Zion Taming

What a park! We woke up at a reasonable time, 8 a.m., ate, packed, and planned our hikes for the day. We were ambitious and decided to do three attractions. We caught the shuttle by the flag pole we walked by yesterday several times. The shuttle took us to the Emerald Pools trailhead.

There are three levels of pools, the Lower, the Middle, and the Upper. Nothing if not succinct, those park rangers. The first trail is paved and quite easily hiked. That would be why we were getting paced by both the elderly and the toddlers. After a few stops we came to the first set of waterfalls. Three falls drop about 80 feet into the Lower Pool. The path leads you around the concave cliff and behind the falls where the cool mist drops on all who pass. A little climb higher, not paved, and you reach the Middle Pool fed by a stream. But climb even higher along a path that has you scrambling and hiking and you reach the Upper Pool and discover the source of all the pools, a 300 foot water fall that drops into a shallow but large pool. It is spectacular.

We link to another trail that takes you along the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Virgin River which is still in flood from the winter thaw. The river is a cloudy green color with several areas of whitewater formed by a landslide that occurred just a year ago. We go down a few steep switchbacks to The Grotto, and sheltered area of the canyon.

By now the kids are tired and we catch the shuttle back to camp. We change and walk to a restaurant recommended by our guide from yesterday. We have a great dinner of Mexican food and Samantha eats an entire plate of quesadillas, the best she ever had!

When we get back to camp we cook some s'mores with caramel this time, and head in to watch the John Wayne file, The Cowboys. The kids have mixed reactions to the film. They don't appreciate the fact that John Wayne is killed in the movie. "But he's the star!", they scream. The kids have become enamored with John Wayne and his films. We have brought four of them with us on the trip. Their favorite by far is, Rio Bravo.