Happy Campers! Zion National Park + more

Happy Sunday everyone! This week's post is a little later than usual becuase we just got back from our grand finale to the summer: a trip to Zion National Park!

It was a whirlwind trip, and my FIRST camping / backpacking trip!

We left in the late afternoon on Thursday, after shortened week of work + prepping for the trip.

It took about 4 hours to drive from Provo to Springdale, the city nearest the park entrance. Matt found a scenic route we could take. It was a lot prettier than the freeway, and took us through this tunnel into the park.

The tunnel had windows that looked out onto views like these:

And when we came out the other side, we were in the park!

Our first viewpoint came right at sunset. It was a beautiful way to start our time in Zion!

As if that wasn't quite a good enough welcome, two big horned sheep walked right in front of our car as we continued to drive in.

They were so close that we could hear their hooves on the ground. So cool!

Once we got to Springdale we checked into our hotel and walked around the cute town. 

We did a little bit of window shopping before heading back - we knew we had a big day ahead!

The next morning we got up early and took one of the park's free shuttles up to the trailhead of Angel's Landing.

Our destination was the top of this mountain.

This hike came with plenty of warning about how dangerous it could be, but we felt good about it. The first part looked like this:

Then we headed up a series of steep switchbacks called "Walter's Wiggles," haha.

Then the real fun began..!

We hiked up the skinny ledge, about 1400 feet above the canyon floor, up to the top of Angel's Landing! It was so steep and precarious that it required chains for hikers to hang onto. One nervous lady in front of us kept saying "I love this chain! I love this chain!" as she clung on for dear life! She was so cute! Haha. 

About 2 hours after we'd started, we made it to the very top of Angel's Landing. :) The views looked like this:

It felt great to make it to the top!

By then we were ready for lunch. Just us, the views, a few other mostly-international tourists, and the some brave wildlife.

hang on buddy!!

The trip down took about another 2 hours. After that big hike, we spent the rest of the day exploring the other popular destinations in the park. We took the free shuttles in between each attraction. 

Our plan for that night WAS to go camping, but rain, thunder, lightning, and warnings about flash floods changed our plans. 

optimistic sign at a store in town

Instead we stayed at the hotel for one more night. I didn't mind at all (still a little nervous to sleep in nature for the first time!), and enjoyed the views from the hotel patios. 

One perk of staying at the hotel for an extra night was that on Saturday morning, we found a cute farmers' market in town!

We wanted to buy everything, but knew that whatever we brought would have to fit in our packs, becasue our next stop was backpacking and camping!

refueling before heading out

this is what we hiked out into

This was my first time camping / backpacking, so I started out a little nervous! Fortunately Matt has enough experience for both of us, and his confidence helped me feel better. 

It was a long hike out to our camp site (about 3.5 hours). We were both feeling hot and sweaty by the time we finally made it there. I was so happy to see the sign for our spot!!

It didn't take long to set up our stuff and get comfortable. 

This was our view:

We explored around our site for a while and found a hidden waterfall, a natural arch, and more!

Exploring was a great way to finish out the day!

That night was a little scary for me, since it was my first time camping in the wilderness. But it turned out to be great. I loved the privacy and stillness of the outdoors.

The next morning (Sunday) we did a little more hiking around our camp spot. We also had a Sunday devotional and told eachother things we'd leared during scripture study. 

Then it was time to hike back and head home! We couldn't believe how quickly the weekend had gone by.

Most of the hike back was steep with loggs put down as stairs. It took about 3 hours, and that plus our packs and the heat made it pretty difficult! Most of the weekend we got lucky with overcast and slightly rainy weather. While it did keep us from camping one night, for the most part it was great becuase it kept it cool and prevented crowds. We wished it had lasted for our hike home!

Eventually we made it back to the car and started back to reality. 

This weekend was a much needed break from our routines.We were so glad we got to get away before Matt goes back to school on Tueday this week.

Almost the whole weekend, THIS song was stuck in my head! Listen for a few moments and you'll know why. :)

We got back to Provo late Sunday evening. 

That night, Matt's brother ZAC came over!

Zac has been on a church mission in Brazil for the last two years, and for the two years before THAT, Matt was on his mission in Germany! So these brothers hadn't seen each other in FOUR YEARS before tonight. It was so sweet to see them be reunited!! I remember Zac from when we were in the singles' ward together in Corvallis. We were both so happy to see him again!

And now it's SEPTEMBER. :) Yes! We have so many exciting things to look forward to this fall and winter that I'm ok letting summer go. It's been great, but even better things are ahead. 

It has been a fun, but totally exhausing, week! 'See' you next weekend!