We hoped our day 2 of vacation will be much better than the previous day. We started bright & early, being a regular to the national park. I and hubby knew the earlier we start the better chance we get to avoid crowd and traffic. We stayed in “mesquite” on the border of Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, and took us 1,30 hrs to reach the Zion national park.

Zion Shuttle

In Zion national park, you have to take a shuttle to all scenic spots like Zion Lodge and trailheads, including Emerald Pools, West Rim Trail, and Temple of Sinawava. This runs from the Visitor Center. There is another shuttle that runs from nearby town “Springdale”. This shuttle runs in peak season and information related will be available on the National park service website and unless you reach the park before 7.00 am in the morning, the visitor center parking lot is going to be filled. So plan to come early or plan to take the shuttle after parking in the “town of Springdale”

Parking cost us around $12 as we parked in “Zone C” and it changes according to your zone. Zone A is $20 and B is $15 but per hour cost is the same across the zone $1 per hour.

This time shuttle is completely free but when we visited in 2015 it cost us around $15/person I guess. So always check in “https://www.nps.gov/” if you need to purchase tickets for the shuttle prior because during peak season, it’s so crowded that it is difficult to get in the shuttle.

We parked near Shuttle stop # 8. We had to wait around 30 minutes and we got in the second shuttle that came to the spot as the first one was crowded and couldn’t accommodate us. But the shuttle from the Visitor center to “Zion Lodge” was completely empty and we got in the first one.

My kids were far too excited about this shuttle ride and Sai was singing “wheels on the bus” the whole ride & back. Everyone in the bus was sweet enough to not ask him to stop.

I cannot emphasize enough, how you need to plan your travel to Zion ahead and follow the schedule.

Zion Lodge – Emerald Trail

Emerald Pool is our first stop in Zion and the trailhead starts across the bridge from the Zion Lodge. We reached here by 12 pm. This is a paved trail and the incline is not so bad and I would rate it as “Easy” till “Lower Pool” as we stopped our hike there. My 3.5 years old was able to walk the entire round trip of 1.2 miles all by himself. It had amazing view of cliffs and virgin river and the shade helped a lot during the heat wave times we travelled.

• Length: 1.2 miles (loop) to the Lower pool
• Difficulty: easy
• Elevation: 70 ft to the Lower pool

Once we reached the lower waterfall and pool it was so much cooler and the drizzle from the waterfall and view was much worth the hike. We spent around 45 minutes there and had some snacks and enjoyed the cooler temperature and water.

River Access

As we started our descend, the water from the virgin river starting to become very inviting. It was 2.30 pm by the time we reached the trailhead and I saw access to the river and wasted no time thinking and jumped right into the water (But after changing my son Saathu’s diaper and changed him into swimwear then jumped in with him). The water was unexpectedly cold and we all had a blast playing in water and swimming.

It soothed our heatwave sunburn and Saathu actually bloomed in water. He was very affected by this trip and the heat as it is his first-ever trip. (Sadness of being a pandemic baby) But we saw him enjoy the water so much so, we let him play there for 1.30 hrs.

So after what feels like 5 minutes (after 1.30 hrs), my mum-in-law told me she is famished and we all packed ourselves and moved towards the Zion Lodge where we saw people sleeping under the giant cottonwood tree. It was huge and as soon as I saw it, I found a place and let my kids and in law rest there lying while my and hubby fetched food for them (My kids played around while my in-laws laying and keeping an eye on them).

Zion Lodge Lunch

So me and hubby never liked to get food from national park area. we have our reasons,

• Incredibly expensive
• No Choice
• Not Eco-friendly (still they were using plastic straws and utensils)
• final but reasonable one, we have our lunch packed in the trunk of our car.

But the entire family is hungry so we give in and got the only choice of 2 veggie burgers, pizza, and pita chips with hummus. It wasn’t the best meal but filled up our stomachs. Sai ate up the entire slice of pizza, hummus, and a fruit pouch after his first hike by himself and that water play. Saathu struggled with this tasteless food and ended up eating his fruits and veggie pouch. We rested there for around 1 hr while kids played (I have no idea where they get their energy)

Shuttle back to the Car

It was so empty and we got in the first shuttle and we were happy that we avoided the Zion crowd both ways. With no idea of what’s waiting for us in the visitor center.

The shuttle to Springdale had a long line and we waited for around 1 hr. to get the shuttle and by the time we reached our car it was 7.00 pm and we still had a scenic route to cover.

Note:

If you want to use restroom, its best to do in visitor center, they also have a informative boards available there with shade where the rest of the party can hang out while you relieve yourself in peace.

State Route 9

So we all scrambled into the car while my hubby drove towards the Zion National Park to drive through the Scenic Byway (S.R. 9 / Mt. Carmel highway). It has some otherworldly view and rock formation in all sorts of colors such as red, pale pink, orange, grey. It has some hoodoos, arch like rock formations, and the tunnel was so dark and long. Over millions of years, water (with very little effect), wind, and ice have shaped this landscape into the fairyland today. We saw Mountain Goat in 2 places, Sai loved looking at them and we stopped for like 5 minutes with no traffic behind us. We ended our trip near Checkerboard Mesa Viewpoint and returned as our Airbnb booking was in cedar city which is 1 hr. from Springdale.

The planner in me patted herself in the back for the beautiful slow travel plan and we started our journey towards home away home in Cedar City (at least that’s what I thought it would be). On our drive back, it was 8.00 pm and everyone started to get hungry so we ate up the lunch we prepared for dinner. Happy tummy, happy people, and happy travel.

We reached the airbnb happily thinking we will have no work other than to just shower and sleep. We had no idea of the horrors waiting inside!!!!

Check out my next blog to learn what horrors were waiting!!!

Tips to travel Sustainably

1. Try to make breakfast in your stay (I usually prefer cooking in Airbnb, it’s both eco-friendly and economical)
2. Pack a lunch box.
3. Take your own utensils & Straws
4. Take your own refillable water bottle. (This time we took 5 Gallon Water jug as the number of people are more and we filled up every time we shopped locally for the grocery)
5. Prepare snacks for the trip to avoid all the plastic bags that comes with snacks (I made oats, almond flour chocolate chip cookie – It sold out by the time we reached home)
6. Buy eco-friendly sunscreen. We have a laundry list of chemicals to be avoided which is harmful to humans, plants, and animals

Tips to travel in heat wave time to dessert

1. hydration, hydration, hydration – not just water but electrolytes too (we drank up tons of coconut water as it refills our minerals)
2. Sunscreen – tons of sunscreen and reapply as required. (buy eco-friendly sunscreen, we have so many options now)
3. Take shade and necessary detour to cool urself and your family down.
4. Avoid Midday hike (don’t do what we did) and hike early.
5. keep a lot of snacks handy.
6. Take sunshade for hiking carriers and hats.

Please subscribe to get more plans and links coming up!!!!

our plan link for the day

https://goo.gl/maps/ywKHGz46UEtqHYdi8

If you haven’t already checked, please check my day 1 of Las Vegas & Utah Vacation here