Thanksgiving Road Trip

Hello, readers! This is Annie signing in. Since this blog has become a little more active (go Mom!) I thought I'd copy over the post from my blog about our Thanksgiving trip a few months ago. Enjoy!

This Thanksgiving, we piled in the white Suburban for a road trip to Bryce Canyon and Zion's National Park with the Briggs Bunch (minus Aaron, who was pretty stoked about Snow Basin opening for the season; and Dan, Karen, and the kids, who decided a hiking trip with five little kids wasn't particularly ideal. :))

Mom and Dad navigating - I'd say this picture really captures a great part of all the family trips we've been on.

The group at Bryce Canyon

We decided to hike down into the canyon. Holy smokes, mud like I've never experienced, but it was definitely worth it! Beth's shoes say it all:

After Bryce, we continued down to Zion's. We went on hikes every day in Zion's, including Angel's Landing: Image from zionnational-park.com

After some switchbacks that rival the hike to the Y in intensity, the hike has a good solid chunk of the hike like this:

And this:
(yep, the trail is only that wide... so is the mountain)

The hike puts you up at the level of all the peaks and cliffs at Zion's because you're ON one of the peaks:

Good heavens, Mom! Please act your age and not like a scout! ;)
Just kidding--Mom is quite the adventurer. And this picture really captures just how much altitude we gained. (The little curvy thing at the top is a road. It's about the level the hike started.)

Even though there were a few points where I thought I was trying really hard to act tough and not look a little scared, it was a great experience and we were all glad Blake convinced us we could do it. It really wasn't too bad of a hike, nor was it grossly long like Timp. When you're down in Southern Utah, make a point to do it! (Unless you're prone to vertigo, in which case, most definitely do NOT attempt it.)

All in all, it was a great week! We enjoyed hiking, playing games in the hotel together, pulverizing our muscles in the hot tub, having our own "Continental Breakfast" every morning provided by Dad, and watching all of the Lord of the Rings. (Anyone who knows me will be shocked to hear that. Verdict: truly the greatest epic of good versus evil that I've ever encountered. I'm not sure I'd watch them again, though...)

It was my and Blake's first family trip together! We hope the Briggs keep traveling and letting us come along! (cough, cough--take us to Hawaii next time, Mom and Dad! ;))