Needing Nature

We had no intention of hiking Angel's Landing and simply headed up the trail to hopefully see some decent views.  And did we ever.   We made it up to Scout Lookout which given our age and level of fitness was a decent accomplishment, especially given all of the snow and ice on the trail!   You can see my version of Angels Landing below.   We were in awe of those that continued on as we stopped where those chains began.   This was quite possibly the most beautiful and breathtaking hike we've ever taken.   The snow just made it even more so.   We had snow traction attachments on our shoes.   When we purchased them, I thought it was overkill for this trip but I don't see how we could have taken this hike without them.   I have been home for a couple weeks and I just can't stop looking at my pictures and reliving the incredible experience.   

I read somewhere that if you see Zion National Park blanketed in snow, that it's probably photo shopped.   I have experienced otherwise and here is my story:   In a rough never ending winter, we almost booked a trip to Florida.    Flights weren't cheap so playing around on the Southwest website, I was trying to find a place with cheap flights and thought of Vegas.   Where Vegas is a place I can only stand for a couple days, I was looking at the surrounding areas and stumbled on Zion National Park.  When I booked it in January, Zion had highs in the 50's.   Where it wouldn't be a beach vacation, it sure sounded better than the never ending winter we were having in Northern Illinois.  So I booked this amazing place that's right at the entrance of Zion National Park and we counted the days to our trip.  The week before we left the forecast wasn't looking great....Snow, cold, and unusually winter like weather was in the 10 day forecast.   We debated delaying

So many people we know are moving south.  I love the sun and I love a great beach, but I love seasonal changes.   I may change my mind someday (maybe next week when high temps are forecasted to be in single digits), but right now I know I'd miss Fall, Winter and Spring.  Today was truly a glorious day.   I wasn't even feeling well, but the lure of a sunny day with temps in the low 30's won out.   I'm so grateful I took advantage of this amazing day.  Today was perfectly imperfect.   I had to spend my morning doing things for work, I was scrambling to catch up on so many things, and yet I had the wisdom to drop everything so we could take advantage of the sunshine.   I came home and continued with my work, but topped it all off with a pot roast, mashed potato, and roasted Brussel sprouts dinner and as I sit by the fire I realize I made today the best I possibly could.