We rented a car and road-tripped it from Las Vegas to Springdale, Utah. The drive was smooth and easy. Our first stop was at an AM/PM to get some water and I found a new-to-me fountain drink called Guanabana Cucumber Agua Fresca. Guanabana is soursop and it was on the sweet side but a refreshing drink to enjoy on our drive. Next, we stopped for my first experience at a state-run liquor store to get some bubbles on the way to Springdale. Utah is one of the states that has state-run liquor stores to have more control over liquor sales. The next stop was in Hurricane for an Arby’s fix for my chain restaurant loving family. Another thing that was kind of neat during the drive was to see the time on our devices jump ahead an hour as we passed into the Utah time zone. We made it to the Hampton Inn and Suites Springdale/Zion where we would be staying for the next three nights.

After checking in, we walked on the Main Street in Springdale and found the Bumbleberry shop where I indulged in a bumbleberry pie with bumbleberry ice cream. After this quick snack, we caught the shuttle and headed to Zion National Park on the free Springdale shuttle and got acquainted with the shuttle and the park. We took a quick look at the Visitor Center and did a short walk at the Riverside Walk to see them river and skip some stones. The weather was pretty chilly in the afternoon. We caught the shuttle back to Springdale and found Oscar’s where I enjoyed an amazing and huge pork chile verde burrito. On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped at the neighborhood supermarket, Sol Foods, and picked up some water.

We woke up early on our first full day in Zion National Park and headed to the free Hampton Inn breakfast where they had waffles, eggs, sausages, fruits, oatmeal, cereal, and pastries. We met our guide Justin at 7 a.m. for our full day in Zion National Park. Unfortunately, the iconic and popular Narrows slot canyon hike was closed due to the chance of flash flooding so we instead began our day with a hike to Emerald Pools–we got to see all three—lower, middle, and upper. It is highly recommended to start early because private cars are not allowed in the park and you must catch the park shuttle to get from one point to another — or walk. Once the day gets going, the shuttle lines get really long and I have heard from others that sometimes the wait to get on the shuttle can be 2 hours long. After our Emerald Pools hike excursion, we left the main area of the park and could get back to our car. Justin drove us to Observation Point for another pretty easy hike to a spot where we could enjoy amazing views of the beautiful sandstone rocks. To drive to this spot, cars have to drive through a mile-long tunnel through a mountain! What an engineering marvel—the engineers even built windows in the tunnel for light and for enjoyment of the view! At the end of our time in the park, we stopped to see some petroglyphs just off the side of the road at the entrance at the park. There wasn’t anyone else there and it was so neat to see evidence of ancient life. Unfortunately, at the spot we were at, we also found evidence of modern life with people who marred the petroglyphs with graffiti. The graffiti we saw were from the 1980’s with a sign nearby hoping to educate visitors about taking care of and respecting our treasures. After getting back to the hotel, Aaron and I relaxed with some champagne on the hotel patio while enjoying the amazing views surrounding us. We met up with the kids and had dinner at the Spotted Dog that had a pretty amazing wine list—even Screaming Eagle! After dinner, my daughter and I sat at the pool area near the fire and chatted until it was time for bed.

My family slept in the next day while I had the hotel breakfast. We met Candace and Hunter who took us on a very different experience of Zion National Park. We started with a visit to the ghost town of Grafton and it’s cemetery and learned a bit of history of the Mormon’s who settled there. We then drove to Kolob Terrace to areas that were only accessible with our 4-wheel drive vehicle. It was so different from the places we visited yesterday. There were no walking trails, no other people and we had to forge our own path while being on the lookout for snakes and other creatures we aren’t used to. Wow—amazing views and it was so wonderful to experience these spaces without being bombarded by others. We would never have been able to find or experience these places on our own. Candace and her son Hunter are so knowledgeable. After enjoying Kolob Terrance, we then drove to Lava Point at 8000 ft elevation where we had sweeping views of the park and could almost see to the Grand Canyon! After surviving our day in the backcountry of Zion National Park, we had an early dinner at Dulivia, an Italian restaurant across the street from our hotel with awesome braised short ribs before another relaxing time at the fireplace at the hotel before getting some rest for our drive back to Las Vegas the next morning.

The drive back to Las Vegas was smooth and easy and our first stop was at Trader Joe’s where I picked up Aaron’s favorite patio chips available in summer and some other new summer snacks. We also picked up more cookie butter that my son still loves as well as cheese, truffle chips, nuts, and sauces. By that time, we were ready for lunch and was open to some KBBQ and my husband suggested we go to 888 Korean BBQ so I pulled up the GPS instructions. As we drove there, we passed a restaurant called 8 Ounce and he realized that was the place he intended to take us to so we pulled into that parking lot but found that they were closed for lunch and so we ended up eating at 888. I thought it was not bad for an AYCE. We enjoyed lots of brisket, pork belly, cold soba, and kimchi. After lunch, we checked in to Orleans, droppped off our bags, and went to the for our last excursion of the day—a quick stop at the outlet shopping mall where I found sneakers to give me motivation to exercise more. This trip was a wonderful family getaway. Living Hilo Style at Zion National Park.