Hello, camping! Last week we packed up the girly and headed south to Zion National Park. The weather was perfect and the ponderosa's smelled like earth. We set up camp the first night at Duck Creek in Dixie National Forest and settled in for a cozy night around the fire and a black sky so full of stars we barely needed a flashlight. Isla had Oreo's for the first time in her life and there is no turning back now. Ahh, the joys of camping when your a toddler.
Isla was in heaven with all the freedom she had to wander and explore in the rocks and dirt. Oh, funny story! After the long drive, we quickly set up camp and I made a b-line for the bathroom. While I was taking care of business another lady came in with a huge dog that she left near the sink while she went into the stall. Sure enough that huge dog thought he'd come introduce himself to me and crawled right under the door and into the tiny stall with me! Sheesh, it was...um...crowded. The lady was so embarrassed, but what can you do! He was quite friendly despite the complete lack of bathroom etiquette. HA!
Camping is reeeeally different now that I'm a mom. Still fun, but different. Remember when you were a kid and you'd play in the forest all day and then suddenly lunch would appear? And then you'd go on a good long hike, or go ride your 4-wheeler, and when you were super tired you'd come back to camp and the yummiest, hot, dinner would be magically waiting for you?
Yeah, your mom was making that happen.
The last two days of our trip we spent at a resort near the entrance of Zion. These little cabins held a queen size bunk bed and a pull-out couch and that's all. It was the perfect combo of comfort and camping and we were loving having a place for Isla to take her afternoon nap. I never thought I would say this, but I think this is totally the way to go!
Beautiful ZION!
Oh, yeah, and there was a pool area. It was soooo nice to soak our tired tootsies in the hot tub after all the hikes we did. Isla is a water baby for sure. Fearless! Swimming lessons are going to be a must next spring.
It was the perfect Summer farewell and gave us a chance to spend some awesome quality time as a family. It was weird to come back to cell phone's and internet and now were already planning the next trip back to all those delicious ponderosa pines and that midnight sky full of stars.
