Vacation: Trip CA,UT,AZ,NM,TX,LA

After graduating high school My Love and I took our first trip together. Our destination was Louisiana to visit his family, whom moved a week after graduation. We decided to take our time getting there so we could see the country together. We chose five places. Before the trip began My Love gave me an early birthday gift, which was a video camera. He knew I had an infatuation with home movies and this would be our opportunity to start our own collection. The first day we had an exciting and anticipation filled drive to Utah where we reached our first destination of Zion National Park. We pulled up to the luscious greens late in the evening and checked into our camping spot in the Watchman Campground. We set up camp as the sun went down and cooked our first meal on the portable stove. We woke up, after sleeping in a 98 degree July night, to a dear in our camp spot and knew we had to start our adventures and explore. The first day we decided to do the Riverside Walk which was amazing! The attire was bathing suits, shorts and tennis shoes. My Love carried the back pack with lunch and supplies while I carried my new treasured camera. We began by feeding the squirrels out of our hands (whoops... ignored the signs) and admiring the amazing little waterfalls which we soon came to know cover the walls throughout the entire hike. We soon came to a nicely sized swimming (again one of many) and took a dip to escape the 106 degree heat. Continuing the easy -medium level hike there were many beautiful rock formations to admire. We attempted to climb a few sections but mostly enjoyed the walk, swim, and serenity of the hike. After walking until we hit the over night backpacking climb we turned around. In all, it was about a 5 mile hike that we took about 4 hours to do, with lots of leisure. The following day we took the provided free tram to the bottom of Angels Landing.

This hike was my biggest challenge it was 5 miles, with the first half climbing 1500 feet following the zig zag trail. I had to take a little longer because it quickly became obvious I was not in shape

for this type of climbing. It was still enjoyable and again the

scenery was inescapably beautiful. The view from the top was spectacular and well worth the nausea the climb had me feeling (which vanished at the top). It surprisingly rained a bit along our hike but not enough to deter us, we were determined. After reaching the top and taking in the view we ate lunch and took in the height while peaking over the edge of the cliff. The walk down was much easier and when we reached the bottom we jumped back on the tram to the Emerald Pools. The run off from the little waterfalls into the pools was a great way to cool off and the pools were pretty too (however, a bit lack luster compared to the hike we had just experienced). We did see these three adorable birds while we were crossing the bridge to the pools. When wefinally made it back to our campsite we decided we deserved a real meal for dinner. We got more than we bargained for. We went to Red Rock Grill for a wonderful, though expensive dinner (but it was worth it). For the next two days of our Zion stay we explored our campground took dips/baths in the river and spent quality time together. On our way out of town we realized we had no souvenirs and decided to stop at one of the little stores. We looked around for awhile and decided magnets would be the best way to get a little trinket from each place we visit. It was a wonderful trip overall, although early in the spring/summer may be more comfortable.

After we were through at Zion we drove South East to the Grand Canyon. We had only booked one night in the Southrim Campground and timing worked out perfectly. We arrived probably around 4 0'clock and set up camp. Then we drove into the viewing area. After walking

around a little and taking in the view we ate dinner at the cafeteria style restaurant in the shopping center. When we were finished eating it was just about time for sunset. We found a spot to

walk out, take some pictures and then sit and enjoy the beautiful sunset over the Grand Canyon. For us one day or half a day was perfect. The next morning we were on the road to Carlsbad Caverns. The drive was long but we arrived in Whites City and checked in to our hotel the Days Inn Carlsbad. It was pretty nice for the price, very clean and a huge room. We had a nice night's sleep and woke up early to hit the caverns. After paying our entrance fee we headed into the nice cool caverns and out of the heat. Right from the first turn it was incredible, I had never seen anything like it. The hike lasted a couple of hours and after we were out we checked out the souvenir store and picked up ourmagnet to add to our growing collection. On the road again... destination San Antonio. After a long drive through Texas, and some intimidating lightning storms we arrived at the Red Roof Inn in San Antonio. This was quite an experience. We walked in side to a very eccentric African American man, the night manager. Following us, two thug looking guys (Asian and Mexican) walked in screaming profanities at the manager who began to yell back. We were thrown off to say the least. The two guys made there way behind the counter and hugged the manager, and they all broke into laughter. We were relieved but confused when the manager pulled the Asian guy aside and introduced him as his son. We really just wanted our key at this point but our adventure was not over. The night manager held us hostage by keeping our key on his side while he decided to tell us his life story.

His name was Davy Crockett. Mr. Crockett insisted that his great grandmother was walking down the road when Davy Crockett road up on his horse and the wind blew up her skirt and he thought "look at that Black booty" and now Davy Crockett "junior" was standing in front of us. We both forced a laugh and he proceeded to pull out his license as proof and sure enough his name was Davy Crockett. Finally, we were free and drove over to our room. Getting out of the car it took one crunch to realize the ground was covered with chap stick sized black crickets. It was disgusting! Unfortunately, as we opened the door we realized quite a few had made it inside. We still wanted to explore the town so we quickly left and went to the Riverwalk. We arrived and wanted a yummy dinner, and Mexican food sounded great! So we found Aldacos we were able to sit outside on the river and that was great. However, when the food came I realized I was not a fan of Tex Mex. Being a Southern California girl I love Mexican food and this was not even close. After finishing our lack luster dinner we walked down to get in line for the river boat tour. It was late and the line was cut off right behind us, we felt so lucky, until 30 seconds later when we found out it was cash only and we had none. That was a big bummer and the night just was not going our way. So it was not surprising that the store we had spotted, to get our magnet, had just closed. We went back to the hotel and decided San Antonio was not our place. With crickets chirping we snuggled into bed, woke up bright and early and were on our way to our final destination... Louisiana.

We made it to Louisiana. We spent most of the time with his family but for my 18th birthday we went on one more adventure, New Orleans. First we visited the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, which was fun and interesting. After walking through the aquarium we looked for something else to fill our time before dinner. I really wanted to do a crocodile tour but we were too late

so we found a haunted historical french quarter walking tour. The tour departed from a voodoo shop and lasted about 2 hours (in the afternoon). This was well worth it. We found, and booked it through a little tourism hut by the parking lot in the French Quarter. We were too late for our dinner reservations but overall it was a very fun day and good end to all of our adventures!

Destination: Zion National Park
Points of Interest: 
Watchman Campground http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/watchman-campground.htm
Riverside Walk http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-gateway-to-the-narrows.htm
Angels Landing http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-angels-landing-trail.htm
Emerald Pools http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-emerald-pools-trail.htm
Red Rock Grill http://www.zionlodge.com/red-rock-grill-880.html

Destination: Grand Canyon
Points of Interest:
Southrim Campground http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-sr.htm

Destination: Carlsbad Caverns
Points of Interest:
Days Inn Carlsbad http://www.daysinn.com/DaysInn/control/home

Destination: San Antonio
Points of Interest:
Red Roof Inn (not suggested)
Riverwalk http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/
Aldacos http://www.aldacos.net/

Destination: New Orleans
Points of Interest:
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas http://www.auduboninstitute.org/visit/aquarium
Walking Tour