While we were in Arizona, Ryan finally let me in on the little secret Valentine's Day gift he had been keeping from me for weeks! The weekend following V-day we were going to Zion, babayy.
One of the best, best, best places on Earth! Easily. And, the first national park Ryan & I ever went to together. (Naww. So cute. ❤)
We started the drive around 3 o'clock on Friday and I gotta admit, I was apprehensive about a 4-hour trip with a toddler. He's been on over 15 flights in his life, but being totally strapped down for four whole hours is a different story... But hallelujah, he did so dang good! He's just the best. He read his books, watched out the window, ate snacks, and didn't need company until the last hour of the drive. I drove most of the way there and one of my favorite memories was watching Ollie and Ryan in the rearview mirror, giggling about I can't even remember what. We stopped in Cedar City for dinner (BAD IDEA. There were apparently like 43903 youth sports tournaments happening that weekend and everyone was staying/eating in Cedar that night. The line at Panda Express was almost 40 minutes. Whew.) Got our food, pushed on through the slow traffic until our little turnoff for Zion, and finally we got to our adorable AirBnb. We put Ollie to bed right away (in his portacrib in the bathroom, haha) and pretty soon we were passed out, too.
(Oliver enjoying his small collection of everything he could find in the apartment that had buttons - the alarm clock, the TV remote, and the baby monitor.)
The next morning we received BLESSINGS FROM HEAVEN when Ollie slept in until like 8am. Amazing. We decided to have a slow morning until Ollie's first nap, so we had breakfast, showered, got some groceries, and hung around the apartment for a couple hours. We had arrived in the dark and it was so neat to walk out onto the deck and see the incredible red cliffs standing right outside our door!
Our apartment was less than a mile from the park entrance. It was perfect.
Once Ollie woke up, it was park time!
The weather could not have been more perfect. It was mid-50s and bright and sunny. Flawless hiking weather. Our plan for the day was to hike the Watchman Trail, eat lunch at the top, come back down and hang out at the visitor center, then find somewhere for dinner before putting the little dude to bed.
Watchman Trail is by no means the most incredible hike in the park, but we love it because the trail is fun, the view at the top is just plain pretty, and best of all, it's really quiet and uncrowded (a serious win in this park). We did it together during our national park extravaganza before Oliver was born, and we thought it would be a nice, not-too-insane hike to do with a 25-pound baby on Ryan's back.
Love these hiking buddies of mine. ❤
(In the last handful of pictures of Ollie you'll see that he's holding a rock in his hand 😂 He was getting a little bored so I gave him a piece of sandstone to inspect and he seriously held onto it for 20 minutes! Budding geologist. I'm so proud.)
Made it to the top! And might I add, MUCH faster and easier than I remember it being when I hiked it six months pregnant. So that was a happy thing! We picked a picnic spot, and chips & sandwiches were inhaled before Oliver finally convinced us to let him loose to walk and walk and walk.
Also on Oliver's agenda: sit in the sand, throw some rocks, wave at passers-by.
He would have stayed up here for a couple more hours if we had let him.
Then down to the visitor center for bathroom stops, diaper changes, and yep, you guessed it.
More walking. 💜 It sure rocks watching a little human learn something that expands their world so much. Life is so good with this tiny man! Also, a funny memory I want to remember from here. We were sitting against one of the chimneys and an older woman sat down a small distance away from us. While Ryan and I talked, Ollie picked up a little stick, walked up to her, and offered it to her. She was actually very visibly touched by the gesture, which was pretty funny but also sweet. He continued giving her random things off the ground 🙈 and she just loved it. She told me I had an amazing and remarkable child, and that she wished the whole world could be more like him. I agreed. :] It was pretty cute. We chatted for a bit longer and found out that she was a local of Springdale, and she thanked us for making her day. Haha! I love people.
We decided to do dinner at MeMe's Cafe, and it was a good good choice! It was a darling restaurant with great people, and my Hawaiian burger and chocolate milk hit the spot. Can we just talk about how one of the best parts of hiking is the eating afterwards? ;) That universal law has been instilled in me from a young young age. We walked home (hitting up the grocery store for Ben & Jerry's on the way, obviously) and got Ollie to sleep early before snuggling up in bed and watching Friends with our ice creams. It was the best evening. I loved it.
The next morning started nice and slow again. Since it was our last day we packed up our things while Ollie took his nap, and then got out on our hike for the day - Canyon Overlook Trail. This hike is special to me because it's the first one I ever did in Zion, way back when I was a kid! (Also I realize I've been mentioning lots of sentimental "firsts," especially when it comes to parks and hiking so just get used to it because these places are part of my soul, kay? Don't make fun of me. 😉)
This hike has a REALLY cool route. I had forgotten how cool it was. And it's also really short!
One of my favorite views of the park. So stunning.
Gotta admit I dragged my feet a little bit when we started heading back to the car. I didn't want the weekend to end!
The four-hour drive back home went well, though we did have to take a few more wiggle breaks for the Ollie-man. I don't blame him. Also I can't remember why he was wearing pajama pants and no shirt here... but he was happy to be free!
This weekend was PERFECT. Ryan knows the way to my heart and I was seriously on a high for the next week because of how much fun we had together. It couldn't have been better. Happy Valentine's Day, Ry. You're the best husband a girl could want!
