We went to Zion National Park on a day trip to get away. I had been there when I was little but I really didn't remember it. You had to ride a bus to each stop, as you couldn't drive through the park anymore. You could walk to each stop if you wanted. You had to park outside of the park and walk in.

I really liked the Emerald Pools. We only went to the lower pools and they were nice. I think would really look pretty in the spring after all of the snow had melted. At the bottom of the trail you can see a ton of deer if it is toward the evening. We saw about ten deer, and they were not afraid of humans.

We didn't have the opportunity to go hike Angel's Landing, but you could see a lot of people hiking it. There were also a lot of people that were sitting up there, and I've heard that the view is amazing .

The Court of the Patriarchs was really pretty to. The weeping rock was nice to see to. You could go up and touch the rock and it was wet. It is wet all of the time. On our way up there, a squirrel was following us, begging for food. It was cute and the old people behind us finally stopped and fed it.

I recommend that if you are in Utah to stop and see Zion. There are a lot of things to do there. You can hike up the narrows, but make sure you have lots of supplies with you. Also stop in Springdale, and get a bumbleberry pie.

Rainbow Falls

We went to Hawaii for our first anniversary. We boarded our plane in Vegas at 2:45 in the morning aka the red eye express. It was the first time that I have been on an airplane. We were seated by the engines and were lucky enough to have a window seat. It was interesting to sit by the engines, especially when the plane was getting ready to take off. The plane ride was all right, though it was really cold on the plane. The flight was about five hours long. We landed in Honolulu about six a.m. and it was raining when we got there. We had to wait around in the airport for about an hour before boarding our other plane that would take us to the big island. We landed in Hilo about 45 minutes later, and it had stopped raining. The airport at Hilo is outdoors and there were tons of plants and flowers around. We had to wait in line for our rental car for about 30 minutes, but the best part is that they ran out of economy cars and we were upgraded to a convertible for free. It was really awesome, and the couple in front of us were also upgraded and they were so ecstatic. After we put our luggage in the car, the first that thing we did is drive to the beach. I had never seen the ocean before and I was so anxious to see it. The beach that we stopped at had huge rocks as breakers. I stepped into the ocean and was so surprised that it was warm. It was a great experience letting the water hit against my legs, and I even saw a couple of crabs crawling on some rocks nearby. Our hotel was great to we stayed at the Seaside in. There are no doors going to the lobby of the hotel, it is all open. After we got settled into our hotel room, we went back to the ocean to play.

The next morning we got up early and went to Volcano National Park. We ate breakfast in Volcano Village and they have the best Swiss cheese ever, it was so creamy. Afterwards we walked around the whole park. It was so great standing on the crater and looking in. I felt like I was on top of the world. We got to see where the lava goes into the ocean. We didn't hike all the way across the lava, instead we hiked to a lookout point. It was neat watching the smoke rise from the ocean. We also walked through the Thurston Lava Tube. That was a really awesome experience. When you looked at the ceiling you could see the roots of the trees from the top, that was neat to see. You could also see the marks on the wall where the lava had risen to. After spending the day at the park, we drove back to Hilo and decided to go to Rainbow falls. They are beautiful, and if you go in the morning you can see a rainbow over the falls. As we were driving to the falls there were signs saying that you would get fined if you hit these one kind of bird and that bird had the right away to cross the street. I just thought that it was kind of funny.

The next day was our anniversary and we decided to drive to the Kona side of the island and spend the day at the beach. First we decided to stop at Akaka Falls. You had to hike down the them and it was well worth the hike. The falls are huge and surrounded by tons of green foliage. After that we left and ended up at Hapuna Beach, where we spent the rest of the day body surfing and playing in the ocean. My husband lost his sunglasses and I ended up losing my contacts in the ocean and I didn't have my glasses with me. So I had to take pictures of the sunset half blind.

The next day we had to get on the plane and head home. I was so sad to leave the ocean. Hawaii seemed like a magical place to me. Plus on the bright side my allergies didn't bother me. I'm hoping that I will be able to go back soon. I loved it there.

I've been to Capitol Reef a few times. Though I was too little to remember them. My husband and I went on a day trip to get away for a few hours. I had forgotten how nice it is down there. It is a great place to be and take tons of pictures. Deer are everywhere in the orchard. You can get pretty close to them before they take off. I really liked the the school house. You can look in the windows and see the inside. There are still things inside of the school house and it looks like it is setup like it was back them. There is also a cabin where a family of 14 lived in. The cabin is really small, and it is said that the older children slept in the hills behind the cabin. There is also a waterfall there, it is a small one, but it is pretty in the spring.

Parowan Gap has two features of distinction, one natural, one man-made. The pass near Parowan is a classic example of a wind gap, an unusual geological landform marking where an ancient river has cut a 600-foot-deep notch through the Red Hills.

Secondly, the gap is a nationally recognized extravaganza of petroglyphs--a superb "gallery" of Native American rock art. Here one can witness what is at least a 1,000 year accumulation of art work pecked into the rock. Geometric designs, images of lizards, snakes, mountain sheep, bear claws and human figures adorn the smooth canyon walls of the pass.

These features, set amidst the vast panoramas of the Escalante Desert make for a fascinating getaway located just a few miles off the interstate mainstream.