We had a tough time deciding where to go for Spring Break this year. We had originally planned to go to Texas and visit Matt for Spring Break. However, after we booked the flights we couldn't find a single hotel available in Big Bend. So we pivoted and decided to go to Yosemite and Death Valley. We booked the hotels and then discovered that during the winter one of the roads that connects the two parks is closed down. It was going to make the drive very long between the two National Parks. We changed directions again and decided on hitting a few of the other parks out west.
We flew into Las Vegas really late on Friday after school and drove to Lake Las Vegas for the night. It was around 2am when we arrived at the hotel. We were pleasantly surprised when we woke up to a really gorgeous view.
We tried to eat at the hotel for breakfast but we woke up a little late and it was already closed. We decided to start the trip off with the kids favorite In-n-Out Burger. After an early lunch we headed towards Arizona and stopped at Valley of Fire on the way. We expected this park to be a sleepy little state park. However, it was sooo packed and we waited at the entrance for about 45 minutes to drive in. Once we got inside the park, the crowds seemed to disperse a little and it didn't seem quite as crowded.
We loved all the gorgeous fire wave streaks in the rocks. It was really pretty.
Love all the little ones against the red rocks
We hiked the Fire Wave to White Domes Trail. It was hot outside and Caitie was pretty tired from the late flight the night before. She had a little bit of a meltdown on the hike. We had planned to do a third hike, but we didn't think she could handle another one.
She made it to the end walking on her own with just a little hand holding.
After Valley of Fire we drove 4 hours to Page, Arizona. It started pouring on our way to Page, Arizona. Since it was such nasty weather we picked a quick dinner at State 48 Tavern. It quickly turned into a bar scene at night and it was so loud. It wasn't our favorite restaurant, but it hit the spot!
We woke up bright and early for our Antelope Canyon tour. We had a tour booked for 9am and we were asked to arrive by 8:30am. When we arrived we noticed the line was really long. Once we checked in we were told that the tours were running really far behind. Since it rained so hard the day before, the staff had to remove water from the canyon since it easily floods. It rained most of the day the day before in Page Arizona, so most of the tours were rescheduled. There were tons and tons of people. It was also very cold, so the kids ran around trying to warm up and asked me to take a few pictures of them.
It was such a long wait and we didn't make it into the canyon until about 12pm. However, once we made it in we quickly forgot about the long wait. It was breathtaking. Pictures just can't do it justice. We didn't have a ton of time to stop and take family pictures since it was so crowded, but I did manage to take a ton of photos of the actual canyon. It took about 45 minutes to walk through the canyon and it was gorgeous at every turn. I've heard that upper antelope canyon is the better one for photographers, but I just can't imagine it could be any more beautiful!
After Antelope Canyon we ate lunch at the Birdhouse. It was delicious and we all loved it! Then we headed a few minutes down the road to Horseshoe Bend. It was packed too, but absolutely gorgeous.
I've seen so many pictures of Horseshoe Bend and it was really surreal to see it in person! Just gorgeous!
After Horseshoe Bend we drove a few minutes down the road by Glen Canyon Dam. We made a last minute stop and came across really gorgeous views. We soaked in the view and really enjoyed the peacefulness after two pretty crowded stops in Page.
I had heard about a hike called the Toadstool Hoodoos trail in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, which is on the way to Zion. We thought it would be a great place to stretch our legs halfway through the drive. The hike was fun and felt like a completely different planet. We really enjoyed the hike.
We drove about 3 hours and made it to Zion around 8pm. We headed next door to the Bit and Spur for dinner. It was really delicious!
It was a lot of driving the first couple of days, but we saw some gorgeous sites and I would definitely do it again! Off to explore Zion National Park tomorrow!
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