We went to the buffet breakfast in the morning and Zach gorged on bacon and eggs. Everyone else ate pancakes.
We loaded the truck and headed to Zion. We took the Zion-Mt Carmel highway into the park, going through the 1930 Zion tunnel. We got to the visitor center and it was packed. We parked a 1/2 mile up the road and walked back for bathrooms and junior ranger books.
We went back to the truck for snacks and hit the Pa’rus trail. We walked along the Virgin River, taking in the canyon walls.
After about a mile, we veered off to practice stone skipping in the river.
We spent over an hour on the trail and at the river. We then went up to the Zion Human History Museum. We worked on the junior ranger books and watched a movie about the history of Zion.
We caught the shuttle back to the visitor center and then decided to take the shuttle up to stop nine at the other end of the park. We snacked and waiting in a 30 minute line. We rode the shuttle up.
It was cloudy and a little colder when we got off. Teddy and Kris decided they wanted to wait at the shuttle stop. The big kids, the Kosers, and I walked along. The kids posed for a picture and we got back in line to ride the shuttle to our car.
We rode back, checked into our hotel, and headed to dinner where I got a proper salad. We made early morning plans and rested.
We ate breakfast and got back to Zion before 8:00 a.m. We were the only ones at the museum parking lot when we pulled up. We hiked further up the Pa’rus trail. Kris and Ella brought their drawing tools (and one colored pencil) to sketch the sunrise along the Virgin River.
We stayed on the river for a couple of hours before hiking back to the museum. The kids picked up their junior ranger badges and we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon of swimming and relaxation. We drank coffee in the evening, showered, and slept.
She gave him a smile with a future in it. 