Our southwest road trip included two full weeks in southern Utah. We used St. George for our home base for day trips to Zion National Park (a one hour drive), Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (1.5-2 hr drive) and Bryce Canyon (2.5 hour drive). Our small condo overlooked town, and had a beautiful view, so strikingly different than home.
We approached these two weeks with a relaxed pace, doing a big day trip every other day. The first week of our time in Utah our au pair, Tati, wasn’t with us, so Aaron found a gym with childcare. On our off days he would take the little kids to the gym and I would homeschool the big kids in the morning. The afternoons we would relax by the pool while the kids swam, it was generally in the 50’s but the pool was warm and the hot tub steamy. Over the two weeks, we spent three days in Zion National Park.
The drive from St George was beautiful, and the rocks became increasingly interesting as we approached the park. Springdale, the small town at the park entrance, seemed inviting and friendly, although we did not stop there. From the car we were all immediately enchanted with the views. 
The weather forecast was quite chilly our first day, but when we got out of the car at the visitor’s center we were surprised by how mild the air felt. We picked up our Junior Ranger information and watched a short video before heading out to the River Walk, a beautiful and easy paved walk that is the beginning of the famous hike called “The Narrows”. The River Walk is the last stop on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. We could take our car in, because it was winter, although the rest of the year you must take a shuttle bus. Even in the off season though, the parking lots were filled to the brim. This drive was not long, but it was absolutely incredible. One after the other we stammered “Whoahhhhh” as we gazed out the window.
Thin waterfalls careening what seemed like more than 100 feet from the canyon walls, amazing contrasting red and white sandstones, huge cottonwoods near the river and desert plants high on the cliffs, etherial browns and greens in the river itself, all little pieces of what came together as a truly magical place. We immediately knew this was our favorite park so far on our trip, but we couldn’t define why. It wasn’t as epic a canyon as the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t as varied as Big Bend. There was something “other” about Zion. I’m writing this a month after our trip, and I’m just beginning to peel back the layers of the impact.
The River Walk was paved and we took the stroller. It was quite crowded, but the walk itself was easy and there were so many places for the kids to stop to play.
We went slowly and let them build little dams by the edge of the river with sticks.
They slid down smooth rocks like slides, and generally had a grand time exploring. There were amazing waterfalls, it had rained the previous day, so I’m guessing they were a bit more dramatic than usual.
There were big signs to not feed the squirrels, and we met one so tame and friendly it would climb on you. I was horrified, as all rodents gross me out (this is coming from a person who has gutted a moose and killed chickens, so I’m not squeamish in other ways). The kids loved it though. The squirrel actually climbed in the bottom of the stroller sniffing at the backpack of snacks. It wouldn’t have been surprising if it had started talking. We also saw a mule deer grazing on the other side of the river.
Our second day in Zion we hiked the Canyon View Trail, and also visited Weeping Rock. To get to the Canyon View Trail you have to drive up a number of switchbacks and then pass through a giant tunnel. I spent part of this drive trying to explain some of my motivations for this National Park Road trip to the kids. Although I am still at the very beginning stages of learning about educational philosophy, I am enamored with the classical idea of exposing kids to truth, goodness and beauty. The national parks fall squarely in this category for me. I to explain to the kids that what they take away from these experiences are their own, but its my job to expose them.
The hike was directly outside the tunnel, and we had trouble finding parking, and our giant car didn’t make it easier. Again, the forecast had been for cold temperatures but it didn’t feel that cold, and this aspect of the weather here made it more magical for me. I’m a person who is always freezing, and to be comfortable outdoors in the 40’s without four layers of wool was a pleasant surprise. The Canyon View Trail was beautiful, but there were a lot of places with big drop offs. 
Although Briggs and Phoebe loved the more challenging climb, I was so nervous that they would fall. I had Zinnia in the backpack, but we had lost one of Quinn’s sneakers earlier in the week, and he was hiking in crocs, making him unsteady. The trail was sandy and really slippery in places. 
I have my own anxiety about heights, and it becomes nearly irrational when am with my kids in these places. Aaron did his best to calm me, and the sheer beauty and the joy of the kids let me exhale enough to take in the astonishing views, but my palms were sweaty the whole time. 
Our next stop that day was Weeping Rock. This is a very short hike up to a waterfall, and the kids were a bit grouchy about hiking again, but it didn’t take long at all for them to be in complete awe. 
We stood behind the waterfall, hearing the water, seeing the icy coating on the branches below, absorbing the contrast of the light and dark, feeling the cold mist. Weeping Rock was piercingly beautiful. 
This place struck me deep, and ironically, Weeping Rock made me cry. I was a bit confused by the impact of Zion, I couldn’t put into words exactly what was so profound about this spot. 
Our last day in Zion we hiked the Kayenta Trail into the Upper Emerald Pools. The lower Emerald Pool Trail is easier way to get in, and we would have chosen that if it hadn’t been closed due to rock slides. Tati had returned to us from her own roadtrip, so we had another grown up to help. In and out this hike would be three miles, a bit longer than most, but we were energized. 
Quinn was very clingy to me, and so I carried him in the backpack most of the way. There were some drop offs, but not as severe as at Canyon View, and with Tati’s hand in Zinnia’s, and Quinn strapped to me, I was able to enjoy the hike immensely.
Aaron hiked a bit ahead with the older kids, but we came together periodically. The kids had a great time exploring the Upper Emerald Pool, we lingered there a while. 
The only park of the hike that wasn’t complete euphoria was the very end, Zinnia had hiked nearly the entire way (I might have carried her a half a mile) and was tired and I made Quinn get out of the backpack so she could ride. He was unhappy and screamed about it for the last 15 minutes of the hike. The trail was quite crowded by that point so we had a fair amount of onlookers, but even his hollering couldn’t weigh downs Zion’s uplifting peace.
Despite Quinn’s meltdown it was he who gave me a clue about Zion’s power. While he looked back across the river at the opposite canyon wall, Quinn observed, from just behind my head where he was riding, “Momma this place is like a toy.” I asked what he meant. “It doesn’t seem like its real.”
My four year old Quinn had articulated what I could not. There is an air to Zion that makes it seem unlike any place I’ve ever been, unearthly, like it can’t possibly be real. Zion is like Narnia. Some other enchanted land where somehow the light, rock, air and water are all similar to earth, but slightly improved. The canyon defines light and dark with such clarity, it is easier to see good and evil in this land. All of my photos looked like I’d used fancy filters and I had not. The world just seemed less murky here, bringing deep peace. There is a kind of internal balance, water and desert, red and white rock, light and dark shadows. I can imagine Aslan is just around the corner. Zion is a place to refresh ones faith in the universe, a spot so beautiful and compelling that it forces us to believe there is magic in our world. Spending time in Zion brought truth, goodness and beauty into focus. I’ll use this new lens to polish what is true, good and beautiful in myself, and to encourage my children to recognize the magic within themselves.
Raising Veggies and Humans 