Today was the start of our big family trip. I’ve been thinking of it as “the Grand Canyon trip,” but, really, we’re spending the least amount to dint st the Grand Canyon, so I’ve adapted to “the Grand Canyon etc. trip.” My family, my two brothers and their families, and my parents are visiting Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Grand Canyon.

Today, my family flew from Atlanta to Las Vegas, meeting the other families there. We ate breakfast (local time)/lunch (body time) at the Broken Yolk Cafe. The portions were large and tasty and hit the spot. I was hungry.

Then we caravanned to Springdale, UT which is right at the entrance to Zion National Park. The desert scenery is spectacular. I’m not sure if I’ve seen anything like it, though I did feel some similarities to the terrain around Colorado Sorings, CO. We saw cacti, and mesas (I think they are called mesas?), and at one point the road seemed to disappear only to discover it wind through a late-revealing chasm. It is incredible.

In Springdale, we got settled in to our hotel and enjoyed an escape from the heat in the pool. We ate dinner at Whiptail Grill, which was mostly Tex-Mex with some USian burgers as well. The portions were huge. I had the Sweet Pork Tacos which were tasty.

After dinner everyone else crashed. I wasn’t too tired yet, and I knew my time tomorrow would be limited, so I got a run in at dusk. It was still hot, but at least the sun wasn’t beating down on me. The air was so dry I got cottonmouth from breathing hard!