Trip to Bryce Canyon Days 3 and 4

On day three of our trip, Monday, we headed an hour and a half south to check out Zion National Park. I had been there once before with my grandma and grandpa clement when I was about eleven years old. The day started off a bit stressful because we couldn't figure out parking and how to get to the hikes we saw listed on the map.  The entrance we entered the park at was opposite of the visitors center.  So we drove to the visitors center only to discover a parking lot that was completely packed and a cranky park ranger who was no help at all.  We finally figured out where to park and how to use the shuttle to get to the hikes we wanted to go on. Zions had more water features like a grotto and river than Bryce which Brooklyn loved.  On one hike we found a little pond where we caught and released little fish using a Ziploc bag.  Another had a river with a sandy beach that was nice and relaxing.  Thomas and I would love to go back and try some of the longer hikes.  Zion's was beautiful but crowded, it was almost like an amusement park as far as the amount of people. On the way home we stopped by an old family run restaurant called Thunderbird Ho-made Pies that had the BEST pie I have ever eaten! I'm usually not a fan of pie crust but theirs was completely light and flaky and so tasty! We must go back some time.
Hiking to the Lower Emerald Pool. Weeping Rock Trail
Brooklyn started to get way overheated on this hike and saw guys and girls with their shirts off so she wanted hers off too. At the end of the hike I let her get naked and wade in the river.

The Grotto trail


The Riverside Walk trail
 Tuesday we were back to Bryce Canyon.  More hikes during the day and we went south of the park and did a little drive and stopped at the viewpoints along the route. Bristlecone loop trail, which started at Bryce Point and some of the scenic overlooks including Natural Bridge, Agua Canyon, Ponderosa Canyon and Black Birch Canyon Agua Canyon Here is Navajo Loop Trail These are called the Two Bridges
What made the hiking experience successful with a three year old were the following:
 Letting her be in the hiking backpack or walk when she wanted.
Stopping and playing with rocks, sticks, and pine cones.
Playing in any kind of water structure along the way.
 Bringing lots of water and snacks.
Splitting the day up in between long hikes with meals and other activities.
 Not doing any hikes longer than about three miles at a time.
 Stopping to take pictures and let her take pictures as well.
Not being in any kind of rush to get done with a hike so that you have time to play.
In this picture she wanted to stop for a break and play tag. So we did!
She loved playing in these little caves. In the early evening Thomas and Brooklyn hung at along one of the viewpoints while I went on a three mile hike that combined a couple of the hikes we had been on, the Queens Garden and Navajo loop.  It was fun to see the hoodoos in the evening light. In the distance you can see the landmark that's called Sunken Ship.
At night we stayed up to look at the stars.  At the visitors center they had some fancy telescopes set up that you could look through.  We were surprised at the amount of people there and the lines so we only looked through one telescope and then headed back to our cabin and sat out looking at the stars there.  We saw a couple shooting stars and the milky way galaxy was very visible.  A great night to end our trip. My grandpa commented on a picture I posted on Facebook of us at Bryce Canyon and told me a cool fact.  The widow of the man Ebeneezer Bryce, whom Bryce Canyon was named after, lived on the same street as my grandma Clement growing up in Bryce, Arizona.  The widow would get lonely at night so my grandma would go and spend the night with her some nights.

We ended up getting a National Parks year pass so now we are determined to get some good use out of it.  We decided spur of the moment to visit one more park while Thomas is on break so stay tuned for a recap!