We left on Saturday morning headed for St. George, Utah. This is the town we stayed in while waiting for ICPC (state to state paperwork) to clear when we brought Benjamin home. We drove 7 hours through the desert, passing through Nevada, Arizona and into Utah. Benjamin slept in the car for about 2 hours the whole trip! He was just so curious about what was out his window and he wanted to listen to his "Backyardigans" music that we brought along on the iPod.
The next morning we headed up to the Salt Lake City area where Benjamin was born and his birthfamily still lives. We spent a few days just visiting with Vie and her family. Benjamin attended his first drumming circle, explored the mountains with Vie and was generally spoiled by everyone.....especially Grandma J! The first night we were there Grandma J took Benjamin to the store that she works to meet her co-workers. When they returned it looked like Benjamin had been to the County Fair! He had on a cowboy hat, a stuffed horse (that he sleeps with every night now), a balloon, and the dazed look of a child that has riden too many rides. The only thing missing was some puffy pink cotton candy! We all had such a great time visiting our Utah family!
Upon leaving Sandy City we drove the 5 hours to Springdale, Utah. This is the town just outside of Zion National Park. It's just a small town with a main road that has all the hotels, restaurants and tourist stops. We stayed at a hotel called "Flanigan's" which was just wonderful. They had a labrynth that was just a short little walk up a hill next to the hotel. We had fun our first morning walking around the labrynth and taking photos of the gorgeous red mountains.
Over the next several days we did some hiking all around Zion. I cant' even describe the beauty that we saw...it was just majestic.
The first day in the park we decided to get off the shuttle bus to hike (walk) the "Riverside Walk." It was mostly paved or packed dirt and went along the Virgin River. Benjamin really got into the "hike" and seemed to be having such a great time. We walked for almost 2 hours and then Benjamin became very very tired. We got to the shuttle stop and I guess he figured we weren't going home if we got on the bus....he started saying "No Bus...NO BUS!" and "No Hike!" as loud as he could. By the time we got back to the hotel he tried to put himself to bed in the Pack n' Play!
The next day Benjamin was all excited to get on the "choo choo bus" and take a hike. We rode the shuttle to the "Weeping Rock" hike. It is a short but fairly steep hike. As soon as we stepped off the shuttle Benjamin began to say "No Hike" and Nate ended up having to carry him all the way to the top! It was so worth it though to see the hanging gardens and feel the cool mist from the water "weeping" from the sandstone rock.
Our last day at Zion we got smart....and brought our all terrain stroller into the park. We decided to do the "Emerald Pools" hike which was just a couple of hours of hiking. The last day was a bit warmer than the other days (Zion was experiencing abnormally cook weather while we were there...in the '70s with a light breeze...just perfect!) We stopped along the way to let Benjamin explore rocks, sticks, dirt and lizards!
The end of this trail ended at a pool (although not so emerald....or impressive!) with smooth, cool sandstone cliffs and several small waterfalls...it was just beautiful! Once we finished our hike and began to walk back to the shuttle bus, I looked down and saw that Benjamin had fallen deep asleep in his stroller....what a big week for such a big boy!
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