The weekend of 19 Feb 10, Jessica and David came out for one last hoo-rah before they

become parents.  Since it was dead of winter, and it seemed to be snowing as much in

southern Utah as it was in the mountains, we decided to make a whirlwind trip that included

Zion, Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and Bryce Canyon.  We had three

days to do it, but that was still a lot of driving.  The first stop was Zion.  We stayed in

Springdale, UT, on Friday night, and then hiked around Emerald Pool on Saturday.  We also

hiked out to the end of the trail at the Narrows.  There was considerably less snow than when

Tracy and I were there about 3 weeks earlier, but it was drizzling all day.

After leaving Zion, we headed to Lake Powell.  David enjoyed the Glen Canyon Dam, and, as

always, the lake was really pretty, but we didn't stay long before heading on to the Grand

Canyon.  We came to the park from the east side, and the snow was pretty bad on the road

once we got into the park.  David and Jessica were incredulous that it wasn't supposed to

snow at the Grand Canyon...it was pretty funny!  But after taking it slow, we finally made it to

the hotel in Tusayan.  On Sunday we went into the park and learned something new: it's

actually possible NOT to be able to see the Grand Canyon!  Here was the biggest hole in the

ground on the continent, and we couldn't see one foot of it because of the snow and low cloud

cover!  Jessica was not happy.  After three trips to the Tetons, she's never seen them because

of snow, and now she couldn't even see the Grand Canyon because of snow.  It was pretty

crazy.  I expected there to be snow, but there was a lot of snow there, and we literally could

not see the canyon at all.  Standing at the overlook, you truly had no idea there was anything

at all there.  It was bizarre.

So we left before Jessica got sadder!  We drove to the Hoover Dam, and David and Jessica

took a tour of the dam while Tracy and I just wondered around.  It was sunny and warm down

at the dam...

We also checked out Lake Meade, and then tried to find a hotel outside Vegas.  We decided it

was too early to stop, though, and we drove on to Wendover to spend the night.  On Monday

we got up and headed to Bryce Canyon.  Bryce was snowed in and cold, but the weather was

clear, so Jessica was at least able to see it!  The contrast of the red rocks and white snow is

pretty at Bryce.  After Bryce we made the long drive back home to finish out the long loop.  I

think Jessica and David had a good trip, but I know there were disappointed that they won't be

able to mark the Grand Canyon off their list.  But now they'll have kids to take there, anyway!