Big Hike, Big Birthday and Big Sky!

 Getting close to nature on the Emerald Pool Trail.

The deer reached out over our heads along the trail.

 Lower Emerald Trail

 View from the bottom.

View from the top.

Middle Emerald Pool

 Cairns - they just make you smile.

Top

Upper Emerald Pool

    Bottom

 Reflection

When you reach this pool you are in a canyon and it is about 20 degrees cooler, which you really appreciate after making this strenuous hike over boulders and rocks covered with sand.

 An amazing view from the top!

I zoomed in, from the middle of the picture above, so you can see the shuttle buses to get a better perspective on how high we hiked. Yeah, we had a long way to go.

Another great view as we were heading down the trail.

Virgin River through Zion National Park.

This was the hardest hike we did in Zion this year. 

Our family hiked Angel's Landing in Zion five years ago 

which is the longest and highest trail we have done. 

It is listed under the strenuous hikes, elevation change of 1488 ft, 5.4 miles, 4 hours round trip.

Scott's 65th birthday.

Just wanted to wish a little sunshine back into the heart 

of someone who gives it away all year long!

Happy Birthday Scott!

He ate all his favorite foods. 

 Friday night we went to the Star Party at Quail Creek State Park. Local amateur astronomers bring their telescopes, high powered binoculars and set them up for the public to use.

We saw Neptune, Saturn, Mars, Wild Duck Cluster M11, Globular Cluster M55, Nebula Clusters, Double Stars, Swan Nebula M17, Ring Nebula, and the International Space Station. It was a beautiful night with the temperatures around 74 degrees. 

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the Sun. Enjoy the trip!