Listening to Rocks

June 16 - 17 - We pulled in to Zion last night and of course camping in the park was full. The time to snatch up the "1st come 1st served" sites is 11am - when everyone checks out. I have yet to show up at such a time. Fortunately the first campground outside the east entrance still had availability. Camping in the desert brought different concerns from the standard bear issues - this place was laden with red ants and other crawlers. I was pumped to be off the ground.

Home for the night

Exploring the area

I have to admit (this phrase repeats itself fairly often with me) I didn't know much about Zion before getting there. I didn't know they banned cars from the major road and the shuttle buses were the only way to access this area. Fine with me! Let someone else drive so I can sight-see!

Zion is stunning. The beautiful red and white rock, checkerboard patterns, trees growing out of seemingly impossible places, and rivers somehow surviving it's arid environment. I didn't know where we wanted to go. Once we left the campground I saw how traffic on these tight roads can cause a problem quickly. We took a few pictures and then came to a dead stop. We were at the mile long tunnel where only one lane can go through at a time. There was a trailhead here to get to a view point that everyone was doing.  I'm sure it was beautiful and worth it, and once I got through the tunnel I was slightly regretting my decision to not stop - but it was such a cluster to find parking I just kept moving. The other side of the tunnel was awesome.

The landscape on the East side of the park is amazing.

Keeping it real with their stuffies

I have a thing for these trees choosing a different path

We (I) had decided our hike for the day would be the popular Emerald Pools Trail. It's awesome, but due to accessibility, a favorite for visitors. The 3 pools are varying distances so on a hot day like this, 3/4 of the people turned back at the 2nd pool giving us the additional reward of much fewer people (if one could survive the constant moanings from a melting 7-year old).

On our way up..... doesn't the 7-year old look SO happy!?

The 3rd pool - so beautiful

As we left the shadow of the valley back to the sun

Sierra had left a Love Rock at the 2nd Emerald Pool and we continued up to the 3rd pool. On our way down we saw this little girl who was so happy with her find. It was so fun to meet the finder and see the smile it brought them.

Mckenzie and I by the Virgin River

On the way out, the girls and I cooled off in the Virgin River. They were so great (7 yr old whining aside) on the hike and it was so hot, I was bummed I didn't bring cash to grab an ice cream at the only food available in the park. So, here's your warning - if you visit Zion and take the shuttle, make sure you bring cash for a beer.... errrr.... I mean ice cream.

As we drove out the south entrance through Springdale I was in search of a campground, though it seems this town is unique in that it had no camping, anywhere. I looked at the clock and it was dinner time, so I decided to make this one of our very few nights out to dinner. I was thinking we could just make it to Bryce Canyon (a 2 hour drive) but about 15 miles out of town we passed a full on RV park (Zion River Resort) and suddenly I realized I was shattered (or maybe just seeing the possibility of rest made me feel this way) so we pulled in. The girls were stoked with this place (a totally different pace from the State Park campgrounds we've been staying at) - the pool was just what they needed after such a hot day in the sun.

Full-on RV style camping - a total change from the norm

Practicing headstands and cooling off

The next morning the girls were begging to stay one more night. They were loving the little bit of civilization. I was wanting to push on to have the weekend in Glenwood Springs, CO with my dear friend Polly and her family. We had a family meeting (including Dan since this was going to involve elongating our trip, and who also voted in favor of the girls getting another pool day) and decided to stay one more night.... but part of the deal was we go on another hike in the park.

I'm so glad we stayed because if we hadn't, we never would have checked out The Narrows. Granted the beginning of the "hike" was ridiculously crowded, but the more we walked, the fewer people there were.... total motivation to keep going! Had we not got such a late start we would have kept going, but all I could think about as we approached 5pm was every step we make further in the canyon we'll have to make back out. It was so beautiful and hard to make the call to turn around.... one more bend!

Being in a place like this felt magical, like having super powers and seeing something no one else can see. I knew there were many other people enjoying the same walk, experiencing the same wonder. But there was a difference you could both see and feel from those that were just hiking a pretty river and keeping cool and those that were fully present in the moment, taking in not just the beauty, but acknowledging the resoluteness of this world. As we walked, water was weeping out of the sandstone rocks, water that has taken hundreds of years (upwards of 1000 actually) to make it's way back to the surface. A process filled with so much wonder, how many people "get it"? How many people were walking and taking pictures without realizing what was happening around them? Yes, I'm aware that everyone shows themselves in different ways, but judging by the checked out faces, the trash left behind (literally gallons of water that we hiked out with), the unhappy spouses, and overall pace that people were processing, I'd gamble to say very few. Very few people walked that river aware. It's sad to me, a missed opportunity, to connect in a unique way to the world both past and present. And even more unfortunate that it's symbolic of how people process everything, regardless of their location. There is so much you can learn, about yourself and the world around you, if you just stop and listen.

The path before getting to The Narrows, this was obscenely packed.

I wish I was a better photographer to capture how beautiful the hanging gardens are.... in the middle of vertical rock walls.

The beautiful rock from being carved for centuries (and lots of people, which thinned out the further we went)

I love the lighting here

As we jumped on the shuttle back to the car I was lamenting to the girls how bummed I was that they wouldn't have a ton of pool time since the hike took a bit longer then expected. Sierra looked at me and said "That's ok, the greatest gift you could have give us was this hike today." (this is no joke and literally ver batim) A bit later we were driving back to the tent and I was talking about all that needed to get done for dinner and she says, "Mummy don't worry, there's only 1 of you and you don't have 18 arms, we understand." I was dumfounded by both statements and had to wonder why she suddenly gets it now? (I'll take it!)

Back to the pool for the girls to have fun. So many times on the journey I've had to remind myself this isn't my trip. While the girls have loved the parks and the amazing things we've seen, I think they enjoy the visits to friends houses and playing with kids. It's been amazing seeing people all over the country and meeting new (albeit temporary) friends and campgrounds where the girls play.

On a totally unrelated note - during our Zion stay we went in to a convenience store to grab our 105th bag of ice. There were 2 girls (maybe 17 years old) working and 2 boys hanging out - all seemed to be buds from school. I couldn't help but over hear their conversation regarding the female Nascar driver (who I admittedly know nothing about). As the girl rang me up, she was expressing her hatred for the woman. With that, one of the guys questioned why she hated her and she just said "she sucks". As I left, I had a mini 1-sided conversation with myself (I strongly recommend these, they're the best way to win an argument) pondering why that might be. Is it a "woman" thing? To tear down others who we feel threatened by? Was it not ok for these boys to think this woman was bad ass for what she's doing? Listen, I can't stand Nascar, for many reasons, but I will applaud any person who is following their dreams and paving the way for others. She must have it pretty hard, trying to prove herself in a such a male dominated profession. Why would we make an opinion on her based on her gender? She didn't get special treatment to get where she is (I assume), she earned her position on the start line. I feel like whether she wins or loses, she should be recognized for her fortitude.

That is all.