February 21, 2010

We spent part of President's Day weekend at Zion National Park.

We got a little muddy.

I accidentally loaded these pictures in reverse order. So we are starting with the end and ending with the beginning. Day two is first and day one is last.

Standing behind the waterfall at the lower pool on the Emerald trail.

Our final destination on the Emerald trail.

Notice Kolby and Addie behind me.

Landry started having a little attitude about taking pictures.

Somewhere in the middle.

Coming back down from the upper Emerald pool.

There was a big temperature drop once we got to the upper Emerald pool.Addie was freezing.

Landry was such a trooper. He hiked and hiked but needed a little help getting across the stream.

Kolby loved playing on and climbing all the rocks.

I was so impressed with the kids hiking skills. The only complaints came when the trail was too easy. They preferred steep and rocky terrain.

Another pool somewhere in the middle.

It was a beautiful day.

We all loved Zion National Park.

As we were walking we were hushed by some hikers ahead of us. When we got to them there were four deer right next to us. Our fellow hikers were quite impressed. Less impressive to us since we see deer several times a week in our neighborhood. I come close to hitting them with my van each time I go somewhere at night. The snow melted last week and my backyard is full of deer poo. Plus, we have been instructed by Grandpa to take extreme measures to keep them away from his house.This is Grandpa Tom coming face to face with his nemesis. It is probably my favorite picture ever taken of my father-in-law. He spent last winter doing everything possible trying to keep the deer away from his house. After a long battle, Spring came and all he got was a very fearless friend. The moral of the story: deer a couple of feet from us are nice but not thrilling.

Back to our trip.

We relaxed in the hot tub after our first day of exploring. Addie may have overheated a bit.

It is nice that my kids find big rocks so entertaining.

There were plenty of big rocks.

Day One was not quite as warm as Day Two. It was still really nice and it felt great to be outside.

We loved all the breathtaking views.

On the hike to the Canyon Overlook.

Addie found this rainbow in the rock.

Addie has an adventurous spirit.It was neat to see snow in the park.

A walk down to the stream at Weeping Rock.

The kids had fun getting sprinkled on at Weeping Rock.

They did not want to leave.

On our way!