According to our weather man Derek, the rain was supposed to stop at 7am so when I woke up to rain, I stayed in bed, assuming it wasn’t time yet. Turns out the weather man was wrong, it rained late. I heard Derek getting the tarp set up so I emerged shortly after. We did the breakfast routine underneath the tarp before heading into Springdale, which is a small town right on the outskirts on the park capitalising on all the park goers selling them over-priced food and accommodation. On the way we stopped in at the visitor’s centre to pick up our hiking permit for tomorrow. No issues there, while we waited for the ranger, Emma and I toured around the store, looking at the different stuffed animals and naming them. Our first stop was to the penny press machine where Emma could add to her vast collection. She now had one with an impression of the Zion mountains. Next stop, the market where eggs are five times their normal price. A bottle of milk and some stringy cheese later and we were walking back to the park.

Having not brought my national park pass, I talked my way in while the others got in legit. We got back to camp and didn’t have anywhere to be in any hurry. It had stopped raining, but the wind and clouds made it a little bit foul so I opted to go back to the visitor’s centre to use their Wifi and catch up on posting my grossly out-dated blogs. A couple of hours later after some solid internet, I was nearly up to date and D&K had arrived with the kids ready to go on a hike. I finished up, then followed the crew with a shuttle bus in the hopes of meeting them at the Weeping Rock trail. I probably should have gone back to camp for food and to drop my laptop, but I was lazy to walk back to camp so just went hungry. I timed my travel perfectly. As I got off the bus at the Weeping Rock trail, D&K and kids were walking right towards me and we all got back on the bus to go towards The Narrows.

This is a hike that I’d done on my New Year’s trip in the winter time when everything was covered in icicles and snow. It was far from that this time. We couldn’t get anywhere near the entrance to the canyon thanks to the raging river that had only been up to our knees at most the last time I’d walked it. Emma held my hand as we walked along river as far as we could, stopping at the river a couple of times to get a close up look at the rushing water. We threw a few rocks and got sand in our shoes then returned to the concrete path with the rest of the ambling tourists. We saw plenty of squirrels on the way, ballsy in their pursuit of human food with so many people around

At the end of the path, it was time for a food break so as the kids tuck in, I went down to the river bank to watch the power of the water. Down there, I got talking to a semi-retired Aussie couple that we’d met on the bus up to the Narrows. They were out in the US for a conference and making the most of it. They were keen for travel tips and I obliged, telling them about my secret spot at the Grand Canyon, Lower Antelope Canyon and a trick to get a sweet view of Vegas for cheap. They left happy for the tips and I was happy to have given them. Emma, Kylie and I played around on the rocks awhile, jumping in all sorts of directions before we head back. Emma walked the whole way back, holding my hand all the way. Big walk for such little legs! We didn’t wait long for a bus back and our driver Steve gave us a very informative commentary.

Back as base, we played around on the tarp and ran around camp, me being a kid again. We only had to wait an hour for another pair of Melbourne friends, Tom and Cat, to show up in their new home. Tom and Cat were the first of us to move to America, a year before the rest of us. Only a few months ago they’d made the decision to quit their jobs and travel the country we’d been living in. This was literally their first few nights in their new home, having just driven from Tijuana where they did their border run to Mexico to get onto tourist visas. They had a burnt out look, as if they’d spent the last month tying up all their loose ends, kitting out their car and getting out of their apartment. I knew exactly that feeling.

We got straight into talking non-stop about their last few days, weeks and months in preparation and I got to nerd out about their car set up. Tomcat’s Honda Element wasn’t a big car, but they’d managed to find a lot of useable space. Cat’s creativity was obvious all over the car, from the drawers that fit neatly inside their legitimately bought milk crates (unlike mine that are labelled to cop me a $1,500 fine if they are found) to the sheets and window covers she’d sewed to the perfect size. Tom’s genius was also evident in their home-made sou vie, complete with an electronics container with a few circuit boards and wires.

We hung around camp, playing with the kids, cooking dinner and catching up. We figured out it was our first time all together in over 18 months, so it was amazing we’d managed to coordinate it! All thanks to Kylie and Derek for being organised and booking campsites well ahead of time. Tom and Cat were pretty well stuffed after a few days on intense driving and visa stress, it was the kids’ bed time and Derek and I had a big hike tomorrow, so we were all happy to have an early night.