Bryce, Zion and The Hoover Dam

After we left Colorado, we headed through the not-so-beautiful plains of Utah. We planned on going to Bryce Canyon, Zion and The Grand Canyon. After some research we found out the part of Grand Canyon we were going to see was on an Indian Reservation. It was extremely pricey, so we scratched that idea. But we continued to Bryce Canyon, which turned out well worth the trip. (The collage is of Bryce)

Bryce Canyon is orangey rock, like the Grand Canyon except it was carved by weather (wind etc…) instead of by water. We took a great family hike down to the bottom and got some great snap-shots. We split ways at the bottom and the BFG and Dad took a longer hike while the four of us headed back. It was beautiful and we liked climbing in and around the rocks.

Zion is very different from Bryce so it is hard to compare the two. While Bryce is rocky and dry, Zion is very green and…watery. I think I like Bryce better, but loved them both. We took another family hike to “The Emerald Pools” which turned out pretty but not quite worthy of the word Emerald!
It was warm in the sun and there were lots of Cactus around the trail. We enjoyed romping around and exploring the “pools.” Once again the boys went on, while we headed back. They took a different trail to “Angel’s Landing” Mommy went back and forth about going, and was glad she didn’t after the boys related the story.
To get there, it is a steep hill with chains to hold onto so you don’t fall. Daddy wouldn’t even let Z go all the way up because it was too steep; Dad even said, “I’m surprised more people haven’t died.” Yikes!

It was pretty though and we had a great time and have enjoyed lots of National Parks. After Zion we went to an Air Force Base outside Las Vegas, which was less then desirable. Las Vegas isn’t my favorite place to be, too dry anyway.
While there we decided to take a trip to the Hoover Dam, which was neat to see, but not too much of an eye opening experience. We took a walk over to Dam and looked around; it was pretty amazing what they had done. Afterwards we headed to Lake Mead, the lake made by the Hoover Dam. We played around in the water a bit. It was pretty warm, although that’s not saying much since I’m used to Lake Superior, but it was fun.
We left Vegas on a Sunday afternoon for California. There was lots of traffic; we guessed everyone was going home from Vacation in Las Vegas.
We finally made it though and settled into a nice campground.


~Toley~