Zion National Park

Today we drove the rest of the way to CA, but first we visited Zion National Park, which was less than an hour from Cedar City.  Here is Owen, my nephew Drew, Rylan and my nephew Connor.  My nephew Alex, the one who will be marching, is traveling with the band.  Everybody else is either behind their own camera, NOT listening that we are taking a picture, or in the bathroom.  sigh.

Zion is absolutely beautiful.  It was a little chilly in the shade, but otherwise a gorgeous day to be outdoors.  We picked up Junior Ranger books at the Visitor Center, watched a short presentation and then the kids HAD to have these from the gift shop:

Many thanks to Aunt Joyce for the Christmas money for each kiddo, and a thank you to the kind Park Service employee with a sharpie to lend me so that I could initial each tag, thus avoiding endless fighting about whose raccoon was whose.

We went on a short hike up the Weeping Rock trail.  In the spring, summer and fall there is water that seeps out of the rock and trickles down the wall.  Now, in wintertime, the water is frozen, so the giant rock wall is covered with thousands of icicles.  There is the constant sounds of ice cracking and icicles falling and crashing on the rocks below.  It was quite the show..

The trail was steep, and icy in sections, so it was a bit dicey for me in places, but thankfully there was always some small child nearby that I could hang on to, to keep my balance.  We stood and watched and listened for at least a half an hour, but alas, California is calling and we have hours of driving ahead of us.  First though, our stomachs are growling and lunchtime is near.

Las Vegas is also near, so we hatch a plan to hit a buffet on the outskirts of Vegas for lunch.  We drive just over an hour and arrive for the last 25 minutes the buffet will be open.  Kids pile their plates and we eat.  The food was less than fabulous and the casino was smokey.  We are so accustomed to living in a non-smoking environment here in Colorado, that it is a shock to the system to walk into a smoky establishment. It was also a challenge to steer small children through the casino to even get to the buffet.  So many flashing lights!  So many sounds!

Back in the car, we drive, drive, drive.  We break out the Star Wars trilogy (4,5 and 6) that Santa brought for Christmas, and the kids have a mini-movie marathon, while Dean and I crack up at their commentary.  The desert is endless.  So is the stretch from Vegas to Barstow, that moves at about 15 miles per hour.  HOW CAN THAT MANY PEOPLE BE DRIVING TO CALIFORNIA!!??  It takes forever, but we finally reach our hotel in San Bernardino.  Tomorrow is Lego Land, so to bed we go!