For our annual family vacation we headed to St. George during spring break. We anticipated exploring a number of the different areas of Zion National Park, but we didn’t anticipate how many other folks had the same idea.
As we were finishing our packing on Friday evening we heard that Cortnie, our oldest granddaughter, had injured her foot and needed to visit the emergency room on Saturday morning instead of driving to St. George. The rest of us made the long drive, stopping briefly to see my Mom on the way. On the way, we heard that the X-rays showed Cortnie had broken her little toe and would be hobbled with a boot for a few weeks. Their departure was delayed until Sunday.
We always make a stop in Tehachapi for a bathroom break at a historical railroad park and coffee at the deli/bakery next door.
Railroad memorabilia at a small park in Tehachapi
We had rented a good-sized 4-bedroom house that was dog friendly. It was clean and comfortable. It was built on the edge of a steep hill, so there were good views from the back side. The downside was there wasn’t much yard, and no hot tub or pool (which at certain times of the year would probably be a necessity in St. George).
On Sunday Karen and I rode our bikes along the Virgin River trail. We also rode up the Santa Clara River trail a couple of miles. The trail was flat and is typical for desert rivers that have brush-covered banks, so we rarely saw the water. It was a fairly short ride at about 12 miles.
Mark and Annmarie arrived that evening and got quickly situated. Even so, the kid’s bedtime was late, so we knew we’d want a leisurely start to the next day.
After breakfast on Monday we headed north to the Kolob Canyons area of Zion and did the popular hike along Taylor Creek. It was a low snow year, so the creek was low—in fact it seemed lower than when we were there last year in May. The kids did fine on this 5-mile hike and especially enjoyed walking in the water on the way back. We hiked as far as the double arch alcove where the cliff walls tower 1700 feet over the creek bed.
Taylor Creek hike
At Double Arch Alcove
On Tuesday we went to a park at the junction of the Virgin River and the Santa Clara River and rode bikes and played in the sand and water. Carolyn and Elizabeth (the twins) really loved the sandy mud.
The twins love sand, water, and mud
Links:
—St. George 2015 photo gallery
