Southwest Mini-Trip

My dad and I drove out to the southwest a couple of springs ago to go to three national parks: The Grand Canyon, Zion NP and Bryce Canyon NP.  We dove to Flagstaff and dropped our bags off at our room and then drove to Sedona.  That is one of the most beautiful drives, even if you can’t hike, you need to get out there and drive around those massive and stunning red rocks!  We got out and hiked around the river and such and of course stopped at every amazing overlook while driving.  It is a must see!

We got up and drove to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon the next day and it was so spectacular.  I had been once before as a kid in the summer time and I remembered being completely amazed by it, but wow.  It was even cooler then I remembered!  Plus, being there in march was even more spectacular!  We saw some elk and did some roaming around the top of the canyon.  I think the most amazing thing about it was when we actually watched this giant snow storm roll in!  It was like a mini blizzard.  We drove to the lodge through the snow and sat in there drinking hot chocolate while waiting the storm out.  It was so beautiful watching it pass over.  After the storm we walked around a little more and then made our way to Utah, stopping outside of the Grand Canyon at the Little Colorado River Gorge- it’s free, stop and take a look… It’s so pretty!

We drove through Zion, and then down to Hurricane, Utah.  The next morning we got up and spent the day in Zion.  We did a few little trails, the Emerald Pools Trail and Angel’s Landing.  Angel’s Landing is probably the highest thing I’ve ever climbed, and it is without a doubt the most beautiful view I’ve ever had from something I climbed.  Wow.  You can pretty much the entire park.  We had been to Zion on a previous trip and my dad and brother climbed Angel’s Landing and it was VERY busy and VERY hot.  March was the perfect time, though.  We started the climb at about 10 a.m. and by the time we were making our way back down it was starting to get a little busier, but still nothing compared to summer time!  The next morning we woke up at 4:30 a.m. to watch the sunrise in the park, but unfortunately it wasn’t all that pretty because you’re surrounded by mountains.  I wish we would have climbed something or taken one of the trails get a better view.  Morning was good for viewing some mule deer, however.  They were out eating some of the new grass.  We hiked down the Virgin River a little ways to the start of the Narrows Trail (I want to do this trail sometime VERY soon).  Then we left and made our way to Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Canyon NP was so awesome!  When the sun hits those massive rock formations the shadows and colors in the stone mesmerize you.  These formations are called hoodoos, which is actually another name for voodoo, and with all of these crazy twisting figures raising up towards the sky, you can very easily see where they got the name.  When we were there the trails and drives pretty much buried under almost 6 feet of snow.  There were some sections cleared and we went to all of them, and fell in love.  We can’t wait to go back!

On the way back home we stopped in Page, Arizona and ate lunch overlooking Lake Powell.  It’s such a beautiful lake and there are tons of awesome hiking, boating, climbing opportunities around that area that I want to explore.

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