Adele’s been smiling and laughing for months now, but I think this week we got our first fit of giggles out of her. (Correction: Daddy got her first fit of giggles out.) We had just gotten home from our Zion roadtrip (almost 8 hours in the car!) and we were playing with her before bed.
Who knew a simple game of peek-a-boo would generate such laughter! Her giggles are the cutest thing we’ve ever heard.
On Monday, after we hiked the Canyon Overlook trail, we took a break and had lunch at the Zion Lodge. Not much is open during the off-season, but we had a pretty good lunch (Grilled Turkey and Cheese with Pasta Salad for me!) Adele munched on my avocado slices, pasta salad and veggies. Mmm.
Then it was time to hit the trails again!
We drove the entire length of the valley floor to the other side. The road ends at a parking lot and we set out on foot onto the Riverside Walk trail. The trail is relatively easy, but offers some neat views as the surrounding rocks start closing in on you.
Adele was safely tucked away inside our hiking backpack. She loved facing forward and taking in the sights like we did. Such a big girl.
The trail was supposed to be 2 miles round trip, but it was cut short when we saw this sign.
Yikes! Usually this is a waterfall, but in the winter, it completely freezes.
Someday, we’ll have to come back in the summer because this trail leads into The Narrows. Not sure that I’ll ever hike inside the Narrows (scary!) but I hear you can get inside a little bit to get an idea of what it’s like. Someday. Someday.
[source]
But we still enjoyed the scenery and the fresh air regardless. The Virgin River flows into Zion Valley via the Narrows. I can’t even imagine what this is like when it’s full and flowing. Must be amazing! That river, after all, was powerful enough to carve out the entire canyon millions of years ago!
We were only on the trail for an hour or so, but it was enough to give Ms. Sleepyhead a good nap.
With the baby asleep, we had time to kill before we got back in the car. (We didn’t want to wake her up). So we headed down to the river to play around.
Oh, heyyy! I wanna touch the water!
Soon after, we headed back to the visitor’s center. I’ve said it before, but I just can’t wait til Adele is old enough to want to buy something in those stores. Will she want books? A bag full of gem stones? Those educational-type stores were always my favorite (nerd alert!) and I hope she loves them someday too!
With time to kill before we retreated to the hotel for the day, we did a short walk around the property. It was too nice to not be outside.
Around 3p, we did make it back to the room to relax before dinner. A good two hours of snuggling, crawling and playing. This is what vacations are all about now; quality time with the family! Love it.
My favorite one:
One more day left in Zion to tell you about! Hope you’re enjoying the pictures!
I have a few photo-heavy Zion posts coming your way. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
When I left off, we were making our way from St. George to Zion National Park. The drive was relatively short and soon we were in Springdale (the last town before the park Entrance).
Our hotel was in Springdale, but we skipped checking in and headed straight to the park for a few hours first. We gladly paid our $25 park entrance fee and made our way like little kids towards the visitors center.
After getting a brief overview from the Rangers, we decided to walk the Pa’Rus Trail nearby to get a lay of the land. The trail is pretty flat and meanders through the valley floor.
Lots of great views of the towering mountains, unique landscape and the Virgin River.
At one point, Irving looked behind us and whispered “Look, there’s a bear behind us!” I turned to look and there was a very nice lady wearing a bear hat. haha We had a great conversation about raising kids to appreciate nature and the National Parks.
This trail was the perfect intro to Zion. It made us excited for the hikes we had planned for the next two days.
I’m very proud of this picture! If any musician wants to use this as their album art, let me know. I have no clue how to properly use our camera, but every once in a while, I get lucky.
When we finished our walk, we went back to the Visitor’s Center and watched the 20 minute video on the history of the park. (Did you know they found Dinosaur tracks in there??) We also stamped Adele’s National Park Passport there too! (She’s got two stamps now! Yosemite and Zion!)
Then we checked into our hotel and relaxed for the rest of the day. We stayed at the Desert Pearl Inn in Springdale. Another amazing hotel. I loved it!
Hard wood floors in hotel rooms wins me over every time. It felt like a ski villa or something. A+.
We spent the rest of that afternoon relaxing in the room and grabbing some dinner. Most of the restaurants in Springdale are closed in the off season, but we had a great meal at Wildcat Willies. We fed Adele some peas, mashed potatoes, bread and a taste of a pickle! She’s so fun to eat out with now. She loves sitting in her highchair like the big kids do. So fun.
We had a rough couple of hours that night trying to put her to sleep and we ended up putting her in our bed again. Once she fell asleep, we all slept til 8am the next day! Well-rested parents for the win!
We ate breakfast in the hotel (we bought a pack of donuts from a bakery in St. George), and then set out on a full day of Zion adventures! First, we head out in search of the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel. It was built in 1930 and goes straight through the mountain! See that tiny hole? We’re gonna drive thru that!
There’s a twisty road that weaves its way up the mountain to the entrance. It was so pretty as the sun was starting to peek into the canyon.
Check out the frozen waterfalls along the route!
And soon enough, we were about to enter the tunnel! Wheeee!
The tunnel is 1.1 miles long and soon enough, we were on the other side! Not a bad parking spot for our little minivan!
And our first hike started right past the exit.
We parked the car, strapped Adele into the carrier and began ascending the mountain via the Canyon Overlook trail. She fell asleep pretty quickly!
Note to inquiring Grandmothers out there: She’s got a long sleeve onsie, two jackets, a hat, gloves, booties and a blanket on her! Don’t worry, she was warm. =)
And up we go!
Hi sleepy baby! Are you awake?
Yep! She woke up just in time to take in the beautiful views!
The Pine Creek canyon below!
Be careful though, there’s a scary bridge on the edge of a cliff that you have to walk over! Eeek! Scary!
Adele, are you scared? Let’s listen in to find out:
If video won’t load, click here to view it on youtube! I’m working on fixing it!
Other cool things along the trail were icicles melting in the morning sun…
And amazing monuments that only nature could create. This one is called the Beehive!
How’d you spend your Monday morning?
After the hike, we drove back through the tunnel and into the valley floor. Along the way, we stopped to look at the Court of Patriarchs.
Adele was impressed. I love that girl.
Gosh, we love Zion. Everywhere we looked we were in awe of what we saw.
More pictures and hikes to come!
This weekend, we took Adele on a pretty awesome roadtrip! I think it’s our furthest one with her yet! She did great!
Saturday morning, we packed up the car, and set out driving 7 hours to our destination:
But let’s back up. We left Saturday morning around 9am (timed perfectly with Adele’s morning nap). We took her out of the car a few times to stretch and eat, but otherwise, she slept almost the whole time. I jumped in the back for one two-hour stretch to feed and entertain her while we drove, it worked out well! Time flew by. 
Soon enough, we were past Las Vegas and heading towards Mesquite. We just happened to stop at this place:
Irving played golf here a couple of years back and has been dying to go back ever since. Too bad he didn’t have his clubs with him this time, but I know he was excited to see it again. I hear it’s a great course.
After our brief stop there, we continued on towards St. George, Utah! We literally drove through four states in one day! CA –> NV –> AZ –> UT! We had no idea there was a time zone change too! Oops!
We planned to stay one night in St. George before jumping over to Zion and we were SO glad that we did! We had an awesome hotel room. Excuse me, a hotel house.
We stayed at the Inn at Entrada and it was pretty awesome. I mean, come on, we had our own garage! That’s a first for us!
The house was gorgeous. Super comfortable, we wished we had stayed longer!
Can you spot the baby?
Fun fact: High School Musical 2 was shot on the property!
Here’s the pool!
That’s right folks, see these beautiful mountains here?
Zac Efron looked at those very mountains from this very spot. Jealous? You know you are. haha
But seriously, the property was so beautiful. If you’re coming to St. George, we highly recommend it!
Ohmygosh! Zac Efron played basketball hereeeeee! {squeal}
(not really, but I’m sure my cousins will be excited about this. hahaha
By the way, we got this blanket for Christmas and we loooooove it. It’s vinyl on one side, and fleece on the other. It’s perfect for picnics in the park, and hotel room floors apparently. Adele was a fan.
After a rough night of sleep (which is so sad because the room was so comfy! … more on that later!) We woke up ready to explore St. George.
What? I can’t have this whole bed to myself?
We met my friend from college, Katie, at George’s Corner Restaurant for brunch. It’s been years since I’ve seen her and we had a blast catching up.
I love meeting old friends in new places! So nice seeing you, Katie!
After we ate, Irving, Adele and I walked around St. George. It was a Sunday, so not too much was open, but what a cute little town. We’ll be back someday for sure!
And soon enough, it was time to head to our next stop: Zion!
Stay tuned!
OUR ST. GEORGE DETAILS:
Hotel: Inn at Entrada
Restaurants: Pier 49, Georges Corner Restaurant
Hi I'm Kelley! I'm a 30-something cancer survivor and a self-proclaimed world traveler. I am originally from Boston, but now call Los Angeles my home. Traveling is my passion, but I also love running marathons, watching soccer, eating cupcakes and planning future adventures with my Husband. In June 2012, I became a mom to a beautiful baby girl named Adele. Our lives are forever changed and we couldn't be more excited!
Email: Kelocity@gmail.com
By popular demand, here are my Nike Women's Marathon recap posts!
2011
2010 - Race
2010 - Expo
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
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