Day After New Years

The day after New Years we went to Zion to escape our cold, paint smelly house. (The months when the shuttle is not running is the only time I will go to Zions because it's just impossible with little kids to get everything you need for the day on a shuttle.) Luckily we still had the warmer clothes in the car from the day before because we needed them.

We were just going to hike the Riverwalk, but then I suggested that we should walk to the Weeping Wall because the walk is short and I was assuming the wall would be covered with icicles. The only problem - the trail was snow packed and slick in spots. Crazy Chuck still wanted to push Isaac in the stroller because he thought this would be easier than packing him.

Samuel wanted to bring along the hiking stick and I was really tempted when we left the car to not bring it because it was just one more thing to haul, but thank goodness I decided not to say anything. I was the one who ended up really needing the hiking stick before we got to far along the trail.

So this whole hike was not the best idea for so many reasons - slickness of the trail, one kid in a stroller, two little ones that I was worried were going to slip and fall and big ole pregnant me just praying I didn't fall down myself. Then we got to this point and for some unknown reason I let Chuck talk me into continuing. You see the barricade in the picture, well it said the trail was closed due to falling ice and see how the trail is just a shear sheet of ice. Well there were people going around the barricade and over the trees so Chuck figured we could do it too. Now why I let him talk me into this I'm really not sure because there's no way I should have been climbing over trees. Chuck had to help each of us get across one by one and luckily there was another older couple who helped with the kids and hoisting me back onto the trail at the other end.

I was the last up on the trail and Chuck had barely grabbed Isaac back from the older lady when we heard a very loud rumble and realized the ice up above us was breaking and falling down the mountain side. We could see it coming down this little shoot and so of course the adults started scampering out of the way. Chuck had Isaac in one hand and was pushing the lady up the trail with his other hand. I was trying to be quick, but not fall and then I looked and realized Samuel and Bella had not moved. They were just standing there looking up the hill at the falling ice. All I could do was holler, "Samuel, Bella run!" and probably for the first time in their lives they did what I said instantly. Luckily they didn't have to go to far to get out of the way. Chuck kept trying to make me feel better by telling me the ice would have just hit Samuel and Bella in the legs and they would have been fine. Oh sure do you see how big those chunks of ice are. But he was really glad that we had just gotten up on the trail again because the ice would have hit us in the head as it went over the edge. I guess I'll just chalk this up to another hike where Chuck has tried to kill me!

Well somehow we made it to Weeping Wall and yes there were icicles, but I don't think it was worth the adventure!

I was really worried about getting back down the trail, but we were fine. When we got to the bottom there were several people standing about trying to decide if they wanted to go on the trail or not. One group had 2 women, 2 men and a teenager. One of the women looked at me and said, "You went on that trail?". I told her I had, but I wouldn't do it again. So the woman turned to her husband and said, she did it, you should be fine. Then the guy had the nerve to say, "Yeah, but she has a walking stick". To which I replied, just in case he hadn't noticed, "Yeah and I'm going to have a baby in about a month". We saw this group later on the Riverwalk and as we passed them the guy said, "Hey it's you - you're crazy". I wanted to tell him it's not me that's the crazy one it's my husband!

We then decided to go on the River walk. This trail was much better and lots of people were hiking along so it wasn't really slick.

Samuel was having a great time whacking the ice with the walking stick.

The problem we ran into was the kids had had too much fun before we could get back to the car. Isaac was crying and Chuck had to hold him (poor guy was tired and cold), Bella refused to walk and I had to push her in the stroller she was also whining about being cold and Samuel was complaining something fierce. Then we got to the car and Isaac would not stop screaming. He was so tired, but had bitten a hole in his binky on the way there and so he refused to take it, yet there was not way he was going to stop screaming without it. Chuck stopped at a little market inside and park and amazingly they had a binky for sale. Chuck said that was the best $6 he ever spent!