Trip Through Zion and Bryce National Parks

We took a sort-of last minute trip to Utah for a family wedding.  I hadn't been to the national parks in Southern Utah since I was a kid, so we drove through Zion and Bryce National Parks on our way north.  It was a very brief tour and we only saw a few of the sights, but it made the drive up more interesting.  We left S.Cal. in the morning and arrived in Springdale Utah at about 4pm and stopped at Sol Foods Market to buy sandwiches and brownies for dinner.  We ate on-the-go so we could be in the park while there was still daylight and see the sunset on the red cliffs.

 One challenge we had was that we were traveling with the dog and there are very few places dogs can go in national parks.  They are only allowed on paved areas (not much fun for a dog), but there is a trail along the Virgin River in Zion NP that allowed dogs.  So we walked there.  Both Nathaniel and Patrick (the dog) enjoyed the river.  We had to spend time at an outside faucett at the visitor's center cleaning them both up before we could get back in the car because Virgin River + pink sand = red mud.

 Actually, I think Nathaniel (12) and Patrick (8 months) are developmentally about the same age.  Both love to romp and play, get dirty, climb all over you, bite, make funny squeek, whimper, growly noises, eat stuff, and neither is particularly concerned with hygiene.

 There are bighorn sheep in the photo above.  See if you can spot 5 or 6 white spots (rumps) along the ridge.

 OK, so we didn't exactly follow the rules with the dog.  But mostly.  This rock is kind of like pavement.

 In old family trip photos, there is always one of the station wagon loaded up.  Well, here is our car loaded for a trip with mountain bikes.

 We stopped for the night between the two parks in some little cabin-like motel and then headed into Bryce Canyon NP the next morning after breakfast.  It was lovely and cool at around 8K above sea level.  Again, not much for the dog to do, but he could go on the path between Sunrise and Sunset points.

 And, we extended that trail just a tiny bit to head around the corner from Sunrise point to see Fairyland rocks.  Doesn't it look like a castle behind Nathaniel's head (below)?

Short visits, but with minimal complaints, it was worth the detour on our drive up through Utah.  Next time I think we'll hit Kolob Canyon or Grand Staircase.