We have visited a couple of parks in the southwest but never Zion and Bryce Canyons. They did not disappoint. Zion's steep canyon reminded us a little of Yosemite and there were plenty of hiking opportunities. Since we only had a day we chose the Angel's Landing hike. After about an hour of climbing and switchbacks called Walter's Wiggles we reached the section of trail that has chains installed due to the extreme pitches. Jackson's fear of heights kicked in, and Amy and Asa decided they would go the final half mile up the ridge to summit. The wildlife in Zion was interesting as well. There were the expected deer, sheep, and lizards, and then there were the unexpected turkeys and a tarantula! That was a first.
Bryce Canyon was by far our favorite place to hike and offered the most amazing scenery. We traversed the amphitheater from Bryce Point to Sunrise Point winding through the hoodoos, windows, tunnels, and dry washes. With every step we were treated to amazing formations and colors that we never tired of seeing. One of the boys' favorite activities was stargazing. Bryce boasts one of the darkest skies in the US. We laid under the Milky Way with our binoculars and could hardly believe the number of stars that appeared.
We then headed North to Delta on a tip from a good friend and co-worker of Amy's, Sarah, who told us about a great place to dig for trilobites.
U-Dig-Fossils is an ancient shale-bed quarry about 50 miles outside of Delta. The folks there were super helpful and encouraging, especially for the boys. We found dozens of trilobites of various sizes and varieties, but we also left with a couple of non-local fossils thanks to the generosity of the U-Dig-Fossils staff.
We didn't know a lot about the Great Basin National Park in Nevada, but since we were within an hour of the park we decided to spend the rest of the day exploring there. What a great place! We drove up to the 10,000 foot parking area and hiked the Bristlecone Pine Grove trail to see the oldest trees on earth. The oldest trees in the grove are between an unbelievable 3,000 to 5,000 years old! By overlapping the growth rings they have a climate record dating back to 10,000 years before Christ. It was so beautiful that we would love to come back and hike to the summit of Wheeler Peak someday. Amy read that the Pinon pine-nut harvest began in the fall and, given the elevation, fall had begun! We collected about a pound of nuts, far from the 25 pound limit that the Park Service places on those that want to harvest on NP land.
We have visited a couple of parks in the southwest but never Zion and Bryce Canyons. They did not disappoint. Zion's steep canyon reminded us a little of Yosemite and there were plenty of hiking opportunities. Since we only had a day we chose the Angel's Landing hike. After about an hour of climbing and switchbacks called Walter's Wiggles we reached the section of trail that has chains installed due to the extreme pitches. Jackson's fear of heights kicked in, and Amy and Asa decided they would go the final half mile up the ridge to summit. The wildlife in Zion was interesting as well. There were the expected deer, sheep, and lizards, and then there were the unexpected turkeys and a tarantula! That was a first.
Bryce Canyon was by far our favorite place to hike and offered the most amazing scenery. We traversed the amphitheater from Bryce Point to Sunrise Point winding through the hoodoos, windows, tunnels, and dry washes. With every step we were treated to amazing formations and colors that we never tired of seeing. One of the boys' favorite activities was stargazing. Bryce boasts one of the darkest skies in the US. We laid under the Milky Way with our binoculars and could hardly believe the number of stars that appeared.
We then headed North to Delta on a tip from a good friend and co-worker of Amy's, Sarah, who told us about a great place to dig for trilobites. U-Dig-Fossils is an ancient shale-bed quarry about 50 miles outside of Delta. The folks there were super helpful and encouraging, especially for the boys. We found dozens of trilobites of various sizes and varieties, but we also left with a couple of non-local fossils thanks to the generosity of the U-Dig-Fossils staff.
We didn't know a lot about the Great Basin National Park in Nevada, but since we were within an hour of the park we decided to spend the rest of the day exploring there. What a great place! We drove up to the 10,000 foot parking area and hiked the Bristlecone Pine Grove trail to see the oldest trees on earth. The oldest trees in the grove are between an unbelievable 3,000 to 5,000 years old! By overlapping the growth rings they have a climate record dating back to 10,000 years before Christ. It was so beautiful that we would love to come back and hike to the summit of Wheeler Peak someday. Amy read that the Pinon pine-nut harvest began in the fall and, given the elevation, fall had begun! We collected about a pound of nuts, far from the 25 pound limit that the Park Service places on those that want to harvest on NP land.
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