2021.05-Denver, Zion and Moab Utah

Nice to have a day at the VanAndels to break up the trip as it was about another 9 hours from Denver to our Airbnb in Hurricane. The Creamery was in Beaver, ID and who doesn’t love good creamy 🍦 along the way…

Great to see Steve and Rach again when getting to the Airbnb in Hurricane UT and let’s say the pool was a hit with the kids.

We were thinking to have a relaxing day swimming but decided to do a short hike in Zion National Park so we headed out for Canyon Overlook Trail. Although short in distance, the trail did get some of the adults worried with some of the kids and not so afraid of heights.

Most days after getting out seeing the sights, the kids always enjoyed taking advantage of the pool out the back door and the adults never minded relaxing, having a drink, and watching them swim.

According to the kids we were initially mean as we woke them up around 5:30 am to get to Zion at a decent time to avoid the lines. After we got moving everyone was in good spirits and we had to wait about an hour to catch the Zion Shuttle bus to get into the park. Our first hike was the Narrows. Glad we got to this hike early as when we finished it was getting really busy but getting their early the water was a cool 58 degrees. It was a beautiful hike and we made it about 1.5 miles out.

The Dekkers continued on the Narrows while the rest of us went to Emerald Pools hike. The kids did amazing as it was getting hotter in the day and there was less shade the higher we hiked but they did the whole 3 miles to lower, middle and upper pools.

After Emerald Pools, we went to the main Zion visitor center to relax in the shade, do some shopping, and let the girls think about the guys proposal to stay in the park to hike Angels Landing while the kids went home to swim or relax watching a movie.

After some discussion the girls gave us the green light and essentially said “you are here now and we might not get back so do the hike…”. So Kyle and I got some pizza and a burger to fuel up and got on the shuttle to Angles Landing. I had done some research prior to getting to Zion and heard it was an amazing hike and one of the more scenic and challenging hikes in America so really wanted to go for it. Let’s just say it was more crazy and dangerous than expected but also more scenic and beautiful than I thought. The hike was a total of 5 miles with 1,600 feet elevation gain so pretty much straight up with lots of switchbacks.

There were some cables to climb to get to an initial landing that made Kyle and I hesitant at first and after finishing that section we thought we made it to the top but a “nice” gentleman sarcastically said “turn around and you still have .5 miles left…”. After looking at the next .5 miles both Kyle and I both said we were good and it wasn’t worth it. After a few minutes, we start walking back down the mountain but I quickly was getting doubts about not finishing and that’s when VA said go for it! The initial part of the climb was probably the craziest with a few feet on each side, a cable line to hold onto and then 1,200 feet down so no mistakes…while ascending I met up with 2 guys from the Bronx who drove out west mostly to do this hike. We talked each other through each part and kept our attitude positive. It took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete the last .5 miles and it was everything and then some…at the top the views of all of Zion were absolutely breathtaking. Will not forget a married guy yelling (not in a mean way but worried way) “Amy I can’t do this you need to get me down…”. Highly recommend to anyone that likes the adrenaline rush and not afraid of heights. In the first picture blow you can see a little white dot which is a person which gives perspective of the climb to the top.

That night we had some good stories to tell over wine and an amazing charcuterie board put together by Bri.

The next day we went to Pioneer Park in Saint George. Was starting to get really hot in the area so wanted something more chill and let the kids run more. Overall had a good time with In-N-Out after to get out of the heat.

Every since the 3 families have been getting together and traveling we have been playing Pictionary and obviously guys verse girls. There has been lots of discussion who is winning over the year but apparently it isn’t all about winning but having fun…so I have been told. All joking aside we do have a great time but it’s even more fun WHEN THE GUYS WIN BOTH GAMES. Ha we really do have a good time but not sure if Mr Dekker was just on his game or tired so wanted to end it but we were on a roll all night. Good times. Good times.

We then headed to Bryce Canyon NP which might be the sleeper pick for one of our favorite parks. The hoodoos (rock formation) was really unique and different. We decided to do two hikes that was really one. We started off at Sunset Point as it was easier to go straight down the Queens Garden to Navajo Loop trails. Over it was a 3 mile hike with approximately 800 feet of elevation gain and the park ranger said about equivalent to a 30 floor building. Overall we took our time and all the kids did amazing. Steve and I even had a wager going if there would be tears from the kids and how many kids but overall no tears and we finished the hike with beers and ice cream.

After Bryce, we headed on to Moab to our VRBO. Instead of taking the interstate which is 80 mph, we continued on Utah State Scenic Route 12 that had beautiful views and brought us through Capitol Reef National Park. It was a long day so wanted to keep things moving but there were parts I would have loved to pull over and see the views. Overall highly recommend the drive. Although we were in the middle of Utah and nothing around we randomly came across because of the limited internet to Dukes Slickrock Grill which was random after not seeing civilization in hours but the food was solid and the drinks were cool. The views and sunset each and every night was beautiful.

The next morning we slept in and took it easy. Overall, we knew this vacation would be busier but still wanted to see as much as we could do sleeping in was nice. When everyone was going we went to Canyonlands NP which had its own beauty. We stopped to see the main overlook which again is a large canyon and an area that we definitely needed to hold onto Harvey.

We then went to Mesa Arch that the arch formations in the Moab area so unique.

The next morning Kyle took one for the team and watched all the kids while the other 7 adults went to Arches NP and hiked to Delicate Arch. Although it was somewhat crowded due to many people getting out after the covid pandemic, we were able to get to delicate arch and take some good pictures.

After that hike, the Dekkers needed to pack as they had a flight out early that afternoon out of Moab back to Sioux Falls. So after we said goodbye, Bri and Hanna went shopping in Moab so Kyle and I thought we would take out the older girls on another arch hike to Corona Arch. I have to admit, I wanted to go but was worried as it was 100+ degrees as we went around 1 in the afternoon and wasn’t sure how well the girls would do. With that said, we talked about perseverance and persistence and the girls never gave up and kept going. Granted we had lots of water breaks and even used water to pour on their foreheads to cool down but they did amazing.

After the girls crushed it on the hike, we met the rest of the family at Moab Brewery for some good bar food and drinks to cap off a great week in Utah.

After dinner we wanted to show the kids Arches since they weren’t able to go in the morning and they wanted to get their passports scanned. We did do a short hike to the delicate arch viewpoint trail. Although you aren’t as close as the main hike, the view did give a different perspective and was also very scenic.

With it being Bri’s birthday, Bri flying to California to see her sister, and us needing to get to Yellowstone, we all left Moab around 6:30 in the morning. It was a great trip with great friends and great scenery but it only half of our scheduled vacation. Next we headed to Island Park for the DeGroot family vacation to celebrate mom and dads 45th wedding anniversary.