Day #1 of our Family Vacation!

It was the night before our vacation when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  Well, except me and my husband who were scrambling to figure out how to pack our minivan up with all our stuff!  So what do you do when you can’t find enough room?  You buy a storage container for the roof of your car!

Yes, right before our trip my husband makes an executive decision to buy a roof rack storage thingy.  You know those things that scream “we are SO cool”.  Thankfully for him, I am a bargain shopper and found one with good reviews and a nice price tag.  Our trip was delayed a few hours (Sears opens up at 8am and we were hoping to leave at 4am) but we got the extra storage and were able to take all the kids and not leave one behind like our second option.

Here is the storage container we picked up (I bought online with a 5% off coupon and pick up at store option):

http://www.sears.com/x-cargo-sport-20-car-top-carrier/p-02872020000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

After we got on the road we drove and drove and drove.  We did a little pit stop outside of Las Vegas for gas and lunch and then kept driving.  After a few more hours we made it to Zion.  Thanks to some portable DVD players I picked up on a Black Friday deal a few years back from Walmart and some cheap headphones, the kids didn’t do too bad.  Even Thing #3 survived in his infant seat with minimal amount of entertainment. 

Welcome to Zion National Park

Our first impression of Zion was how amazing it looked.  The mountains were the coolest red color, I wanted to reach out and touch them to make sure they were real and not some odd dream.  To get to our campground we had to drive all the way through Zion which meant driving through a one mile long tunnel.  That was awesome! 

Inside the tunnel

When we arrived to our campsite it exceeded my expectations.  I had found the Ponderosa online when searching for a place to stay.  They have cabins (both large and small) and even covered wagons you can stay in.  Sadly, everything was sold out, even the dry camping.  However, after making a phone call and talking with the staff they assured us that they never turn away campers and if we show up they will find us a spot; which they did.  They actually drove around and found a spot that would be perfect for two families (we met up with our amazing friends and their kids).  

Welcome to the Ponderosa!

The kids right away were excited about all of the amenities which included 18 holes of miniature golf, two pools with slides, and even a zip line.  Mommy was excited that they had warm showers (for free) and clean bathrooms.  The cost to stay was $10.50 per night/per person and the little kids (3 and under) are free.  The costs included being able to use the pool, take showers, and use the restroom.  They also had nightly activities that were free or a very minimal price.  You could pay an additional fee to do other things like rent ATV’s, zip line, and rock climb.

The 18 hole miniture golf course

The pools

Our first evening there we set up camp (you would think that my 6 months in Girl Scouts as a small child would come in handy for this type of situation, but surprisingly it didn’t) and just sat down and enjoyed not being inside a car.  Even with the screaming of the kids, the dirt on the ground, and the idea of not having any makeup for a week… I was still excited to start our vacation!  We were an All American Family doing an American camping vacation… kind of like the Griswold’s except Grandma wasn’t on our roof (we had a roof storage bin, remember) and our kids remained the same (too bad, I was really hoping in the morning I would wake up to new ones who listened).

Tomorrow: Day 2- Visiting Zion & Camp Food

Information about the Zion Ponderosa:
http://www.zionponderosa.com/index.htm

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