ZION

As I sit on my couch and reminisce on this last week, all I can think is: "Wow, how awesome life can be." I got to spend my Thanksgiving break camping in three very different and beautiful National Parks, the first of which being Zion.

Saturday, November 18th:

"OH MY GOSH!!! Holy hecking wow." Is the first entry in my journal, as I stepped outside my tent and saw the immense bluffs surrounding our campsite. After driving for 10 hours (and through four different states) the day before, and only getting 4.5 hours of sleep, I felt so energized taking in the sights around me. I have never seen anything so beautiful. I woke up much earlier than my friends, and didn't want to spend a single second not exploring all that was around me, so I took a morning stroll. I couldn't stop smiling as I walked around the campsite, and other people must have felt the magic of Zion too because everyone was so nice. So yes, I walked around for 30 minutes, and then went back to the campsite to wake up my friends because I didn't want them to miss these gorgeous sights. Everyone was impressed. 

After defrosting, eating, and getting ready, we decided to get on the shuttle so that we could hike Angel's Landing (one of the scariest hikes in the world!!!). The hike is 5.4 miles round-trip, and let me tell you, I am so out of shape. Luckily, Zion is so beautiful that we took many breaks to take pictures and enjoy the views. When we got to the very scary part (aka 1000 foot drop on each side), Chris and I decided to stay back, as our fear of heights would have made the trip unbearable. We explored other regions, while the rest of the gang finished the hike. We descended the switchbacks pretending to be airplanes.

At night time, we sat around the fire and ate food. The stars came out, and we gazed at them trying to point out the different constellations. We were all pretty exhausted and went to bed early.

The next morning, I awoke to massive gusts of wind. It sounded as though a huge rainstorm was going on, but the tent wasn't wet. To be safe, I decided to stay in my (warm) sleeping back for an extra hour and a half (side note: it was in high 20* F each morning, so you can't really blame me). After a while I got bored, and decided to go on another morning walk. This time I came across a river, which I followed for a while until I found a nice rock to sit on and just listen to the rush of the water. It was very soothing. 

I came back to the campsite and everyone was up. We got ready again, and hopped on the shuttle to hike Observation Point. This hike is 8-miles round trip, which after our pretty strenuous hike the day before was pretty intimidating. I had the time of my life on this hike. We explored so many different parts of this mountain that we off the side of the trail, we took picnic breaks with views I could only dream of, and we took breaks to capture the beauty of this park. It was so much fun. Not to mention the reward at the summit was insane. We ate our snacks and took even more pictures. Also, the entire hike Kate and Ethan would share information they learned from their geology classes and applied it to the natural wonders we observed. The pictures don't do this place justice. 

That night the boys packed up most of their stuff because they had to leave at 4:30 the next morning. The only thing left to do was to move Chris' car in front of mine, except his wouldn't turn on. We tried jumping it with my car to no avail. So, we walked to our neighboring campers who had the same size truck, and asked for help. He came over with a neat mini battery, which almost worked, but not quite, so he brought over his truck to jump it. Nothing. Finally, I decided to call AAA, but it would be over an hour until the repair man showed up. Tired of sitting outside in below freezing weather, we all decided to hangout in the family bathroom.We were all so mentally and physically exhausted from the last two days that we became delirious, but we had a good time. AAA came and started his car (yay!), but recommended it stay on for at least an hour, so we took a drive at midnight, after being up for 18 hours and hiking almost 9 miles (including our mini-adventures). Kat and Ethan went to bed, so Chris, Kenzo, Kate and I stayed in the car, listened to music, and snacked while waiting for the time to pass, and it was so much fun. 

I had the time of my life in Zion, which only made me more exited for the rest of our trip. 

Here are some pictures :) 

note: the pictures posted are a compilation of pictures taken by Chris, Ethan, Kat, Kate, Kenzo, and me

note to the note: the pictures aren't exactly in order because I had to grab them from two different folders, but alas they're still super cool!