weekend in southwest Utah

We've been desperate for some outdoor trekking, so when Brandon and Carrie asked us if we wanted to go to St. George with them, it was an easy answer. It was just a little too cold to camp (right?), so we left early Saturday morning so we'd only need a motel one night. It snowed all night Friday, and was pure winter way down past Cedar City.

We drove straight into Zion, and hiked the Emerald Pools trail. We went to all three pools, and came back on the upper trail, so it ended up being a nice three-mile loop. It was beautiful. The snow from the night before had left a sheen of white all along the north- and northwest-facing sandstone walls, so we were bombarded with color and coldness, because the whole canyon we hiked was already in the sun's shadow.

(PS: You can see all these pictures and more on Flickr.)


crossed the bridge

the North Fork of the Virgin River, rushing alongside the canyon

see the thin little layer of snow that was everywhere?

on the trail

on a rock along the way

another rock-lover

at the Lower Pool's falls

under them falls

Jarom

Orion calls waterfalls "waffles."

steps leading up to the Middle Pool

Red Arch and Deertrap Mountains

We made it to the Upper Pool! There isn't usually a waterfall here, so we were lucky to be able to see one. It only shows up after a good rain or snow followed by sun.

Jarom crossed this tree getting back across the trail. He got a bit stuck and I had to help him with Oey strapped to me. It was a fun maneuver.

pausing at Middle Pool on the way back down

Amy and Bella had much more speed than us boys. They booked it ahead of us and waited here, at the perfect waiting point--on a cliff's edge! Here's a closer view.

the Great Arch of Zion, on our way up the switchbacks to the tunnel

Checkerboard Mesa, beautiful with snow

We had a tight schedule to try and be to Mt. Carmel Junction before dusk, so we drove there on Highway 9, through the tunnel and across beautiful countryside. We immediately found our destination, based solely on a friend's description. We hiked up the crumbling little cliffs and found star after star after star--fossilized crinoids, ancient ocean plants! Jarom found them first. His keen little eyes.


Jarom the scout, up on the cliff

everyone searching methodically for fossils after we located them

crinoid fossils!

This poor little youngster was down and out. But he was a good smiling sport the whole time, naturally.

a crinoid embedded in stone, waiting to weather out

We gathered as best we could before the setting sun and biting wind helped us leave. We drove during sunset west to St. George, found us a little hotel room, then went and grabbed some late-night Coldstone before hitting the hay. Oey had a burning fever all night long; the poor kid was sick the whole trip. I ran across the street at 5 am (wait, 6 am--daylight saving time arrived that night) to the Texaco and got him some ibuprofen, and that helped a little.

We got up early, met Brandon and Carrie and went over to Snow Canyon State Park. This place is absolutely gorgeous, and the weather could not have been better. I wanted to camp here in January (probably *was* too cold then), but it was worth the wait. We hiked into Jenny's canyon, then the massive Petrified Dunes trail, then we visited some pioneer names written on the sandstone walls in axle grease in the late 1800s. Lastly, Brandon and Oey and I hiked the White Rocks trail to a steep viewpoint overlooking the park.



rock outcropping beside Jenny's Canyon

hiking in

Brandon, Millie, and Bella inside the slot canyon





Jarom started out the Petrified Dunes hike for us

Amy and Carrie enjoying the world





first one to the top!

Second one to the top! Look at that view . . .

a nice little panorama

virtuosos

the dunes and the view

Wearing the famous hat, after getting himself stuck down this steep wall. We had to carefully find our way out. Later he said, "Dad, I don't want to wear this hat anymore. It covers my eyes and I can't see." He wanted to wear it though; he requested it from me when we first got out of the car.

charging up the next dune





Bella at the pioneer names. It was a decent little scramble to get up to them.

on the White Rocks trail

Brandon, the overseer

we hiked up to the top, behind us

At the top, this sole butterfly fluttered around us. Oey loved it; I don't think anything could've made him happier at the time. As we came back down, he cried out, "Buffly! Buffly!" very, very sadly.

that tip in the upper right is where we journeyed

After our hiking journeys, we went to Brandon and Carrie's sweet Worldmark By Wyndham room, where we grilled up some dinner, played in the playground, and lounged around until we had to part ways. An excellent weekend.


dinnertime with the sun fading