Zion National Park

I woke up to find that it snowed a few inches! Hopefully the snow stays and can be a base layer for the big snow storm coming next week.

The rest of the morning we spent packing. By 10 am we were on the road. Along the way, my dad surprised us with a pit stop at The Creamery, a creamery in the valley near Eagle Point. It's a really cute place and they make their dairy at a plant just 1,000ft away! We purchased a few items, learned how they make their cheese, and, of course, got some ice cream. Their ice cream is amazing! Clarke got rainbow sherbert, my dad got cookies n' cream, and I got brownie s'mores. Our favorite kind out of the three was brownie s'mores because it had a unique taste.

The rest of the drive was beautiful and we arrived at Zion around 2 pm. We made a quick stop at the rest station before hiking The Narrows. As we walked, we marveled at the steep cliffs closing us in and the aqua-colored water that flowed in the river. About 2.5 miles into the hike, the river got wider and we couldn't hike further upstream without getting wet. In the summer you can hike at least 3 miles farther, but in the winter there's more water so the trail ends sooner. We turned around and headed back to the car.

Throughout the hike, we saw people with dry suits on. My dad asked a couple where to get them and what they were for. They said the suits were for hiking farther upriver through the water. They said they rented them at Zion Outfitters, but we could get them a few other places too. The gear rentals give you neoprene booties, water sneakers, a hiking pole, and a dry suit.

We went back to the Lodge and checked into our cabin. One of the shuttle drivers from Eagle Point did stonework at the Zion Lodge, where we're staying. After we unloaded the car, my dad rented the gear to hike farther into the Narrows tomorrow. When he came back we tried everything on and then went to dinner at the hotel restaurant.

When the food came we marveled at how heavy Clarke's pasta was. It had to be at least 5 lbs! After dinner, we went back to the cabin and tried to watch Bumblebee. We didn't have enough bandwidth to watch it, so we went to bed.

I can't wait to hike the Narrows tomorrow!