VACATION - ZION NATIONAL PARK

After leaving the Grand Canyon on Monday morning we headed up to Zion National Park. On the way we stopped at the Moqui Cave in Kanab. The kids liked to see the gems that glowed in the dark and of course shopping in the store.

We camped at Watchman campground in the park. We could just walk over to the visitor center from the campground and get on the bus. Jacob loved the bus and loved that there was a "trailer" on the bus. We always had to sit in the back bus so we were in the trailer. On Monday night we went on the bus tour with the ranger. It was nice to see an overview and learn some of the history right in the beginning. That night we went to the evening fireside ranger talk about the flora and fauna of Zion. It had rained earlier in the day and the road was still wet. As we walked in the dark to the ranger talk, Mark almost stepped on a frog. We turned on our flashlights and saw many frogs. After the talk we went frog hunting until about 11:00 p.m. We had fun walking around looking for frogs.

On Tuesday we hiked to the Upper Emerald Pools. We also hiked the Weeping Rock trail and the Riverside Trail. We did a lot of hiking about 8 miles or so. We had a great time exploring the canyon beyond the bus tour. The kids loved wading in the water at the Emerald pools. There were tons of tadpoles and frogs. They even saw some mating. A big hit for the big kids.

Wednesday morning the kids went to a Jr. Ranger Program where they learned about wild turkeys. They got a special patch to go along with their Jr. Ranger badge. We left Zion that afternoon to head to Bryce Canyon. The kids liked riding through the tunnels. Zion is beautiful! Mark wants to go back in the fall and hike Angel's Landing. I hope we make it back there. Zion National Park is 100 years old this year!