Chaos reigned this morning. We woke up to the sound of Mum banging on the door – we were late! Looks like we relaxed too hard yesterday and slept through our alarms. We hastily threw everything into our bags and piled everything into the car and said goodbye to Las Vegas. We have only one night in Zion, so we wanted to get there as early as possible to make the most of it. The desert ridges surrounding Vegas eventually gave way to greenery. Greenery! I was actually surprised to the see the colour green again, especially so vividly, after four days in the desert. Slowly, the dusty yellows were replaced by the green-framed terracotta reds of Zion National Park and environs. Our accommodation is in the pleasant town of Springvale, a sort of access point to the national park, full of hotels, condos-for-hire and stores selling hiking supplies. Our family is staying in a cute little lodge on the bottom floor of a shared condo. It’s a quaint spot (although we did have to rearrange some of the furniture to make room for the pull-out sofa bed and the wall bed).
With a few hours of daylight left, we set off into the park itself. We agonised a little over which of the many trails to tackle in our limited time, but the guy behind the desk advised us to do the Watchman’s Trail, which takes roughly two hours and gives you a good view of the valley. It’s described as ‘moderate’ on the trail guide, but I assume those difficulty guides are based on the standards of experienced hikers, which we certainly aren’t. The trail itself was pretty steep, with major drop-offs into the void of red rock and cacti. I’m sure we’d have had no trouble if the sun wasn’t so intense. There was a nice breeze in spots, and the temperature isn’t as ruthless here as it is in Nevada, but the combination of a steep incline and the beating sun made us all very sweaty and breathless. Still, we persevered, spurred by the views of the park around us, particularly the titular Watchman – a vast and photogenic mountain that rises high above the surrounding terrain and burns bright red in the sun. Stopping regularly for swigs of water, we eventually made it up to the top of the trail as golden hour landed in the valley. I was worried Brother wouldn’t make it, as he had complained so frequently throughout the climb that he was basically a one-man soundtrack to the walk, but once we got back to the bottom he was proud of himself for doing it at all.
We got some food from another hotel’s restaurant. The food was good but the service was a little odd. I’m not sure if the kitchen was just overwhelmed with orders, but there were about five servers drifting around the restaurant with not a lot actually going on. Parents tried to signal several times only to be smilingly ignored. I’ve worked in hospitality so I know how it can be sometimes. Luckily the food was awesome. I had a burger. Loved it. We went back to our lodge, and after warm nights in Nevada it was a surprise to feel a cold breeze after sunset. It was so chilly, in fact, that I cut short my night swim and joined Dad in the hot tub, only to be joined by an American couple, then another, then another, until I felt like one of those macaques that bathe communally in Japanese hot springs. We made polite conversation but ultimately it got a bit too crowded, so we went back to the room and watched the first episode of When Life Gives You Tangerines, which was actually quite good.
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