Thankful for something different

This Thanksgiving Mojo & Dado rented a house just outside of Zion National Park in Southern Utah - the boys & I drove down as soon as school got out and Alec & his family drove up and met us there.
It was 4 days of fun family time either hiking in the park or playing at the house. The park was absolutely beautiful - shocking canyon walls and beautiful colors and views as we strolled along the Virgin River. The kids loved being outside, and hiking through the park made us all feel a little less guilty about indulging in all the traditional holiday fare!

The very best part of the trip was watching the cousins spend time together...






Well.... maybe the other very best part of the trip was ALL of us spending time together!


While there are more trails and sights in the park than 3-4 days could cover, I do have to point out one particular trail that some of us managed to take!
Angel's Landing is a heck of a hike - 5.4 miles round trip and severely vertical.
And though the first 2 miles up the trail were rigorous to say the least - it was the last little bit that shocked me to the core!

So here is the trailhead: (note extraordinary sunrise views!)


Dado & Alec & I were so excited about working our way up the side of the cliff:


We even made it to the top of "Walter's Wiggles" - the infamous switchbacks up the canyon cliff...


... only to be met with this view - of the rest of the trail:

I mean, the trail literally went up the very narrow, steep edge of this cliff face.
As thrilling as the whole hike was - I must admit the narrowness finally got to me.... as you can see from this picture, I tried to make it a little ways but my expression says 'I don't think so!'


The boys, on the other hand were totally unfazed!



So Alec proudly escorted the boys to the peak of Angel's Landing, rewarded with views all up and down the canyon! They were quite thrilled with the experience and proud that they made the whole climb....


... I was, alternately just thankful that they didn't fall off the edge of a cliff while taking a selfie!