Wagner Road Trip 2014 - Zion National Park

We left Sequoia National Park and headed back to Vegas. This time around, we didn't stay on the strip, but rather in a hotel and casino off the strip.

Interestingly enough, it was the weekend of the Comic-Con (Comic Book Convention) that was held at our hotel.  There were people dressed like comic book heroes and apparently, the less clothes they could get away with... the better?

Um, it was definitely NOT something we planned.  In fact, I bet we would have seen less scantily clad people had we stayed on the strip!  Needless to say, there was no reason to hang out Vegas the second time around.  So, the next morning, we headed out to Zion National Park in Utah and arrived in time for lunch!

After lunch, we headed out on the biggest hike of our lives - Angel's Landing, which is also one of the most famous hikes in the U.S.  Randy was prepping us for this hike for weeks.  Talking about how awesome it would be, but also, that it was going to be hard.  We headed out on the hike around 1:00 p.m. on a blazing hot day.

Here we are seeking shade shelter after about the first 15 minutes.  Thank goodness for Camelbaks full of water!  (If you are ever planning a trip to any National Parks invest in Camelbaks.  They are work every penny!)

Still blazing sun, but look at that trail.  It's steep and strenuous!

Beautiful view, though.

Ah, a bit of shade! Little did we know, we were about to head into "Refrigerator Canyon" where the wind blows between the canyon walls, where there is plenty of shade and no steep grades.  Perfect way to prepare for the final ascent.

Here we are in Refrigerator Canyon.

We met a hiker during a quick break and she said that we were almost to the top.  We just had to navigate "Walter's Wiggle" which is 21-sharp turning zig-zag switchbacks.

Finally, we made it to the sandy plateau of "Scout's Lookout" where we ended our hike.  The hike to Angel's Landing continued another .5 miles, but sadly it required hanging onto chains, while climbing, to reach the top.   Oh, and did I mention, there's a sheer cliff on each side?

  Randy checking out the remaining portion of the trail.  However, he didn't make it too far.  The girls were near tears when he even 'thought' about hiking the remaining trail.

The girls taking a break at the top of Scout's Lookout.

This sign posted did not help Randy's case of continuing the trail.

On our descent down Walter's Wiggles.  Kyla and Randy navigated the switchbacks better than Elisan and I did, so they got quite a head start on us.

Elisan loved the wind erosion against the canyon wall.  It was pretty!

Elisan and I working our way down the trail... slowly but surely.

Here's the remaining portion of the trail.  Looks fun, right? 

Look how shaded the picture above is.  The sun was finally behind the mountain and the way down was much more pleasant than going up.  Once we were safely on the ground, we took the shuttle back to our lodge and watched more World Cup Soccer - U.S. vs. Portugal.

After the game, we ate at the Zion Lodge restaurant called Red Rock Grill and it was delicious.  After we ate, we took a leisurely walk to the Lower Emerald Pools.  

Check out the water fall we were walking under.  It was lush and green in the lower pool area.  

Here they are wrapping up our evening stroll! 

We headed for the bed soon after.  

We were all dog tired!