Sisters In Zion

Sunshine...blessed sunshine.

I believe I've made it clear that winter does me no favors. I get sick...you get sick...we get better but the polar chill keeps us indoors and unable to enjoy our renewed health. I can only tolerate a few months of this before my sanity and general well being become very uncertain. I knew what I had to do...the sooner the better...I needed to get my family out of here and in to the sunlight. So I packed and planned and hoped for good health as a getaway to Southern Utah was on the horizon. Soon we would feel warmth on our cheeks and fresh, non-toxic air would fill our lungs. We could walk on dry ground and explore painted mountains and throw rocks. My spirits were lifting with just these thoughts alone! We set out on our expedition to Zion's National Park on a crisp Saturday morning. The girls were wonderfully behaved for the car ride, coloring and playing 'mail' to keep them selves entertained on the 4 hour road trip.

Calling all nature lovers! Zions is amazing!

We stayed at  Zion's Lodge, we had a view of rusty colored cliffs from our back porch and rocking chairs to relax in while we enjoyed the view...which we did for a minute, but the orange mountain was calling to us, begging to be traversed .

It makes my heart happy when my daughters enjoy each other...they were best friends for most of the trip ( most:)

Kate (4)  Brooke (7)  Morgan (8) under a bridge by the virgin river on our first day at Zions.

We hiked, we went for breath taking drives, we honked in tunnels and found animal tracks in orange sand and in snowy shadows. We saw deer, a fox, wild turkey and hawks.

Brooke binocular-ing

Julie + Jon 4 ever.

He is a mountain man at heart

These girls think they're mountain goats..they scared me more than once.

We hiked "weeping rock" a drizzling rock face that never stops dripping. Kate said "It's crying because it will miss seeing my freckled nose".

Our weekend getaway was much needed. Jon had a cold, was recovering from the flu and had a sore tooth from a recent root canal, but he got to leave his work stress behind and reconnect with his family. We got to have him all to ourselves and we loved it, we love him.

Brooke lost a tooth while we were there, she was glad the tooth fairy found her in her hotel room.

Kate's confidence grew the more we hiked around, she was " mountain girl" by the end of the day.

My family.

We found lot's of places to explore where we were the only people around.

I loved the contrast between the rusty colored rocks and the stark white snow.

Sand meets snow.

Jon and I were so bummed that we forgot to bring our good camera...my camera phone was it:(

A prickly pear cactus

Orange sand in Brooke's hand.

Thank you for a rejuvenating getaway Zion's National Park...we will be back!