My mother, who had just come to California for a one-month visit, said she wanted to go to Vegas to visit her granddaughter who had just recently moved there. She said she also wanted to go somewhere sightseeing for a couple of days. Her first thought was the Grand Canyon. She also mentioned Yosemite. Because I had just been to Zion and seen it for the first time a few weeks prior, I suggested we go there. I told her it’s a combination of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. There are beautiful orange-red-brown canyons, rocks and rivers like the Grand Canyon and huge high mountain cliffs, waterfalls, rivers and trees like Yosemite. So to make a long story short, we decided to go to Zion.
A few photos of our stopover in Las Vegas
Before heading to Zion, we stopped in Vegas for the night. We visited the Belagio and saw the fountain show. Pretty cool.
A few photos of our visit to Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
The next morning, we left early and visited Valley of Fire between Vegas and Zion. It was 108°F. The rangers at the state park warned people not to go hiking in the heat…and if you did, make sure to carry lots of water and hydrate. Valley of Fire is a very neat place…but super hot in summer. We did a little 40-minute loop hike and made it back safely, but it was a scorcher!
My niece and her husband went back to Vegas and we moved on to Zion.
A few photos of our visit to Zion National Park, Utah
We stayed in Hurricane at the Clarion Hotel. It is about 25 minutes outside the park.
The next day, we drove to Zion and hiked in the main valley. There were lots of people there, especially up The Narrows where it was cooler and wet.
Judge for yourself the beauty of Zion. It’s the best of both worlds!
