This kid is determined to make it to midnight and see what this New Year’s Eve thing is ask about. She took a nap earlier in the day on her own (which never happens) and is now furiously making bracelets to keep herself awake. 1 hour to go!
Our last day in Zion the road to the northern part of the park was open again, so we managed to get a few different hikes in. It was a long day, but we saw some great views. And Katie, we made it to the entrance of The Narrows! 🙂
We decided to get away from Zion on our second day and check out some of the less touristy things in the area. We really got lucky with these 2 picks.
1) First up we drove a few miles into the desert on a little dirt road/trail and crossed the Arizona border to the “Little Black Mountain Petroglyph Site.” There was not a single person around and we hiked all over looking at 8000-year-old petroglyphs on the rock walls. You can just walk right up and touch them (don’t worry, we didn’t actually touch them). 
🙂 AMAZING!
2) Next was a 10-mile drive into the desert in another direction to see the “Warner Valley Dinosaur Tracks.”. It’s just a spot in the desert with nobody around where almost 400 fossilized dinosaur tracks were found. We walked all over the area exploring, and the scenery was beautiful. No park system, no rangers, no tourists. We had a blast!
We were not sure how this trip to Zion National Park was going to work out with the government shutdown. Fortunately, the park was open (and offering minimal services). It snowed the night before we arrived so on our first day here only some of the roads were passable. But it made for some great pictures and Kenzie loved playing in the snow.
Yesterday we spent the night in Las Vegas before meeting up with the grandmas and heading to Zion National Park.
We stayed at Caesars Palace (thanks to hotel points) and after checking the place out, this was Kenzie’s review: “It’s OK, and the statues are pretty, but too many of them have their privates showing.”. Then she noticed the door handles we’re gold plated and proclaimed “this place is just too fancy for us.” She also thought the idea of a TV in the bathroom was “ridiculous.”
Yep, hard to disagree with any of that. I think maybe I’ll post her review to TripAdvisor.
112 for Kenzie! Since we were traveling on Christmas Eve and we’re only allowed to touch Cornica on this day, she got to go with us to Vegas. She was spotted by the flight attendant and got a quick trip to the cockpit with the pilots!
Even though it’s a couple more days to Christmas, it’s our last night at home before heading to Las Vegas and then Zion National Park. Kenzie fell asleep under the Christmas tree…
Instead of Zoo Lights, we tried out the Oregon Garden this year. Lots of lights, snowless sledding, and ice skating… the kids had a blast!
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Oregon City Swim Team fun! Coach Rick is great with the kids!
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