Zion

We arrived home last night from our week of vacation at Zion National Park, with a one night Vegas stay thrown in on the back end.  For sure, it was a week to remember.  Highlight?  There were many.

• Listening to Tom Petty Radion on Sirius/XM on the way to Springdale, UT, in our rental Chevrolet Tahoe.  Joe was in heaven and, in truth, so was I.  His love for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers knows no bounds which, of course, makes me happy beyond description.
• Two hikes up the Watchman Trail in Zion National Park, first with Scott, Jacqui, Ben and Ellie Russell, then with the Sullivan clan (Terry, Meg, Terry, Tommy and Holden).  The first hike was led by a park ranger, Christine, and was a definite highlight.

• Lots of late afternoon pool time our boys and the entire group.  J.P., Joe and I invented a game (the invented games are always the best) with the Waboba ball where J.P. and I took turns guarding each other, like a defensive back on a receiver, throwing the ball back and forth to Joe.  
• The Desert Pearl Inn.  Our room was amazing.  Two rooms, two huge bathrooms, a kitchen (dishwasher, refrigerator, stove, microwave and an island with bar stools) and a big back porch that was 10-15 yards from the Virgin River.  We were .8 miles from Zion National Park.  I know that because we walked to the park the first day we hiked the Watchman Trail.
• Watching Jude and the boys play in the Virgin River one late afternoon after a morning of hiking.

• Deep Creek Coffee Shop, a place I discovered a couple of days in to our visit.  It was a half mile or so down from the Desert Pearl Inn and the only real coffee shop I could find in  Springdale, UT.  Good baristas, good coffee and really nice place for me to sit outside as the sun came up and have a cup of coffee in the early morning solitude.

• Dinners with the group every night.  It was fun watching the kids interact, usually at a different table, while the grownups talked quietly.  Oscar's Cafe, Zion Pizza & Noodle Co. and Zion Canyon Brewery. 

• I had forgotten how nice it was to talk with someone as you're hiking.  On one occasion, when we took the Sullivan's on a hike up the Watchman Trail (our second trip), Meg Sullivan and I walked together for a bit and talked about raising boys and my mom.  It was special, sharing thoughts on kids and having someone I don't know too well listen, with a sympathetic ear, as I discussed my mom's situation and her ongoing battle with Alzheimers.
• Talking politics, late one night, with Jacqui and Scott Russell.  Jacqui has worked in Washington D.C. for the federal government for many years and I always enjoy discussing politics with her.
• Hiking in Bryce Canyon.  It was a little more than 2 hours to drive through Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park.  We piled everyone into two vehicles to take advantage of the free entry to national parks if you have a 4th grader with you - who knew? - which was key (we had two, J.P. and Ellie Russell).  It was 73 degrees in Bryce Canyon and we hiked the Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden Trail, just under 3 miles.  It was our most challenging hike of the trip and one of the most beautiful and interesting.  Jude and Joe turned back halfway through and the rest of us continued on to the end of the loop trail.  The elevation drop was significant, so whichever direction you hiked, there was going to be a hard, uphill hike at the end.  We ate lunch at Subway afterwards - and learned that Tommy Sullivan hates Subway - then drove back to Springdale, UT, where the temperature was more than 30 degrees higher (105 degrees).  In retrospect, we probably should have planned a shorter afternoon hike in Bryce Canyon after lunch, but some of the kids were tired (including mine).

• On the ride back from Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park, we decided to take a short hike right after we entered Zion.  The parking lot at the trailhead was full, so we parked on the side of the road.  As we struggled to get our gear together in 100 + degree heat, I looked toward the front of our Tahoe and noticed that J.P. was swaying and about to stumble into the highway and faint.  I yelled at Jacqui and Scott to grab him, which they (thankfully) did.  He was about to pass out.  J.P. vomited several times, then Joe vomited.  Needless to say, we scrapped the plans for the afternoon hike in the heat and drove the rest of the way home.  J.P. was fine after eating and resting for a little while.
• Hiking the Narrows was probably the highlight of the trip for me.  I wrote about that earlier but it was a memorable day for me because of what J.P. and Joe, individually, accomplished.  I'll forever remember the time Joe and I spend together on that hike up the Virgin River, carefully climbing over rocks underneath the surface of the cool river water.  Considered alone, it was an amazing, unique hike with beautiful scenery.  Sharing the experience with Joe, alone, was something I'll treasure until my dying day.

• Afternoon quiet time.  Jude and Joe napped, while J.P. and I watched a couple of documentaries.  Spitfire (a documentary about the figure plane) and Ferrari:  Race to Immortality. 

In summary, it was damn near a perfect vacation.  I'll miss not going to the beach but the trip to Zion National Park with the Russell's and the Sullivan's was a trip of a lifetime, for the boys and us.