Day 2...Wild Weather

Wow what a wild weather day we had. How about from the 90s to 48 degrees? Today would have been a weatherman's dream or nightmare if he got it wrong. We started out on the road about 6 from Mesquite NV. It was perfect day with a Starbucks right in the hotel, one soy chai latte to go! Decided to stop in St. George for some provisions...ie gel for Nick's hair (how funny) and a picnic lunch. The drive to Zion was beautiful. I could definitely have a summer home in Springdale UT. Somehow though I think a Catholic church would be hard to find. Zion was picture perfect. There weren't that many people, so we found a place to park inside the park. There is a great tram service that takes you to all the viewpoints in the tram. It was spectaular and I know the pictures won't do it justice. The weather was in the high seventies and by the time we left the mid eighties. We took the 2 mile rivertrail ionto the narrowsand the scene was incredible. There were hanging gardens and rock just dripping with water. OUr tram driver said that the water takes anywhere from 50 to 1500 years to tricle down...yep I said 1500 years. We were all more amazed as we watched the rocks "weep." Haley had her yahoo moment. The Coad family saw their first form of wildlife...big fat grey squirrels. The sign says don't feed the squirrels, but I don't think people listen. I think my girl would have put one in her pocket until there was a picture of a man's hand that had been bit by one. After that, Haley ran everytime we saw one. A doe and her fawn were grazing on the meadow. Some europeans walked by speaking in their native tongue and all were understood was Bambi...Nick and I laughed pretty hard. After lots of pictures and mistaking a sock for a snake (yes we are city folk) we headed off to Bryce canyon.
The drive to Bryce was too much for words. We drove through a 1.1 mile tunnel with a few windows craved out for us to catch the last fews of Zion. The drive was pretty awesome with the change in the topography. There were many thuderclouds and our excitement built, hoping for a few strikes of lightning. Passing through many little towns along the way, Hal and I wondered a. what do these people do for a living and b. where do they buy their cereal for breakfast. Some of the old abandoned shacks looked like Joseph smith had built them himself.
Approaching Bryce we finally saw some lightning. Then into the park we drove. Deciding to avoid some of the left turns, we decided to go all the way to the top. Much to our surprise, it started to rain. Then we found ourselves in the clouds and the temperature dropped to 48 degree. We had missed a hailstorm by probably 10 minutes. It looked like snow on the ground. My crazy kids were so excited. Haley kept hoping it would snow. We got out to see the furthest point in the canyon with our umbrellas. Standing in the rain, Hal snapped the photos. We stopped and played with the hail that was still on the ground. We heard the loud clap of thunder. It was so amazing. Some many hues of yellow orange and red. Haley thought it looked like a ride at Disneyland. Bryce was truly worth the 1.5 hour drive out of our way.
Back on the road at 5, we headed for Salt Lake City. Then the kids got to have a wonderful lightning show. We even saw a double rainbow. Too bad I was not fast enough with the camera. Taking pictures in a care traveling 75 mph is difficult. We stopped in Nephi UT for dinner. They are not super friendly to out of towners. I wonder if it was the caffeinateed drinks we orderd. The kids got to watch two firework shows off in the distance while the lightning contiued to light up the sky. Finally we got to Salt Lake City around 10:15. We got off and drove by the Mormon temple square. On my goodness...they must own this town. It was pretty incredible. I did capture some pictures of the capital all lit up. It was beautiful. There were so many people walking the streets. It was a balmy 85n degrees. Now we know why there were so many people, an outdoor activities convention. Here I plan out the whole trip and we decided that it won't be hard to find a room.HA! This convention brought in about 350,000. There was no room available for another 1.5 hours in Logan UT. There goes Hal's dream to swim in the Salt Lake. The kids were troopers and said it was fine, they'd just fall asleep. Hal and I watched the night sky as a battle of lightning strikes went on all around us. Hal was smart enough to call ahead and book the one remaining room. It was perfect and only $79...bonus. We checked in around midnight. All is quiet now and everyone is cozy in their beds. The only sound is Hal snoring away. Thanks goodness for earplugs. Tomorrow we only have about 4 hours to the Grand Tetons. Then we are there for two days and a short drive to Yellowstone. Oh I can hear it pouring outside. Anyone who doesn't believe in God has not seen what we saw today. God is good has has blessed us abundantly.
Much Love-Lisa