The Narrows...

Our day started like any other day except the fact

that we are here in beautiful St.George, Utah.

The views from the back patio at my Mom's house
are breathtaking to say the least.

Off to the North-East we can gaze out at
one of the most beautiful places here on earth,
Zion National Park.

So what makes today so special?
Today, we were given the opportunity to go hiking in
this truly amazing park that is in our backyard.
So many from around the world spend many hours
and lots of money to have the experience of
Zion National Park.

God's country! 

Grandma Nette has been waiting for the boys
to get a little older so she could take them
  on this fun hike up The Narrows.
This day had finally arrived!

We headed out of town around 1:15pm.
Crew stayed at home with Mariah-
the sweetest sitter anyone could ask for.

The drive out to Zion went by so quickly.
Grandpa Dan filled our heads with lots of info about Zion.
It was great to see how much the boys were learning and 
remembering from our previous adventures to Zion National Park.
I learned not to ever call it Zion's! That is the bank not the park.
They are two completely separate worlds apart. :)
Now I know and knowing is half the battle!

As we headed into Zion the weather was looking a little unstable.
But upon arriving, we could not have asked for a more perfect day!

We then boarded the bus that took us to The River Walk trail head.
With walking sticks in hand we started off in search of the Narrows.
It is about a mile long walk on a very nice, well kept trail.
Little squirrels are waiting around every corner
in hopes of someone dropping them crumbs.
Never mind all the signs saying- Do Not Feed the Wild Life!
Cody accidentally stepped on the tail of one. Oops!
Landen was moving very slow and would not stop messing around.
Grandpa was super nice and offered to carry Landen.
Landen told G-pa that the reason he needed to be carried
was so that he could conserve his energy.
This kid continues to amaze me with the stuff he comes up with!

You continue on this trail until you reach a spot where the trail ends.
You can stop here or take the plunge!

This is where you begin the awesome adventure of hiking

The Narrows!

Dan said this is the busiest he had seen The Narrows
and because of all the rain Southern Utah had been getting
the water was very muddy.
Usually it is so clear you can see where you are stepping.

Getting into the river felt so good, the perfect temp!
It was tricky walking up stream with slippery rocks and no visibility in the water.
I believe walking sticks area must. :)
The moving current also made me dizzy if I looked at
the water instead of looking out ahead.
The canyon walls all around us were breathtaking!
Being outdoors is so powerful and moving.
Calms the mind body and soul.

Landen forged the river for about 30 min.
Then stopped and declared he was done and wanted to go home!
Grandma Nette was so sweet and turned around with him
to head back to the trail head and wait.
Once they were out of the river Landen turned to Grandma and asked.
"Who's idea was it to come here?"
She in return tells him it was her idea and asks him why?
Landen then replies,
"I just want to go home and have an ice cream sandwich!"

Dan, Cody and I continued on up stream.
I was having so much fun hiking with Cody.
The water would get so deep at times
and make it hard for him to walk.
He would tell me he loved it when it when the water
was deep and was having so much fun!
I held on tight to his arm the whole time
and kept letting him know how awesome he was doing.
I am so proud of my Cody boy!
I don't get much one-on-one time with Cody.
This experience with him is making me realize how grown up he is getting and all the fun things we can start doing together now!
I then mentioned that he is old enough to start running
with me in the mornings.
He told me he didn't want to, that running makes him tired! Lol
Sounds like I need to toughen this boy up!

We didn't get much further up river before turning back.
Cody was worried that we were going to far.
Dan & I worried about G-ma & L
sitting around waiting on us for too long.

Before turning back
we stopped at one of the bends and played around for a min.
Cody found a pool of stagnant water with tadpoles.
This quickly consumed his little world and we heard about
the tadpoles the rest of the day!
I would have loved to have kept going up river
but I knew we needed to head back.

 Going down river was fun and much easier.
Having the current flow with you and not against you sure helps!
At one point Cody had to tell me I was pulling him
along too fast. Oops! Sorry bug!
We made it back likety-split.
Found G-ma and L waiting patiently for us.
Then started back down The River Walk trail.

The walk back with the boys was hilarious.
They were cracking me up with their
impersonation of the squirrels.
Such Goobers! :)

As soon as we were back on the bus Landen was out cold.
What happened to all the energy he conserved? lol

To sum it all up, today was great!

We got a good taste of what
The Narrows is all about.

We will for sure be coming back- someday! :)
Maybe when the boys get a little older. lol