My Southwestern U.S. Trip Part: 1

Over the April break, I explored the United States' Southwest region: Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. From the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada to my amazing hotel pool in Phoenix, Arizona, Angels Landing in Zion National Park, Utah down to our surprising stop at a Jack in the Box in Needles, California. This trip was truly unforgettable and I would love for you guys to here all about it.

It was around 4:00 PM when we took of from JFK airport in New York City. I was so excited as in around 6 hours I would be landing in Las Vegas. I had never been to Las Vegas before, so I was very excited to check of another state, Nevada. All I had brought on the plane was a bacon burger from Shake Shack (which was delicious) and a couple of snacks that were in my backpack. I sat in the Main Cabin of the plane, and throughout the flight I watched 2 movies. Also, I used Delta Airlines.

I had arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was even more excited now that I was here. I exited the plane and went on a bus to the Renta-a-Car place. By the time I got to the Rent-a-Car place it was already 8:30 Pacific Time. From there I got an amazing view of the city.

It was 8:30 PM in Las Vegas, although to me it was 11:00 PM because of the 3 hour time difference between New York and Vegas. Straight from the Renta-a-Car place at the airport, I had to go straight on Interstate 15 (I-15) all the way too Zion National Park in Utah. On the drive that took around 2.5 hours I went through the city of Mesquite, Nevada, across the border into Arizona for a short period of time, and then into Utah where I passed through the small city of St. George.

Finally at 12:00 AM (or what was really 2:00 AM for me) I arrived at the Zion Pioneer Lodge. The motel was cozy and in my room it was decorated with furniture made from wood and logs. Overall it was a fine hotel, and it was good enough for me. Surely within the first 5 minutes I went in bed, I had fallen asleep.

I woke up at around 8:00-8:30 AM the next morning. I did what I needed to do and then I brought my suitcase and backpack into the car. When I exited my room, I saw beautiful views of the mountains of Zion National Park. A thrill of excitement rushed down my back as I knew I would be in that park within the next hour.

I went to the lobby in the small lodge to get breakfast. They gave me a small brown bag and I peeked inside. It had an apple, a strawberry yogurt with granola, and a burrito. I was very surprised to find a burrito in there since in New York we don't usually eat that for breakfast. 

I had finally arrived in my third National Park (Rocky Mountain in Colorado and Acadia in Maine I had visited before this), Zion National Park. I could not wait.

The first thing I did was enter the Visitor Center to get my U.S. Parks Passport stamped. I ended up getting a magnet of Zion and a postcard at the gift shop. Right outside of the visitor center there was a 3D map of the park. Luckily transportation around the park was very easy, there were shuttle buses that appeared at each of the 5 stops in service every five minutes, and you could just hop on one to go to wherever in the park you wanted to go.

I hopped on one of the shuttle buses and went to the last stop which was for the Zion Narrows in the very north of the park. I saw tons of mountains and beautiful views as well as deer, climbers, and even a turkey. I didn't go into the narrows since I didn't have the proper gear, but I walked on the Riverside trail which went up to the narrows. The trail took around 2 hours and was a 2 miles round-trip. The views on the walk were beautiful and were alongside the stunning North Fork Virgin River.

At around 12:00 PM I finished the trail and headed back on the shuttle bus to go to stop 8 which was for Angels Landing and Scouts Lookout. I got off the bus and ate my leftover apple from breakfast along a picnic table near the bus stop. When I finished my quick snack, I started walking up the trail to Angels Landing. I wasn't expecting to go far because The West Rim trail to get to Angels Landing is one of the most dangerous trails in any national park in the country. Also Angels Landing is a very high up peak at 5,770 feet (1,760 meters).

I started walking the trail and it was very pretty, I got amazing views of the mountains and I saw a lot of cacti. I kept walking and then I realized how high up I was already. For A split second I actually wondered if I could make it to the top. I kept walking and walking and walking. If there was one word to describe this trail to Angels landing I would use the word "brutal". It was just brutal. towards the end especially as shown in the picture above, the trail was so steep with 21 zig-zags to make it to the top. But once I had made it to the top, all of that hard work had paid of and for 20 minutes I got to enjoy the amazing view at the top of Angels Landing.

It had taken roughly 2.5 hours round-trip to hike Angels Landing and I was exhausted and hungry. I hopped on the shuttle bus and went to bus stop 5 which was Zion Lodge.

When I arrived at Zion Lodge I immediately went to get lunch. I don't remember what I had for lunch there. I just know that it was good. I relaxed for a while until about 4:00.

The final thing I wanted to see at this park was the Emerald Pools. I saw the Upper, Lower, and Middle Emerald Pools. I soon found out that the easiest hike was the Lower Emerald Pools one, so I did that. I looked on the map to find out that the trail to the Lower Emerald Pools and it happened to be right across the street from the Zion Lodge.

The trail to the pools (called the Kayenta trail) was not as easy as I thought it would be. I must've still been worn out from the Angels Landing hike. Anyways, the trail was pretty and it ran along the Virgin River. It took about 20 minutes to get to the Lower Emerald Pools and they weren't as I envisioned them to be. I was disappointed, but it was fine. I walked another 20 minutes back and hopped on the shuttle to take be back to the first shuttle bus stop: The Visitor Center.

When I arrived at the Visitor Center, I went back to the gift shop and got a Black T-shirt that says Zion National Park on it. I hopped back into the car and headed off to my next destination!

Part 2 is coming out soon. Read to find out more about the rest of my trip. Bye! I hope you enjoyed part 1!