{"id":8500,"date":"2014-12-19T01:30:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-19T08:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sixsuitcasetravel.com\/blog\/?p=8500"},"modified":"2021-10-25T15:49:46","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T21:49:46","slug":"ultimate-road-trip-2014-zion-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixsuitcasetravel.com\/blog\/ultimate-road-trip-2014-zion-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultimate Road Trip With Kids – Zion National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We woke up in our tent and it was HOT! I was actually fairly surprised as I was the first one up (and that wasn\u2019t until about 8 which is late for tent sleeping)\u2026.some actually slept in until about 9:30 \u2013 which was lovely as I got to sit and read for a bit with my morning soda. (I mention this only as it was really a rarity to have alone quiet time this vacation \u2013 we were together constantly. It was truly enjoyable to sit and relax in the calm beauty of the morning sunshine.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ate, cleaned up, and packed up the tent (seriously it was not even up for 12 hours \u2013pathetic.) And set out to explore Zion National Park<\/a>. Zion is set up in such a way that to visit most of the park one has to use the park shuttle and not a personal automobile.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We decided to take the shuttle to the lodge (about the middle of the park) to eat and plan our day. This worked out quite nicely as we ate, caught a junior ranger program, and hiked up to the Emerald pools all in one stop.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The kids learned about the animals of the canyon (did you know a desert tortoise can hold its bladder for an entire year?) and enjoyed some guessing games at the ranger program\u2026then we grabbed some ice cream and set out on our hike. There were two waterfalls that we walked through and behind on our walk \u2013 the kids were happy to get wet (remember the hot comment?)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We stopped at a few more shuttle stops to complete the ranger books (there were questions to be answered at each of the stops) and at the last stop, we had a decision to make.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last stop on the shuttle at Zion is the stop at the beginning of the River Walk which is a mile-long hike leading to the Narrows. The Narrows is Zion\u2019s most famous hike. It is a hike where the river IS the path \u2013 so the people walk through it to see the very narrow canyon walls. It\u2019s breathtaking. This was the hike I had wanted to do the whole trip though it is labeled as \u201cStrenuous\u201d\u2026but as you can turn back at any time, I thought we could at least get a flavor while not completing the entire 8-mile trek.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The kids were not so much into the idea of a 2-mile round trip hike just to get to the start of another hike\u2026but we convinced them it would be worth it\u2026we also gave a couple of piggy rides to get them there.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was completely and totally worth it \u2013 the views were spectacular and the kids had a ball\u2026LOVED it\u2026loved getting wet, and getting dirty, and hiking through water and all of it! It was a spectacular way to end our visit to Zion.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We went back, got our junior ranger badges, and headed to our next destination at Bryce Canyon\u2026and on our way out of the park, a mountain goat walked across the road right in front of us \u2013 THAT was actually the perfect way to end our visit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The drive to Bryce was short and sweet \u2013 and very beautiful. We got to the hotel and relaxed, did the laundry, and rested up for our first 2 night camp stay at Arches the next evening.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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