Out West, Part I

Dear Sprout,

We have heard from a lot of people that the second trimester is the best time to travel, and also that we should take a trip before you arrive. We had debated whether to go to the Carribbean, to Belize or Costa Rica, or a bunch of other places, but as you may come to find out, your parents sometimes are bad at making up their minds. However, we came up with the idea of booking a last-minute vacation to take you on a pre-birth tour of a couple of the national parks, which seemed just about perfect.

We left last Wednesday and flew to Las Vegas. Since our flight got in fairly late, we had reserved a room at the Sahara, one of the older casinos on the north end of the Strip. We figured, it's just a room, right? Well, maybe not. The Sahara was dismal, and even at 11 at night we ad to wait something like 45 minutes just to check into a room that smelled distinctly of smoke. Some opened windows helped a bit, but child, if you ever go to Vegas, please don't stay at the Sahara. This may be your father's first piece of wisdom to pass to you.

However, after leaving the next morning things steadily improved. We drove a few hours to Zion National Park, where after a mad scramble to find a campsite we scored what we think is the best site in the park, next to the Pa'Rus hiking trail and with an amazing view of the Watchman peak.

Zion is beautiful, situated in a canyon in southwest Utah, centered by the Virgin River. A shuttle takes you up and down the canyon, and there are many stops with views, hikes, and picnic spots. We spent three nights there, doing short hikes, relaxing in the hammock by the river, reading books, and generally relaxing. Many people on the hikes were staring at your mom's belly- she was the only pregnant woman we saw out on the trail!

Jess is at 24 weeks!