Zion National Park

After the Grand Canyon and Antelope Canyon, the kids and I drove to Zion NP. This was our second trip to this great wonder, and it's our favorite National Park for its rugged cliffs and earthy red stone. 

And check out the view from our hot tub at the Holiday Inn Express. Whoa.

 That night these cliffs boasted the most spectacular lightning storm I'd ever seen. I watched from a covered balcony with a crowd, all of us in awe of heaven.

 The park itself was quite crowded... we waited about half an hour in the shuttle line until it finally whisked us away through these craggy cliffs and up to our hike toward Emerald Pools.

 

 The trails were still wet from flooding with debris, and the Narrows were closed. Darn.

 Gryffin wasn't in the mood for pictures so we couldn't re-create this little gem...

But Lorelei still obliged. :)

 Below are the three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.

We didn't make it to the lookout we'd hoped because of all the rain and flooding--large sections of the park were closed off. In fact, the main road leading out of the park was completely shut down due to fallen debris, which took us HOURS out of the way en route to Bryce Canyon. 

So instead of the more direct route, we meandered through Colorado City and other polygamous cult lands, which made for some fascinating talks en route to our next stop, Bryce Canyon...