On our last day at Zion's National Park, we woke up to another gorgeous sunny day, built a fire and made breakfast burrito's, hot chocolate and had fruit while we planned our day. I had made and frozen them [along with our other foil meals] ahead of time so all we had to do was heat them up and for the most part they were all a success. We also encountered an insane amount of wildlife throughout this trip-mountain goats, elk, deer, fish, mule, jack rabbits, wild horses this morning it was yet another pack full of deer, going right next to our campsite. This is one of the millions of reasons I am a fan of camping-a few people have asked why do a trip like this when the kids are so little, since they probably won't remember it. That may be true, but I think that they will begin to gain an appreciation for nature and a love for the outdoors, exploration and animal life. So I'm all for that!

After figuring things out, we decided to make it a fairly easy day. We used the free park shuttle system for the whole day [while Addy sang Wheels on the Bus] and started at Weeping Rock. It is a short, lovely hike that leads to a spot where the rock overhangs and is continually weeping, making lush gardens over the top. From here, we headed to the lower Emerald Pools trail which has a small waterfall and lots of fun little climbing spots for Addy along the way. After a lunch break and more bus rides, we got off at the Court of The Patriarch's [a gorgeous towering rock formation] and found a secluded spot and played in the Virgin River for a while. All throughout, the girls were great sports, but I think they especially loved the parts with water. After this we said goodbye to the Last's, and they headed home while we spent our last night checking out the town, showering, cleaning up and getting ready for another long drive and the second half of our our trip. But more about that later!