Utah Bound:

Utah!! Ryan has been so excited to get to Utah this whole trip. I have no idea why, but he has. Utah has Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park on our list to visit. First up, is Zion National Park. Once again, the landscape has changed, there are huge canyon walls, in red/orange, and some in white. There are lines in the canyon wall, creating different patterns. There is even one called Checker board.

On the way to our trail, we saw two Big Horned sheep. It was neat to see these huge animals. For our hike, we chose one of the smaller, but “moderate” hikes. Ryan, whom usually cries every step, was running around there like a little mad man, trying to catch lizards, and climbing anything he could. Jake was a bit more apprehensive, but did climb rocks and walls, after he would see someone else do it. Amaya has now become a bit fearful of heights. She says “it is because of that 50 ft jump I did into the river”.  She wanted to be done with the hike shortly after starting it. This hike is towards the top of the canyon and gives beautiful views of the bottom. It is a bit scary, as it is right along the cliff, and sometimes you are quite close to the walls with very steep drops. Ryan and I lagged back a bit from the others, as we were taking pictures and doing other little explorations of rocks and creatures. When we got to the end, we had to coax Amaya out for a picture with Scott. After that, she and Scott were back to the car. Jake, Ryan, and I, took a bit longer, as to enjoy some of the smaller things on the hike. Next, we drove into the canyon, we walked around the beautiful visitor’s center, and went down to the river. The river was clear, with small boulders, perfect for playing. The water was awesome. Amaya likes to sing with the river. I think it is because she can belt out songs, and the sound of the rushing water washes out her voice. She can hear it, but others around her have to be close if they want a listen. Ryan decided he was just going to get in the river and play. That is what I used to do on our trips up to the mountains, when I was young. It was so fun! Once again, this is a place where we could spend a week! On our way out of the park, we stopped by a ranch having a bunch of buffalo. They were pretty far away, but it was still great to see them. There were many babies, and one large one rolling around in the dirt.

On top of this, to the right, is where we hiked to.