River Walk of Memories

River Walk
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We arrived at the parking lot of Bumbleberry Inn just before noon. Much later than we had planned, but sleeping in was a welcomed treat after our late night at Tuacahn.  After 10:00 am the park closes entrance to the parking lots and asks that visitors take the free shuttle from Springdale into the park.  The shuttle stops at almost every hotel on Springdales main street.  Riding buses has become the kids favorite mode of transportation, and it has become a struggle getting them to take a seat rather than stand and hold a bar.  To their excitement, by the time the shuttle arrived at our stop all the seats were taken and they braced themselves between Jared and I holding onto the seats along the aisle, grinning ear to ear.  To their dismay we were offered seats that we  gratefully accepted for them, knowing from past experience the first hard brake of the shuttle would send our youngest  flying.  We arrived at the park in about 5 minutes time, and boarded another shuttle taking us through the park.  Jared has memories of visiting Zions with his family during their trek to Utah to visit family every year or so.  These memories are among his favorite, so it was especially meaningful being able to treat our children to the experience.  My family came with us on this trip and we were excited to share the experience with them too.    Our shuttle wound through the park describing what each stop had to offer in the way of trails.  We finally made it to our stop, the popular river walk leading to the trail head of the narrows which Jared and I hiked part of years ago.  The river walk was beautiful, and perfect for our family. It's about a mile long, paved, and at the end your treated to a great beach area and cool water to play in.  There is a little area at the beginning of the trail that also offers a nice sandy play area by the the water.  I don't recommend missing the walk though.  I think the kids enjoy the water that much more after working for it a little.  They were nice and hot by the time we reached the end.  The cliffs towering above the trail provide lots of shade, and the scenery is breathtaking along the way.  One of the first things we noticed were how "friendly" the squirrels were.  At first it's cute, then their boldness becomes a nuisance especially after they chew threw zippers to get to the contraband...  In fact as we were sitting on the beach enjoying a snack while watching the kids play in the water, my sister in law sends out a forceful yell "HEY GET OUTA HERE"! that about sends me three feet in the air.  I turn to find another squirrel making a play for my bag of chex mix sitting between my mom and I.  This squirrel seemed to be in cahoots with the one that just chewed through her diaper bag.  I was more fazed than the squirrels, who looked as if to say "What...what are you gonna do about it, punk."  After spending about 45 minutes enjoying the canyon and river we packed up, and made our way up to the trail.  As we were leaving the area we noticed a woman making nice nice with the same bandits we were shooing away, by offering them snacks which they had no problem accepting - out of the palm of her hand.  UGH.

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The kids loved playing in the river and we had to just about drag them back to the trail. We made our way back to the shuttle strapped Amy's stroller to the front and found our seats.  Winding back through the canyon was a relaxing end to our mini adventure, until we heard a thud under the tires of the shuttle.  "The stroller" Amy gasps.  Sure enough one of the tires came loose and the shuttle ran it over.  Amy is an incredible good sport.  Enjoying the great outdoors is probably not  her choice of the best way to spend time, and on this excursion her bag was ruined by the wildlife and her stroller maimed  without much sympathy from the driver.  She has a great sense of humor, and the patience of a saint.  Despite the crowded shuttles, the bandit squirrels and the unsympathetic drivers.  We loved bringing our family to this special place, and hope to make it a yearly tradition.

The cliffs towering above the trail provide lots of shade, and the scenery is breathtaking along the way.