Our Wild Wild West Vacation (April 18th - April 25th )

I inherited the wanderlust gene from my parents, and luckily my husband too has been bitten by the travel bug. We feel that some of the best family memories are created in travel. To create more memories together, we decided to voyage to places endowed with uniqueness and distinct characteristics.

With my parents and 3 year old, we boarded our flight to Las Vegas at night (April 18th). This was my hubby’s and my third trip to this city.  We were excited about our adventurous road trip that we had planned to set out on from Vegas.

 

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

I really thought I wouldn’t be excited to see the strip again and I was so wrong!!  Rishi’s scream of “windows down Thatha(grandpa)” and “look! Pink Famingo”  and “look at all the lights amma” … got me all excited!! Travelling to the same place with different people gives you a fresh perspective and a chance to create new memories. We drove through the famous Vegas strip to our hotel room. Though excited, we hit the bed for the night. Next morning, we had scrumptious restaurant style breakfast and started our Road Trip!!

Zion National Park

Drive duration - 3 hours

Distance -  164 miles

Stayed - Springdale City Utah

Time Zone - AZ does not follow DLS time

Park entrance fee - $25 for a week
Date - April 19th 2012

The landscape and changing scenery along our 3 hour drive from Nevada to Utah was captivating.

Visitors Center

We entered the park, parked our car at the Visitors center and took the free Zion Shuttle that takes us around 6 miles of spectacular rock formations of Zion National Park.

The tumbling and sparkling rivers flowing along the colorful sandstone cliffs rising 2,000 to 3,000 feet from the canyon floor was a true unique beauty of nature that you can experience here. The roads are red which gives a striking effect to the wonderful rugged red rocks and canyons. We got an itch to get out of the bus and walk though the canyons and hike and wet our hands in the river and we acted on our impulse.

Weeping Rock
We got down at Weeping Rock Parking area and started the trail to the Weeping Rock. 

This is a short walk up a steep hill. It’s only quarter mile, however it’s a tough steep walk. Since we didn’t want to wear out everyone at the beginning and wished to do plenty more in the park, we took a volte-face after some walking and then took the shuttle for our next trail.

Temple of Sinawava
We got down at the ‘Temple of Sinawava’ which is the last stop of the shuttle and embarked on the Riverside walk trail. It’s a trail that leads to the famous Narrows trail. It was a paved pathway and the ease and beauty of this hike is the reason for its popularity. As soon as we started, Rishi got a splinter in his finger by touching one of the wooden fences; we somehow managed to remove the splinter from his finger and with a sigh of relief continued on the trail. The trail is beautiful with the view of the canyons and red rocks and flowing river. Totally worth it!! 

Zion Lodge
We then took the shuttle and got down at the Zion Lodge to have some hot chocolate, coffee and some snacks that we got from home. 

Emerald Pool
After loading up on all the mooli parathas, we hiked to Emerald Pool. This hike was paved, stroller friendly and steep. Did I mention the trail was BEAUTIFUL. To be honest, the pool was just okay and not magnificent like one would expect on trails. However walking the scenic trail with my mom discussing how some people spend their life working for the betterment of the society was memorable.

After this, we took the bus back to where our car was parked,and drove less than 5 minutes to reach our hotel room. We ate our dinner and hit the sack.

Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway

Next day after breakfast and brief exploration around the Springdale city, we drove through Zion National park to proceed to our next destination via Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway. It is a 10-mile road that connects the east and south entrances of the park. One of the highlights of the drive is a mile-long tunnel, the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel that was completed in 1930. 

We stopped at a spot that was east of the tunnel and we saw Checkerboard Mesa, a sandstone mountain that is etched with fantastic cross-bedding of lines and shapes,made through the forces of erosion. This place is an inspiration for artists and we met 2 painters who were there for 3 hours painting the wonderful natural formations. I am glad they allowed us to click pictures of their wonderful art.

I can’t wait to go again to this amazing national park and hike to all the breathtaking hiking trails that this national park offers.

We left Utah to enter Arizona for our next adventure... To be continued :)