Monday, May 5, 2008

Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks!



Our 2 months of traveling and fun before Mike starts his new job has begun! We have started off with a trip to south western Utah. We LOVED camping down at Zion National Park, for those of you who have never been there: I highly recommend it - at least on a weekday in April or May! We were able to camp just inside the park - even without a reservation - in a nice and clean camping spot (except for the INSANE amount of caterpillars). We spent 2 and half days hiking in Zion Canyon, Kolab Canyon and a little bit on the east side of the park.




This is at Canyon Overlook just on the east side of the tunnel in Zion.

Annabelle getting her feet wet up in the stream from the upper 'Emerald Pool'



The most popular area of the park (Zion Canyon) has a shuttle so you don't even drive yourself around you just pack a bag for the day and hop on for free. The shuttles come VERY frequently and you can travel either up or down the canyon from each stop. IT was so convinient and Annabelle loved riding the bus.








"It's hard to catch your breath when everything is so breathtaking"


-Tia (I was frequently out of breath)


On the way back to Provo we did a hike in Bryce Canyon and were so glad we made the stop. It was really different looking from Zion - and MUCH cooler too.




Bryce Canyon has lots of pillar looking formations that are called 'Hoodoos'.








Each of the areas we visited were really diverse and so we felt like we were really seeing something 'new' with each hike. Annabelle was a champ, hiking the safer sections of each hike and putting up with being in the carrier a lot of the time. She LOVED camping - on the way home she said "Daddy, I need to sleep in a tent one more night." Annabelle also befriended the caterpillars before our trip was through and would wake up each morning dying to get out of the tent so that she could go play with them.







This night after dinner Annabelle was chasing me with caterpillars trying to put them on me. When bedtime came around I found about a dozen of them crawling all over her shirt - she had placed them there and watched them crawl around, she couldn't have been happier.

We are excited for more adventures to come!

9 comments:

Jessi, DJ, Annica and Eli said...

I am so so so glad that you posted before you left again! These pictures are incredible! It souns like you had a great time! I can't even believe how much Annabelle loved those caterpillars! It kinda creeps me out! She is definetly an outdoor girl inside and out! Thas so awesome! It makes me want to go camping and hiking and playing and getting dirty! Happy adventuring! Love you!

Holly said...

How fun that you get to do all these neat things before "real life" starts again! Fun pictures! Enjoy yourselves!

Kristin said...

Wow, it looks like you guys had a blast. It's cool that you guys get some down time to go on these mini adventures. We can't wait to hear what's next.

Love you....

P.S. The Lettery Factory has been a huge hit and Isaac can't stop making letter sounds. Thanks for suggesting it.

Andy and Melissa said...

Tia - you are pretty much wonder woman i've decided. I would have labeled carrying kids on backs as the mans job before I even agreed to any hiking. And those catepillars make me itchy all over. Annabelle is brave.

The Fox Family said...

holy cow that's a lot of caterpillars! Looks like fun! You guys are like super parents! I miss you guys!

The Fox Family said...

holy cow that's a lot of caterpillars! Looks like fun! You guys are like super parents! I miss you guys!

Amy said...

What a great way to spend the transition from school to work. I wish we could tag along. I guess these awesome pictures will have to do! Talk to you soon!

Unknown said...

annaballe looks so big now, its funny how much kids grow when you don't see them everyday.
miss you
Malin's

whit said...

I've decided that catepillars aren't as cool as they used to be. It was good to see you guys the other day, Annabelle was too funny.