Camping in Zion, part one...

For Spring Break, we decided to take a camping trip in Zion National Park. Awesomeness! Well, except for that random insanely cold cold front that moved through the day before, bringing rain and snow to Zion. We could have cancelled, but what's the fun in that? We thought we would go ahead and enjoy the adventure.

We drove up that first day through the rain and really questioned our sanity... but by the time we arrived at the park, the skies had parted and it was an absolutely lovely evening. It was a little cold, but the cloud cover kept it under control... and at least the rain had stopped.

Still, that first night it got down to around 30 or so. We bundled up in our sleeping bags with the kids... Violet shared my sleeping bag and Riley shared Rick's. Sure, it was a tighe squeeze, but at least we were warm... that was, after we layered on long underwear, jammies, two pairs of socks, sweatshirt, and a scarf. lol

Alright, so the first night was pretty sucky... but we woke up to gorgeous, clear skies and a beautiful forecast: cold, but warming up. And the following day was supposed to be AMAZING. 

After cooking up some eggs and bacon and coffee over the fire, we went out on our first of several hikes. First we stopped at the Court of the Patriarchs, where you can see beautiful mountain peaks right in front of you. The one the kids are in front of is called "Isaac". (The other two were Abraham and Jacob)

Then we stopped at Canyon Junction and took the Pa'Rus Trail back to camp. This particular trail is a 2 mile paved walk and it was just lovely.
Back at camp, Liane and Carl had just arrived and were setting up their tent. When Violet arrived, Liane took a little break to teach her some moves on the scooter...
And then Violet taught Liane some moves of her own. Who was the winner? You be the judge ;)

After setting up their tents, we decided to take the shuttle bus all the way to the top of the canyon and check it out. Here we were at the trailhead of the River Walk...
Carl tried to touch Liane's neck...
And we got a group shot...

So that night, while clear and beautiful was COLD. Not as cold as the night before, but still pretty dang chilly. At least this time we prepared a little better and bundled up from the get go. 

We all got up with the sun and grilled some more bacon over the campfire. Mmmm... the sound and smell of fresh grilling bacon was AWESOME. The coffee steeped in the percolator and we got ready for our big hike of the morning... Emerald Pools Falls.

We hiked up through the lower pools where we walked right under the waterfall, and then headed right on up to the middle pools area. This is the place I distinctly remember from my trip to Zion when I was in 4th grade with my A.T. Class and my favorite teacher, Mrs. Richardson. It was kind of crazy in a deja vu sort of way to see it this time.

Rick. I cannot HANDLE your sexiness. 
Of course my favorite part was when Riley had wanted to go in the water and we told him no. Actually my exact words were "No, because if you ingest the water you will have diarrhea for six weeks!"

Riley's response? "What's diarrhea?"
AHAHAHAAHAHA

So of course, moments later when he tried to jump off the rock onto another log but misjudged the distance and ended up butt-first in the water, I was literally ROLLING. I could barely contain myself to document it. But I did. Hopefully you can click on the images to see them better. They are AWESOME.

Somewhere in the abyss that is my parent's photograph drawer is a photo of me on this very log when I was 9 years old. I love that I now have one of my kids. :)

And of course, Liane and Carl. :) To get them to smile I had them say "diarrhea for six weeeeks!"
On our way back down the mountain, we noticed this formation, which we dubbed "Baby Buttcrack Mountain." Not sure why...
And here is the Virgin River, rushing below the hikers...
That night it was MARSHMALLOW TIME. We grilled chicken teriyaki over the fire and had s'mores for dessert. It was an *amazing* evening. Not even cold! Liane and I wore our flip flops for most of the night, and I only put on a jacket right before bed. It was just perfect. 
Mmmmm. Beer and fire.
Happy camping memories :)
More on Monday from our last day in Zion! :)