Not All Who Wander Are Lost

One of my favorite books is not a memoir or an exciting biography.
It's Frommer's National Parks of the American West.



I've read through the entire thing more than once and I never get sick of it.
I find it incredible that there are so many diverse, beautiful and original National Parks on this side of the continent.

There are so many parks in this book that I want to visit.

Yellowstone in Wyoming, Olympic in Washington, Bryce in Utah, Yosemite in California.

I'd be well on my way to visiting all of them...
If I didn't go to Zion National Park every time I get a weekend away.

See Zion is what I think heaven is going to look like.
(with a little of the North Shore of Kauai mixed in) ;o)

And every time I get a chance to get out of Vegas, I want to head straight to Zion.

We've camped there through rain and thunderstorms.

Rain in Zion makes for some great waterfalls.

We've hiked there in snow and hail.

We've visited in the fall and seen the most beautiful autumn colors imaginable.

Some of our greatest memories as a family are from Zion.

We've camped more times than I can count.

Stayed in the cabins at the Lodge.

Stayed at Flanigan's Inn.

(If you stay at Flanigan's... splurge on the David Pettit Suite.  It's got a wood burning fireplace and amazing views.)

We've hiked nearly every trail in the park.
I'm still waiting to conquer the Narrows... but that's a tough one to accomplish when you've got kids with you or not a lot of time.

And now... because wishes do come true...

We're heading to Zion again.

It's only for one night.

But I can't wait.

Serenity, beauty, and peace are in my future.

Matthew won't be coming with us.
Which makes me sad.
But I'm thinking 90 degree heat and hiking all day are probably not on his top list of things to do at 2 months old.

For me... it will be a much needed break from Vegas.

And another chance to see what kind of market there in down there for Zion Wool.
Hey... you never know!

Unmotivated.

I wanted to go to Zion this weekend.

Cause it's pretty much my favorite place on Earth.

But that's not going to happen this weekend.

And I'm pretty sad.

And gloomy.

And unmotivated.

All because I wanted to go and now I'm not.

If I had my way... I'd just up and move my family to Springdale and open up a little B&B.

Okay... let me be a bit more realistic.

I probably wouldn't open a B&B cause I don't really like people that much and the idea of having strangers staying in my house with me and my kids is not exactly appealing.

My cousin has a B&B.

It's called the Spahn House.

And he seems to love having strangers in his house.

But me... I'm not so sure.

I mean, what if I was in a bad mood?

Sometimes you just wake up in a bad mood.

What kind of host would I be then?

And breakfast?

Well, Michael's lucky if he gets a Toaster Strudel in the morning.

So the idea of waking up in a good mood and cooking a large breakfast every morning is pretty much hugely frightening.  

Okay.  So the Bed & Breakfast outside Zion is out.

That's fine.

I could open a little restaurant.

I mean, I do run a Food and Beverage Department.

I must be capable of running a little restaurant.

I'm thinking something simple and family friendly.

Pizza.

Yes pizza!

With beer.

Shit.

That's already been thought of.

But I will tell you... Zion Pizza and Noodle does have some great beers!

My favorite?

Polygamy Porter of course.

(Although I get some strange looks when I wear my Polygamy tee shirt...)

Maybe a yarn store in Zion?

That's something they're lacking...

I could raise my own sheep and make authentic "Zion Wool".

I'm sure there's a huge market for Zion Wool.

And I'm such an accomplished knitter and all.

Oh... right... not quite.

So I guess I'll be spending the weekend in Vegas.

Zion National Park

I'm clearly in need of a vacation. I've got one coming up at the end of July but I find myself going through pictures of past trips almost daily at this point. When I start doing that, it usually means that I'm burned out on the desert and need to get away.

One of my favorite getaway spots is Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah. If I was asked to describe what I think heaven will look like, I'm hoping that it will be Zion. Zion is one of those places that can be described in words a million times but unless you've actually been there and walked among it's sandstone cliffs, you just don't understand. I lived in Vegas for years before I ever made the trip. I'd hear people talk about it all the time. When I finally made my first trip there, I was overcome with awe. It's that incredible!

Since the first trip, we've become regulars. The great thing is that it's only about 3 hours from Vegas. Sometimes we camp, sometimes we stay in the lodge's cabins, sometimes we stay in Springdale at a fantastic little inn. The only thing that happens everytime is that the time we stay is not nearly enough. Honestly, I think you could spend years here and still not see all there is to see.

Zion is, at it's heart, peaceful. The name Zion is defined as Utopia: an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal. It truly lives up to it's name. It's red sand stone cliffs have been carved out for millions of years by the Virgin River. The colors here are more vibrant and alive than anywhere I've ever seen. (I've been to the Grand Canyon, that place's got nothing on Zion.)

The National Park is amazing. It has tons of trails throughout the park (100 miles of wilderness trails and 10 miles of paved trails to be exact) ranging from beginner (the kind we took Michael on when he was 3) to advanced (Angel's Landing) to backcountry overnight trails. The amazing thing about the hiking here is that most of the trails were built in the 1930's. What does that mean you ask? Well, in the 1930's, there were not nearly the amount of lawsuits happening as there are today. The trails they built in this park, according to one park ranger, would never be passed in today's law suit crazed society. These are trails with switchbacks up the sides of mountains and chains to grab on to as you climb around the edge of a cliff. There are always the mandatory "danger" signs but that's basically it. You know your abilities and you go for it. My favorites? Angel's Landing! It's a tough (really tough) hike, but making it to the end is SO worth it! Weeping Rock. Quick hike but it's steep and slippery when wet. (I speak from experience here.) Canyon Overlook. You have to go through the tunnel to get to this trail. It's entrance is right past the exit to the tunnel on the left. This one goes through the forest, past caves, over a bridge (I'm not sure if it should be called a bridge, but it's a bridge like contraption connected to the side of a cliff) and up the mountain to an overlook that is unbelievable. Hidden Canyon. This one has no end. Honestly, we've never found the end. It's more like an obstacle course in which you have to figure out ways to get around, over and under things to continue on the trail. You just have to remember on this one that as far as you go in, you have to come back out. Don't make the mistake we made and go a bit too far in only to have to return after dark. This seems to be a common problem for my husband and I.

The campsites are awesome, all within walking distance to the river. We've had days where we were completely content to stay near our campsite and just hang out by the river.

Springdale, the tiny town right before you enter Zion, is this really cute artsy town with boutiques, Bed & Breakfasts, restaurants, art studios and little bars. Seriously, I could live there. With all 100 of the towns full time residents! ;o) We always stop in at the Zion Pizza and Noodle for pizza and beer. I recommend the Polygamy Porter, it's brewed locally and it's really tasty! The Spotted Dog Cafe is incredible as well.

As for lodging, we almost always camp. But when we don't, the Lodge has individual cabins you can rent out with wood burning fireplaces. They don't have much else, no television, no phone, but really... who's coming to Zion for those types of conveniences? We've also stayed at Flanigan's Inn in Springdale. We stayed in their cottage with a wood burning fireplace last winter. It was perfect. Romantic, quiet, and a great value in the off season.

I've spent all together too much time trying to figure out how to move to Zion and make a living. Some people tell me that if I lived there, it would lose it's magic.

Somehow, I think that's impossible.