Zion or Bust!!

Mark and I both celebrated a big birthday this year.... you guessed it.... the big 4-0.  We decided that a weekend of hiking in Zion National Park in the fall would be a great way to celebrate.  As the weekend approached, it was beginning to look like our big plans might be a no-go...everything just seemed to be working against us. First there was the news of the Government shutdown. Unless there was a miracle in the next few days, we knew we would not be able to go to Zion.  Mark convinced me that we could still enjoy a little getaway in some warmer temps.  Then the day we planned to leave, a lovely snow storm hit our area making driving unsafe.  We considered just calling it off all together, but the girls were so looking forward to spending some time with their cousins and Mark and I were really looking forward to our birthday celebration.  So after waiting out the interstate closure for a day and a half, we ventured out ...not sure what we would find.  What we found was an interstate packed with every Semi truck you can imagine.  We were literally bumper to bumper with semis for miles....now it wasn't the roads that were slowing us down...the lack of speed was:(

 We finally made it to Utah ...much too late....dropped off the girls at Aunt Jami's and headed south in the dead of the night.  It was late, we were tired of driving, but it was so fun to just be together and talk.  Oh and we made a quick stop at In-N-Out for some burgers which helped perk us up.

We rolled into town in the darkness, and were pleasantly greeted in the morning by this...what a difference a day {and several hundred miles}makes.

We got up early and headed out for our first day of hiking....destination Yants Flat in Dixie National Forest.

There really is no designated trail ...just more open terrain to explore.  And explore we did!!  We climbed and descended over and over for hours.  It was beautiful landscape...but man was it HOT by the time we called it a day.

I tried to convince Mark that we should drive to Zion and make history by being among the protestors, but he didn't want to waste any hiking time;) ...so sadly this was as close as we got

Zion in the distance

We hiked all day and after cleaning up...we headed out for dinner.  I was hoping to take Mark to Pasta Factory in St. George.  It is located in this quaint little complex called Ancestor Square and it has kinda been tradition to eat there with my sisters when we go on our girls trip.

Unfortunately they were closed, so we opted for Buca di Beppo instead....it was yummy.  We convinced ourselves that we had burned enough calories to justify getting a little treat.  So we headed for Nielsen's Frozen Custard (another favorite)...which was also closed :/ Oh well, we found Freddy's which was an acceptable alternative.

The next morning we headed for Ashdown Gorge just outside of Cedar City.  Mark and I have always said we would love to live in Cedar, and visiting the area this time of year just reinforced our desire.  I must admit the hike started out a little rough...and I'm not just talking about the terrain;)  Mark thought we could save a fair amount of extra walking to the "trail head" by taking a little short cut.  Well this shortcut was pretty much off the side of the mountain and it was steep with obstacles [rocks, trees] at every step.  My muscles hurt so bad from all the climbing the day before, I was really hoping for a nice trail.  I don't mind long hikes with up and down climbs, but I don't care for hikes where you have to constantly be watching where to step...I like to be able to get lost in my head a bit:)  ......I will admit I kinda lost my mind and patience at the beginning, but then we were back on track....right babe?

The canyon was gorgeous and we felt small and vulnerable within its massive walls.

We got the added bonus of beautiful fall colors to enjoy....my favorite:)

We had such a grand weekend, we were really wishing we could stay at least another night.  But it was time to say farewell to the palm trees and get back to our babies [who were having a great time with their cousins]

 

We headed north, making a couple of stops in Holden and Santaquin.  We visited the cemetery in both places and drove by Marks grandparents old home to see how it looked.  We had so much fun just driving around these cute little towns...lots of sweet memories.  These small southern Utah towns are so charming and I think I said "I would love to live here" in nearly every one we drove through....it's true...I would!!

 

We made it to Jami's with just enough time to visit a while and check out Scott's basement progress and then it was time for bed.  

 

We had to head home early the next morning and these two cuties were off to school....it was so hard to leave.

 We made stops in at both grandparents for a quick visit and made sure to pick some apples from Grandpa's trees.  Boy, do I hope the girls will always cherish sweet memories like this.

 Then it was lunch at Great Harvest ...really in hopes that we could snag one of their scrumptious pumpkin sugar cookies.  Bay just felt it wouldn't be fall without one...I tend to agree:)

So... Zion was kind of a BUST, but I am still glad we made the trip.  Even with the frustrations early on, it was so worth it!!  It was a great way to commemorate our milestone and another day we will get back there to do those hikes we had planned.

A big thank you to the Weavers for taking good care of our girls:)