Zion Day 2

The views from our hotel were amazing.

Our hotel had breakfast, and we were fed and on the way into the park by 8 o'clock. The lines can be horrible, even this early in the season, but the day was fairly slow. We drove 6 minutes to the Visitor Center and got parked early. Then we started our first hike. 

Just having some breakfast!

It was only 30 degrees, which we weren't very prepared for, but moving fast helped us stay warm. The Watchman hike left right from the Visitor Center, running about 3 miles. It was a lollipop up the ridge, which looked back over the valley. We climbed steeply up to the foot of the Watchman, which is a round rock tower than looms over the park entrance. We enjoyed this hike and the lighting was perfect this time of the morning. 

Zion was super pretty in the early morning.

There was frost on everything.

We are freezing, but we are making it!

Look at those mountains!

Seth loves to climb.

Mom was the only one with a coat.

So pretty!

This time with Mom!

Someone took our family pic!

The Watchman

Since we were safely parked, we rode the shuttle out to our favorite hike in Zion called Emerald Pools. This one walks along the ridge until it comes to an overhang. Water drips right off the edge into the pools below, and since it has been snowy the last few days, it was really running! 

This trail has beautiful views.

It turned into a beautiful day.

There is one part through a narrow canyon.

The Lower Emerald Falls.

You can walk right behind it.

Next, the shuttle took us to end of the road. We didn't do the Riverside Walk that leads into the Narrows, but we enjoyed the towering rock walls. Finally, we rode the shuttle back to the Visitor Center and Mom made lunch in the van. 

The end of the line.

We had to drive out to our last two hikes, neither of which is listed in park literature. The first was a long uphill walk along a mostly dry wash. This hike is called Many Pools, and that was an apt description. We hiked up the wash past dozens of shallow, stagnant pools. It was really pretty, but it was steep and ran two miles round trip. It ended at a nice little grotto, and we scrambled up to the top of the final rock so that we could see back down the wash. This was a fun bushwhack, but it was hard on old ankles. 

We had fun exploring all of the pools.

Seth getting ready to dive in.

Some pools were quite large.

But most were small. 

The end of the trail, or at least where we stopped.

The rock formations were super cool.

Less than a mile down the road we did the Petroglyphs Hike. This one was really short, but it took us under the highway to some nice petroglyphs. We thought about going farther because we heard there was a slot canyon ahead, but it had been a long day of walking. We finally decided to drive back to the hotel and sit for a few minutes. 

We find petroglyphs so interesting.

Around 5 o'clock we walked to dinner at a sports bar right near the hotel. The food and service were great, and everyone ate really well. We didn't go back into park after that. Instead, Seth used the hot tub, and we watched the BYU-Utah basketball game.

The scenery at the hot tub was top notch!