National Lampoon Southwestern Vacation

This last weekend we set out to utilize a rare 5 days of vacation and explore a couple of national treasures just a few hours from Scottsdale. Since it was also going to be a vacation from Rohan as well we had tons of M&D time with him last week, making forts, going to the pool, and going on walks. Thursday we dropped Rohan off at Heather & John's for the week/weekend. Little did we know that Rohan was going to be a poo factory all weekend, and even showed off the fabled "Poop Fountain" while at their business (I should let Heather explain that one...). We felt really bad that he wasn't feeling well all weekend. Hopefully the next time he'll be more like his own self.
Friday morning, at just after 4am, we set out for Zion National Park in Utah. We've heard about it from our friend Steph and seen her pictures, so we had to check it out.
Since Memorial Day weekend campsites are insane and packed, we opted for dispersal camping and camped out in the woods of Dixie National Forest, about 30min North of Zion NP. The views on the way up were worth the 7hr drive. It goes by fast when you are just in awe of everything around you. We hit up Zion and walked the dogs on the dog-friendly Pa'rus Trail. We found some water in the the Virgin River and Schroeder had a blast. We headed back to the campsite and relaxed with some grilled cheese, s'mores, and a little wine. Since we were camping at 8000 feet, it was a little chilly in the morning, right around freezing. We quickly warmed up with some Alterra Coffee and oatmeal...:)
The dog trail gave a great view from the valley, but we wanted the view from the top. Since dogs aren't allowed on the other trails we dropped them off at the Doggy Dude Ranch in Rockville just outside the park on Saturday. From the sounds of it they wore themselves out. We hit up the Angels Landing Trail which doesn't go to the top of the canyon like Observation Point, but it had the added element of danger. There are parts of the trail that are VERY treacherous and they even installed chains along the last 1/2 mile of the trail due to the shear 800 foot drop off. The site was a little crowded due to the busy weekend and the draw of the trail, but it was a spectacular climb and the view was hard to beat.
Sunday we packed up early AM and escaped Utah, heading back to AZ. We set up camp in the Kaibab National Forest, which Grand Canyon National Park is located in. The forest was so dense, aside from areas of wildfire. It was a nice change from the deserts of AZ. There were even still areas of snow! It has been a while since I was at the Grand Canyon. Dad, Dale, and I went on a rafting trip in 1994 (I think) for a week. One of the best trips of my life. I even saw the airport and staging area for Hatch River Expeditions. An awesome guide company if you are ever interested. I hope to get back there someday.
We hit up the North Rim viewing areas, and the picture and panoramas we have don't even begin to touch on the beauty of this giant hole in the ground. We could see more than 100 miles, and the air was so clear you could see detail out that far! It was amazing.
Sunday night we explored our camping area a little more and found some awesome cliffs and future camping spots. Mara also created an amazing desert snack...The Super Crack S'more. Bread, peanut butter, graham cracker, marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker, peanut butter, and bread. Wow. We had it down to a science. 1 minute on each side for 4 minutes. This snack may be the next camping addiction.
We realized we had hit 2 steps of the Grand Staircase, so next time we'll have to hit up Bryce Canyon to complete the tour.
We headed back early and rescued John & Heather from Rohan. He had flashes of his old self, but overall just looked like he was uncomfortable. Hopefully he'll recover and get back to his old self soon. We really wanted to thank Heather & John for watching him. It was a great vacation and we have the pictures to prove it. We took over 500 pictures in 4 days. Most were due to panoramas. I uploaded the 30 panoramas we have to Picasa (full resolution). If you want to download the full resolution just download it from Picasa HERE. Some are very wide angle and don't show up well in the slideshow. I chose ~150 pictures to share in the slide show. Most are scenery, but I suggest coming out here to see the site for yourself. We'll be more than happy to tour it with you! :)


Panoramas:


Schroeder Has Some Lucy In Him: