This morning was actually really nice in Springdale, so I went for a run. By the time I had showered and changed, though, it had started to rain. We all enjoyed our hotel breakfast before the reality sunk in. It was raining HARD, and we had driven over four hours just to be outside today.
So we bought ponchos and some more umbrellas before heading into Zion National Park. We took the shuttle to the Temple of Sinewava hike, our favorite walk with kids. It probably took Abe twenty minutes to get ponchos on everyone. (I was chasing Clarissa, who was attempting to run into all the puddles and the street.) There was a really nice guy who told us that he was living a vagrant lifestyle at the shuttle stop. He helped Ammon knot his poncho and was just a really sweet soul. We liked him a lot.
Then we hiked part of the trail. Lydia was terrified there would be a flash flood and kept asking if we were done. Mary was freezing and kept asking the same question. In contrast, Ammon and Clarissa were THRILLED. They both kept running everywhere on the trail until Abe finally picked up Clarissa and walked with her. I personally found this walk very cold and I could feel my virus getting stronger the colder I got. But Abe had a marvelous time, and I was so thrilled he was finally getting a break from his stressful routines.
Here is a video of Clarissa splashing in a puddle.
A snowstorm made our return trip to Orem six hours instead of four, but Abe did an absolutely incredible job navigating it. On the way we loved listening to Vienna Teng’s “Soon, Love, Soon” and “Lullaby for a Stormy Night.”