Our Saint George Stay
Finding motivation to write about Saint George has been tough, which speaks volumes. When we were planning our trip, we added Saint George as a cheap stop near some national parks. It did what it was meant to do. Our month spent in Saint George was mostly spent elsewhere.
The first week, I spent in NJ with my family and Sam took a week to relax. After I arrived, we slept there for only four nights before we enjoyed a long weekend in Sedona, Arizona. Then, we spent five nights in the Airbnb before we flew home for Christmas. Eight days later, we came back with enough time to relax and pack up and move to our next location.
Having a cheaper Airbnb allowed us to not feel guilty when we wanted to take other trips during this time period and also helped us pay for those side trips. As we were leaving Saint George, we decided to stop at a cute coffee shop to make the road trip more bearable. We were both overjoyed and sad to walk in and see a trendy spot. While it would have been cool to see more of Saint George, it wasn’t really why we decided to stay there. Had we known there was a cute historic section to explore, I am sure we would have spent more time and money.
Zion National Park
During this time, we did manage to make it to Zion National Park. After reading so much about all of the national parks and seeing Zion continuously be highly ranked, my expectations were high. Don’t get me wrong, Zion is a gorgeous park and definitely worth visiting.
With that being said, I think it is highly ranked because it captures essences of many other parks within one park. If you only had time to see one in your lifetime, I can see why someone may suggest Zion. Now, if you want my recommendation, go anywhere else. Due to its popularity, it has an overcrowding problem. We went on a Wednesday in December when the weather was terrible. The scenic drive was already closed because they hit capacity.
When figuring out which national park to visit, I’d answer the below questions. I wish I had a platform to create a quiz, like the ones we used to fill out in teen magazines:
“Which National Park Should I Visit”.
- Am I visiting a national park to enjoy nature? Y/N
- Would you agree it is best to enjoy nature in the quiet? Y/N
If you said yes to either of these, pick any of the other 62 parks.
- Am I visiting a national park to tell other people I went?
- Am I visiting a national park to have shared experiences with others?
- Am I visiting only one national park in my lifetime?
If you said yes to any of these, Zion National Park is perfect for you.
In all seriousness, Zion National Park was beautiful. While Sam and I were driving around, we saw mountain goats. There is an old tunnel on the side of the mountain that you can drive through. We walked a few minutes onto a trail and felt immersed in nature. There were some “canyons” where you could see the red rocks up close and some points of elevations which had great views.
Challenge
Choose a different path than everyone else. Do research for yourself. If everyone is going there, some of the magic may be stripped away.