Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Hiking to Emerald Pools


The main place we wanted to visit while staying in St. George was Zion National Park. It was about a 45 minute drive from our airbnb, but we got gorgeous views of the red rock and fall leaves during the drive.




This was yet another outing where we felt really safe with all the COVID precautions in place, plus we were outdoors the entire time.

I loved their animal themed covid signs.



Beth had done a ton of research about all the best activities to do in the park with kids, she found this Emerald Pools hike which was a perfect length and difficulty for kids (and out of shape adults.)



The beginning of the trail followed this river and the views were gorgeous!



We kept our masks looped around one ear and would put it on fully when we passed by others on the trail. This hike wasn't too busy while we were there, but we did pass by a fair amount of fellow hikers who were going the other way.




Another super adorable photo Monty gave us of the three of us.



We saw so many deer while in the park, this mama and baby were hanging out pretty close to the trail.





Monty wanted to hold my hand most of the way, and it melted my heart. His hand is so little and chubby.




We hiked to the lower falls (there are middle and upper falls too, but the hikes to those are a little more strenuous) round trip to the lower falls is 1.2 miles and the elevation change is 70 feet, it was a really pleasant hike there and back.



The lower falls aren't huge, gushing water falls, they are more delicate, but still pretty impressive and fun to see.




Once at the falls, we sat to enjoy the view, and a couple of fun filters, for a little while.



This is so 2020, but I couldn't tell if I liked the photo better with or without my mask, so I included both.




V is an amazing hiking buddy, she did so great on this trail and had a wonderful time skipping around and finding fascinating things to show us.








After our delightful hike, we headed to the lodge to get some dinner! I always love eating in National Parks I think the food is always so delicious.



Because of Covid, the dining rooms were all closed and food was only available as take out. So we placed our order and waited outside until our food was ready. We waited by this grassy area and there were so many deer everywhere! 



This particular deer was super friendly and tame and would walk right up to people look for food to steal.



V and Monty had so much fun running around in the grass and playing ring around the rosies.



When our food was ready, we enjoyed it picnic style with an excellent view of the deer, the red rock, and fall leaves.


The park was getting pretty cold after the sun started setting, so we were excited to get back to the car and crank the heat for our drive home.





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