slept in the RV with rainfall! I think it had the kids excited.

May 19th

We only had 1 day at Watchman Campground. We woke up early, cleaned up camp and headed out so we could hike before the midday sun heat.

Fletcher helped Brian dump tanks while wearing his froggy rain boots and binky.  Riley and I checked us out and researched how to get an escorted drive through the tunnel on the 89.  Good news, it’s pretty easy to do! The tunnel isn’t wide enough for an RV to go through so they have to block both directions of traffic to let us through.  We got to the tunnel about 9 am which was perfect timing. There was nobody heading our direction.

The tunnel is 1.1 miles long with multiple “windows”.  You drive for minutes at a time in pitch darkness and then you hit a section where the tunnel is open on one side. The light is extra bright and the view of the majestic red rock cliffs are even more amazing. The kids had a blast watching out for each new view.

At the end of the tunnel was the LONGEST line of cars heading back in to the center of the park. We definitely lucked out timing wise. Always good to start any new adventure early.

We decided to try a few more hikes before we left Zion.  First we parked just outside the tunnel on Hwy 89 to hike some side cliffs for a view. 

Like mother….

like daughter :).

Afterwards, we decided to go hike the Many Pools Trail.  This is a short 2.3 mile out and back.  Really, it’s a hike that is as long as you want to make it.  This trail is best after a summer rain or early in the summer. We thought May would have been perfect.  Turns out, we came after a bit of a dry spell.

We got to the trailhead, parked and made some lunch so the kids would be fed and full of energy.  We hiked down into a wash and barely found the trail as it was very loose sand. We turned a corner which brought us back to the highway, but this time, we got to go through a tunnel under it. 

Oddly enough, this was the coolest part of the hike for our kids, and it was steps away from the trailhead!

We let the kids play here a bit to get excited about the hike. Sadly, Fletcher was not AS excited as the rest of us. Brian decided to take Fletcher back to the RV for a nap, and Riley and I got to have a girl hike!

It was so nice to just focus on her for a whole hour or so.  We took our time and went nice and slow. She’s so curious at 5 and has questions for everything.  I helped her notice the lines and footprints in the sand as we tried to decide what animals were making them (mice, lizard or snake became a fun game).

We walked for some time through the sand until we got to the giant rock.  I don’t think there is anything Riley likes better than hiking giant boulders or rocks.  This was right up her ally. 

A couple crevices and some big rocks to jump on.  It was hard to tell if we were on the right trail, but then we got to a point where we finally found some large sitting pools.  We decided to see 7 pools before we turned around. I think we technically saw 9.  Though I wouldn’t call them pools….maybe cesspools :).

It hadn’t rained much before we came so the water itself was quite murky and green. However, each pool was filled with frogs! Something we were both shocked to see! We sat and watched them blend into the walls of the rocks and then hop into the water and slowly sink to the bottom and become invisible.

Nothing beet the view of Riley at the top of this trail in full conquering pose.  Little mental moments of time I’ll never forget.

Thanks for a great stay Zion. We will be back!