The Pollan Post: November 2014

Wednesday - We decided to go to Zions for a little family trip. We stayed at our favorite Hampton Inn and Suites in Springdale. Today we headed out to hike Red Cliff Rec Area but it was closed. They were working on the bridge which is the only way in and we were not allowed to cross. Seriously disappointed! We turned around and drove back the forty minutes to Zion and did a few hikes there. Emerald Pools and the Grotto. There are really cool stone steps that hike between two large bolders. It is a really fun hike getting from the lower falls to the upper falls.
After hiking we looked through a few shops. Ate some Mexican food at Amigos and hit the hot tub. The kids had fun playing chicken which involves dipping yourself under in the hot tub and then running and leaping into the pool. They usually scurried right back into the hot tub to warm back up. Byron was a good sport and played in the pool with them for a while. Me, not so much. I held down the fort in the hot tub. We played cards in the lobby for awhile and drank from their luscious hot chocolate bar. Fun times!

Thursday- Angels Landing day. Carter started the day by walking into a cactus. Not so awesome. It took him a while to pick the stickers out of his hand and his hip. He then climbed up to take a photo with the Zions National Park sign and hit his head on it. A few minutes later he had a nose bleed on the shuttle. Three strikes and your out. Poor kid. We decided to risk his luck and hike Angels Landing anyway. It was a beautiful day to be out hiking and we were not disappointed with the hike in any way. Carters luck changed and he was a great leader of our pack. All of us made it out to the end of Angels Landing and enjoyed the amazing views. It was pretty crowded on the trail especially when you got to the essentially one way chain wire area. We enjoyed clementines and sandwiches and curry chicken salad at the top. We were all tired by the time we made it down.
We just had time for a quick change before heading over to Wildcat Willy's for our Thanksgiving Feast! It was a fun buffet style dinner with lots of desserts to choose from. They had wood carvings of Wiley Coyote all over and a fun western theme. We all ate until we were bulging and couldn't eat another bite if we wanted to. Ally had fun mixing spells in her raspberry lemonade. She turned herself into a cat. Tyler, Ally and I ran out for a quick hot tub and enjoyed the warmth on our sore legs. Everyone is enjoying an Alaska Show on TV currently and I am about to fall asleep so...time to shut 'er down. We are having such a fun time and can't wait to see what adventurous hikes we find tomorrow. It is so beautiful here and I am really enjoying the nature and the glorious views. Zion may be my favorite place on the planet.