Hyrum and I decided to take the family on a fun trip to Southern Utah/Northern Arizona to see some of our countries National Parks. Since Saki is visiting from Japan we thought it would be a great place to take her because it is such a uniquely American landscape. Andrea and Craig and Oma decided to join us and we had a ton of fun all together. I'm so glad we can all have a great time when we are together. We planned on Julian also coming but at the last minute he decided he didn't want to miss a week of school because he had 2 tests that week. So we let him stay home but the entire week I kept thinking how sad it was that Julian wasn't with us. I'm proud of my boys for taking school seriously but sometimes I think they take it too seriously! The beauty of these places can't be captured on pictures but I'm so super glad we got to see them and show our kids a part of this beautiful wold they haven't seen yet.
We started off with a hike to the Narrows in Zion. The sun was going down but it was a pretty short and easy hike. With it being December there were hardly any people there and so we had the park and trails to ourselves.
We tried to get a permit for Angel's Landing but were unsuccessful but we decided to hike up to "Scout Lookout" which is just below Angel's Landing. It was 1200 feet elevation gain in just about 2 miles so was extremely steep. Oma was the first one up and I was the last. I just kept going but I took my time and enjoyed some views along the way.
Our 89 year old Oma...probably the oldest person on the trail that day!
Townsend trying out a "short cut" straight up the rock wall!
Every time you turned a corner there was something beautiful to see
Taking a quick break...it was so steep!
Emerson being silly
My little mountain goats climbing in rocks!
Beautiful Condors up on the mountain
We made it to the top! These kids decided to take a rest at the top of a very steep drop!
We all had a great rest and a little snack at the top of Scout Lookout
Heading back down, down, down the mountain
The rocks changing colors in the sunset
I couldn't resist recreating this photo. Hyrum and I took the twins to Zion National Park in 2004 when they were just a few months old. We found the same old rocking chairs and recreated this great photo. I'm not sure the boys were very enthusiastic about it but I'm glad they did it for me:)
We checked out of our cabin and were excited for one more hike before leaving Zion.
Heading out on the Canyon Overlook trail. This was a pretty cool old bridge you could walk across...don't look down!
We attempted the YMCA :)
Oma was amazing!
Welcome to Bryce Canyon. We drove from Zion to Bryce and went for a nice drive along the rim of the canyon stopping for pictures here and there.
Very different than Zion but so beautiful!
Rock arches are so cool!!
The stars were amazing and we could see the milky way that night...even though it was freezing cold it was still nice to see the stars.
Hyrum and Craig woke up early the next morning to catch the sunrise at Bryce
I love how the sun is shining through this hole in the rock
Parts of the canyon had snow
Hyrum getting some shots at sunrise
We hiked the Queen's Garden trail and combined it with the Navajo trail to make a loop down into the canyon and back up.
It was so cool to be up close and hiking around the hoodoos
Townsend showing off some serious balance skills!
Cool rock bridge formation
These guys found a great place to take a break!
We got to pass through 3 of these great tunnels cut into the rock
Emerson found a way to relax in the tunnel!
So much fun to hike around these amazing rock formations
What goes down must come up, up, up again!
Almost at the top!
The next morning Hyrum and I took the kids to witness the sunrise. The pictures from the previous day made me want to see this for myself. It was absolutely beautiful!
Checking out of our air bnb in Bryce and heading out to Page, Arizona for our next adventure.
We made a quick stop at the Glenn Canyon Dam
Riding the bus out to Antelope Canyon. You have to make a reservation and stay with a tour guide to visit this canyon. It was such a cool slot canyon and I'm really glad we saw it.
Getting ready to head into the canyon
The sun comes into the canyon and casts amazing shadows on the walls. I bet every time the guide comes into the canyon it's a different experience with the light and the shadows.
This was a pretty cool shot because the sun cast "angel wings" onto the wall:)
My favorite shadow in the canyon...looks like a coyote!
On the other end of the canyon. I would like to come back at a different time of year because I think the winter sun was so low in the sky we didn't get to see all the colors inside the canyon. But I'm still really happy that we came and saw this site.
We went to Horseshoe Bend. We got a group photo but the photographer didn't exactly capture the river:)
This is the view behind us in that photo. The Colorado river makes a giant bend around this rock, it was really cool.
Our first look at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
The "Watchtower"
You can climb some stairs all the way to the top of the tower. The inside was painted with Native American motifs. It was really cool inside!
Oma looking out at a view from the Watchtower
Townsend peeking over the edge from the top
We visited the old lodge at the South Rim, I liked that they gave the bison a Santa hat:)
Sunrise
On our hike to "Ooh Ahh" point. It was only a mile but had about 600 feet elevation drop (which means you had to come back UP 600 feet)!
We made it!
It was nice to hike down into the canyon a bit, you get a different perspective than just looking out from the rim.
Really makes you want to say Ooooh Aaahhh:)
Just keep putting one foot infant of the other and you make it to the top:)
My friend from high school, Rising Buffalo, works at the Grand Canyon. I made arrangements with him to show us around a bit. He was super nice and took an afternoon off of work to take us on a hike.
Some of the amazing bead work he has been working on lately
We hiked out to Shoshone Point
You had to cross a pretty narrow strip of land to get out to the point...with very big drop-offs on either side. Oma decided not to come out but the view was spectacular so I'm really glad I made it even though I'm terrified of heights. Rising Buffalo said the first time he came out to this point he had to crawl on his hands and knees:)
Shoshone Point in the distance...pretty steep drops all around!
The massive drop offs didn't seem to bother this brave elk!
Rising Buffalo and I walking back to the car. What a great hike he took us on. I'm so glad I could catch up with my old friend.
Next we hiked along the Trail of Time. You start at the Geology museum and each meter takes you back 1 million years. It was a great walk and had lots of cool rocks along the way showing how different the rocks are from the top of the canyon (fairly young rocks) to the very bottom of the canyon (super old rocks)
I made my boys take this photo along the trail...because they are 21 and I thought it was cool
The sun started going down right as we were ending the trail of time
Just the tip of the canyon lit up at sunset
The western sky lit up like fire! What a wonderful way to end our week long trip. We were so super lucky to have amazing weather and no trouble with anyone getting hurt with all the hikes.
Checking out of our amazing lodge...we slept just 20 feet from the Grand Canyon in Bright Angel lodge!
Goodbye Grand Canyon
On our drive back to Las Vegas for our flights we stopped at the Hoover Dam
At the airport and ready to fly home. What an amazing week!
A truly beautiful place
We made it to the lookout. I liked this hike a lot because it wasn't too steep and you still got an incredible view at the end of the hike.
Our Airbnb in Page was perfect. Lots of room and they had turned their garage into a game room! Andrea and Craig drove back to their home the next morning but we all continued on to the Grand Canyon with Oma.
The Grand Canyon is definitely difficult to capture its magnitude from your camera! It's 177 miles long, 10 miles across and 1 mile deep!
Sunset
