February 5th, 2011 - Zion National Park with Lynn, Dick, Paula & Larry

First off - I blew it today - I brought my camera along but didn't put the battery in the camera when we left the condo.  So when we got out to Zion and I went to take a picture here I realized that I hadn't put the battery back in the camera and the battery was back at the condo charging!  DUH  So I won't be able to post pictures until I get pictures from Paula or Lynn.

 We packed up a lunch today and headed to Zion National Park around 9:30 this morning.  Paula and Larry have never been to Zion so John and I were so excited to share this beautiful national park with them.  When  we first arrived we drove into the corridor and then stopped at the end and went for a walk along the Virgin River.  From there we decided to go and park at the Grotto and start walking up towards Scouts Landing (or as far as we could go before we hit ice).  We stopped part way up and sat on a bench and ate lunch before continuing on up.  We got up as far as Walter Wiggles and then decided to turn around once the trail became icy. 

When we got back to the van we headed to the Zion Lodge because Paula and Larry wanted to get a few souvenirs from Zion.  From there we loaded back into the van and headed up the switchbacks to drive in the tunnel and then up to the Canyon Overlook.  We did another hike of about a mile in length that ended with a beautiful view of the Zion canyon.

We arrived back in St. George around 5:30 and had dinner and then sat around and played a fun dice game using three dice and everyone starts out with 3 dimes.  Overall it was a wonderful day with good company, fresh air, beautiful scenery, and a lot of laughter.  What a great way to spend a Saturday!