The job search proved to be very stressful. Once he accepted an offer and declined the others and we knew life wouldn't be quite so unpredictable we decided to GET AWAY. And, by the time we left, I was SOOOOO ready for a break!!!
We ended up deciding to head to southern Utah. We stayed in Springdale just outside Zion National Park for 2 nights and then a final night in St George. The first night was a nightmare: S couldn't sleep and complained of pain in her ear so she and I made a middle of the night trek to Hurricane for medicine. It was around 3:30 am when I finally got to bed. Talk about a miserable start to a vacation! Ugh! We slept late the next day (and every day thereafter).
We opted for a room with bunk beds at the Springdale hotel. S was in HEA-VEN! She loved playing on them (I just wish the sleeping on them had gone better!) |
Eventually we made it to Zions and enjoyed the river walk. S wanted Daddy to hold her a lot of the time. She was enthralled and nervous to see cactus. At one point I asked her what her favorite part of the trip was and she said, "the cactus" :) We saw some curious squirrels up close, climbed some rocks, threw rocks in the river, and enjoyed the beauty of the red rock canyon. Nathan brought his camera and enjoyed capturing the sights. That day we drove the Kolob Terrace while S slept in the car and the remainder of the day we walked around Springdale and ate.
a beautiful spring we saw on the walk |
S and I watching the squirrels |
hello squirrel! |
because you can't just walk past a perfectly good puddle! |
Nathan's handiwork: Kolob Terrace Drive |
Nathan's handiwork: Kolob Terrace Drive |
hello cows. yes, they're very photogenic ;) |
We were all feeling more revived the next day and set out to hike to all 3 of the Emerald Pools. I think this is my favorite place in Zions. It's a nice hike: enough that you feel like you actually did some hiking, and I love to go hiking, plus the waterfalls and pools are beautiful, the evergreens against the red cliffs are stunning, and the size of those cliffs is just incredible! I loved being there again. S loved it, too. This time she didn't want to be carried and she didn't complain about the hiking at all. She loved playing in the sand, dirt, and puddles and she chattered happily as we hiked along. So fun! We also visited the Weeping Wall and then drove through the tunnel and past it a ways.
ah...I love this place! |
one of my favorite pictures |
playing in the sand |
waterfall at the uppermost Emerald Pool |
At the Weeping Wall |
View driving up to the tunnel |
on the East side of the tunnel |
We made it to St.George that night and S finally got to play in the pool for a while. She's a big chicken in the water--like her momma--but she loves being in it. I finally got to soak in the hot tub for a little while, too.
eerie-looking girls in the pool |
On our last day we went out and had a big, yummy breakfast and then found a park for S to play. I did a little shopping and then we started home. We took a detour to drive up Kolob Canyon, which I'd never done before. It was, in a word, gorgeous! We also took a stop in Beaver at the cheese factory and loaded up on cheese (although not the huge $45 cylinder of longhorn cheddar Nathan wanted! :)
![]() |
us at Kolob Canyon |
It felt really great to be home again, but it really was good to get away from the cares and demands and stress of life, too. It's amazing how easy it is to let the little cares of life grow out of proportion and weigh so heavily upon us!
No comments:
Post a Comment