Zion and Bryce National Parks

We have made it to Hatch Station Motel, in Hatch, UT, which is located between Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.  The place is cute; we have a nice little room that is perfect for us, with a view of the Mountains.  We made dinner in the room that first night, and made a plan for what we would do in Zion the next day.

In the morning we woke up, and it had snowed over night.  It was really pretty with the snow covering everything, but it was cold. We packed a lunch, ate breakfast, cleaned off the car, and headed to Zion.  It is about 45 minutes away, but it was a nice drive.  We drive through some of Dixie Forest, which was pretty.  When we got there we took the shuttle to Wheeping rock and hiked up the Observation Point Trail which came out to be about a 9 mile hike round trip.  It was a good hike, but it was really windy and a little cold.  In fact when we got to the top it was too cold and windy to eat lunch, so we stuffed our sandwiches in our mouths as quick as we could and started down.  It ended up snowing just moments after we started to decend.  It was pretty awesome.  It did not snow long, but the wind was still ripping and the sand was blowing everywhere.  The view from the top was amazing, and totally worth the hike.  The hike took us about 4 and a 1/2 hours.  When we got down we were pretty tired, so we took the shuttle back though the scenic views of the park, and then headed out.

We had Prime Rib at the restaurant next door, which was so good.  It just melted in your mouth.  Since we were so exhausted, and now full from dinner, it did not take long for us to pass out.

The next morning we woke up and it was significantly warmer than the morning before.  We got ready and headed to Bryce Canyon National Park.  We decided to drive around to all the viewing points, and then hike a small combination of trails that amounted to about 3 miles total, starting at Sunset Point.  The trails took us down into the canyon, and yeilded some amazing sites. We ended up taking the extended route, that totaled 5 miles, and it was worth it.  The views we got from inside the caynon were amazing.  We wanted to go back to the park at night to view the stars, as we were told that it was amzing, but the park closes before sunset, so we decided against it.  

Tomorrow morning we are California bound. We leave here and start the long 9 hour drive to San Diego, CA, where we will stay with a good friend of Billy's. 

Below are just a few of the amazing photos that we got at Zion and Bryce.  Trust me when I say the pictures do not do justice to the real experience. Enjoy!

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