"It was Worth the Hike,"

During our vacation, we went to Kolob. This is part of Zion National Park. When we were paying our fee for entering the National Park, I asked the ranger about the two hikes that we could take. He told us about the first hike, which was a mile long. Then I asked how strenuous would the other hike be. This hike was five miles long. The ranger assured me that it was a moderate trail even with a 30 pound child on your back.

I have the best husband in the world, because before I even had to begin my begging to go on the longer hike, he said we could. So we packed up Owen and headed off. We stopped numerous times to rest his shoulders and rehydrate, but he was a trooper. I knew their was going to be a reward at the end. The Double Alcove looked beautiful in the picture. Throughout the hike we were crossing over the river numerous time, back and forth, following the trail. We saw a bunch of little lizards crossing our path. We saw a snake too! Gavin told me to just keep walking. It wasn't until we were safe back in our tent later that night that Gavin told me it was a coral snake!!

We kept hiking and hiking for what seemed longer than 2.5 miles when Gavin turned around to me and said, "I think this is as far as I can go." But I wanted to see this Double Alcove so bad. So, after I helped get Owen off Gavin's shoulders so he could rest them, I continued on a little ways because I knew we had to be close. Sure enough not even 100 feet away was the end of the trail, so I turned back around and helped get Owen back up on Gavin's shoulders and he finished out the hike. Well, the first half of the hike anyway.

When we reached the Double Alcove it was amazing! This picture doesn't even begin to capture the beauty of this natural marvel. As we were beginning our hike back to the car, Gavin said "that was well worth the hike, but the mile hike is out of the question." I certainly didn't argue with that!