My Fall Break Adventures

Ok. So I know its a little late for talking about my fall break but I thought I could share it with you anyways. So, over fall break, my family and I went camping and hiking. Here are some pics and descriptions. And p.s, this is a REALLY REALLY REALLY long post.

Our long road trip started on a chilly Saturday morning. In other words, we left at four o' clock in the morning.

Our first destination was Zion National Park which is located in Utah. It took us about six hours to get there. Once we had entered the park, we stopped at a small trail near the front of the park called Canyon Overlook. It was a two mile hike. The view at the end of the trail was gorgeous.

The first thing you guys have probably figured out is that we were hiking in flip flpos. FLIP FLOPS! Well, everyone except for my dad that is. He was already prepared because this was supposed to be a "surprise" hike for us and we didn't have time to change our shoes and stuff. The second thing you've probably seen is that my mom is hiking in a skirt. Who hikes in a skirt?! But hey, we had a good reason :)

After we had finished our little hike, we headed to out Zion campsite and set up camp. After having a delicious gourmet dinner, or about as gourmet as you can get in the wild,  we had a sweet tasting hot chocolate and warmed up by our campsite fire.

This is my attempt to take a pic of fire

This is me, my dad, and my bro warming up my the fire.

The next day, we prepared to hike a trail known as Observation Point. The trail was 8 miles round trip. This trail was kinda tricky because the the rocky trail was very steep. Although it was pretty tricky and tiring, the hike itself provided us with beautiful scenery.

Our destination was the hill like thing on the left of the picture. The hill kinda looks like a flat brick. Kinda.

This is either a squirrel or a chipmunk of some sort.

Its kinda hard to see the trail but we started at the point where it says "You are Here" and followed the dotted red line until the part where it say Observation point.

After we finished Observation point, we traveled to another trail called Emerald Pool's Trail.

After we finished hiking, we went back to camp, ate yet another amazing dinner, had hot chocolate, and warmed up by a cozy campire. The part I liked best about that night was the sunset because the sun   created shadows on the mountains that surrounded us and made them look eerie and beautiful.

After a night of rest, we said good bye to Zion and headed to our next location. Bryce Canyon National Forest. Once we got there, we yet got ready to hike another trail called Peekaboo Loop. This trail was in a shape of a long infinity sign. Although this trail was pretty tough, we were awarded with beautiful scenery of the canyon and of the different structures of the mountains. 

After our tiring hike, we headed down the road to one of my all tie favorite campsites called Kodachrome campground. This campground was located at Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah. Once we got there, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing by reading books and enjoyed by playing a game or two of volleyball and football and a cup of hot chocolate. The next we traveled a few miles to reach a watery trail called Willis Creek.

After our hike, we headed back to camp to jump in a hot shower. Did I mention that Kodachrome is one of the only campgrounds that have showers? Well, they do, and they come with hot water. It's perfect, especially for the wild. 

The next day, we hit the road yet again to do one more hike. This one was called Peekaboo and Spooky Gulch which was located in the Escalante region of Utah. I don't any pictures for this because most of the time, we were trying to finish the hike without hurting our selves. The trail was basically a path that led you to thin, I mean really thin slot canyons that require you to use your rock climbing skills on smooth rocks and require you to squish between rocks that look like they are going to suffocate you. If you would like to see what this hike is about, feel free to search it up :)

After our hike, we hit the road again to get to our new campsite. At that time, it was around nine o' clock. Unfortunately, this was the time the government chose to shut down so by the time we reached our campsite which was located in Capital Reef National Park, the park had shut down. For the Next few hours, my dad and my mom were driving to the nearest town which was about three hours away while my brother and I were sleeping in the back. Ya, I know, we were really helpful. At around one o' clock in the morning, my parents had found a hotel that wasn't full with other campers that had gotten kicked out of the campsites they were staying in. The next day, we stopped at a lovely restaurant for breakfast and started our journey back home. On the way, we saw famous monuments such as Monument Valley, an ancient cabin that dated centuries back, witnessed the flow of the Colorado River, saw mountains with intricate carvings, and pictographs made by the natives.

That basically sums up my adventurous fall break of 2013. I hope you enjoyed it! 

"Jumping from boulder to boulder and never falling, with a heavy pack, is easier than it sounds; you can't just fall when you get into the rhythm of the dance"

-Jack Kerouac The Darma Burns