St. George, Who Knew

It was spring Break and we were throwing ideas around with Stephanie and the kids.  Our kids were pushing for Disneyland. Then Stephanie had an idea that we would have never thought of.  She had a friend with condos that needed to be used in St. George.  Of course we have driven by St. George and that is where all of our Snowbirds go when it gets too cold here, but we had no idea what we would experience there. 

The boys decided to do a hike on the back side of Zions for the first day, so Stephanie and I and the girls were looking for an easy activity.  We heard Pioneer Park, which is right in town had a crack.  So we hiked around looking for it.  The first thing I noticed was the hyper green grass.  Maybe it was because of the contrasting red, but I'm not so sure.  We found the crack and received some advice on walking up it and not panicking and filling your lungs so you don't get stuck.  I thought I'd be fine.  We finally found the lower side and started up the crack.  What I didn't realize is that walking up sideways was tricky if you had a bad or weak knee.  I was pretty much stuck and couldn't go back.  It was a little panicky for the adults and a few of the kids, but we kept it together and finished. Quite the accomplishment.  Advice for adults, if you are claustrophobic it may not be for you.

 Zions National Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth.  We stopped at the Narrows first.  The water was so high.  People in waders were trying to walk up it.  We just stayed near the edge.

 Weeping Rock hike was beautiful and Emerald Pools trail as well.  Zion's has many 1.5 mile hikes which was perfect for our group. The Youngs, Stephanie's neighbor and friends came with their two boys as well.  We were a jolly group.

 Gunlock has not had this much water in 7 years. It was pretty incredible to see how powerful the falls were.  Jeff and I ran up to see since we may not see it again for a long time.

Snow Canyon was one of our favorites.  The Hermansen's recommended it and kind of gave us directions, because things weren't really marked or descriptive on the pamphlet.  The Lava Tubes were a hit.  They were super cool and not necessarily for kids.  You needed help getting down.  One of our teenagers climbed up to a cool spot, but could not get down.  With much help, he finally made it down.

 

The outside of the Lava Tubes was so pretty with the green and the rust.

Snow Canyon has this bumpy hill that  I think is called a sandstone domb.  It is covered with small, rounded, red rocks, called Moqui Marbles. I've never seen anything like it.  It was quite the sight. 

 

Jeff really wanted to go to a slot canyon and we had so much fun here climbing and playing with the orange dust.  it was the coolest place.

Our last official activity was going to Tuachan, which is an outdoor theater with the red rock in the background.  It kind of backs up to Snow Canyon.  We watched the comedian Ryan Hamilton.  He was very clean and I don't know if I've laughed that hard for that long, ever.  I just kept looking at our group and everyone was busting up the whole time.  Kate and Mitchell joined our group that night and the next day.

Since the last day was short we decided to just hang out by the pool and be with Katelyn and Mitchell.  We got famous frozen custard and  ate at the Cracker Barrel on the way home before we parted ways.  What a wonderful adventure we had in St. George.  I get it now why so many people want to be there or visit there.