Zion

July 7, 2013: we got up early after sleeping in the town of Kanab and drove into Zion. This kids loved the mile long tunnel dug through the mountain. We were lucky enough to see a group of big horned sheep by the road which is apparently pretty rare. Our first order of business was to get a camp,site as they fill very quickly in summer time. We got a spot and set up our tent. You cannot drive in Zion in the summer time, so we walked from the campground to the shuttle bus and drove up into the canyon. We set out to do the Riverside Walk, which is the most popular walk in the park. It was so crowded, unlike anything we have seen so far this summer. We were all exhausted and a bit hiked-out so we just found a nice sandy spot near the river and stopped to play. The kids went fully swimming in their undies and we relaxed. Afterwards we rode the bus back to camp for naps. Julia passed out on the shuttle and finished her nap in the shade t our campsite. We took the kids to the park's nature center for a ranger led program about Zion's animals. These programs are so great and the kids loved the nature center. They made headbands with animal ears on them, we read books, they dressed up as rangers, and saw the exhibits about animals and life at Zion. After that we went swimming in the river again but right near our campsite. Julia got bitten by a fire ant and we had to run into town to get her some medicine because it hurt her so much. We had dinner and all went for another swim right before bed to cool down. Temps were just over 100 but it did not ever feel that hot so we were lucky. During dinner a family of deer came right next to our campsite. There were some large groups camping and as it was a holiday weekend we did not eat much sleep with a lot of noise at the campground. We woke up, broke camp, and got back on the hustle. We did a short hike to the Emerald Pools. Afterwards we stopped where a ranger had a telescope set up to see peregrine falcons nesting. We did not see any but heard them and saw the nest. The kids showed the ranger their Zion workbooks and were sworn in a junior park rangers once again. Then we took off for a few days out of the tent in Vegas!