This is our 2nd family trip into Zion National Park.  We had a blast last year and couldn’t wait to go again.

She ain’t heavy, she’s my daughter. (2013)

The kids and I tag along for three days as big. brown. mom leads a group of Upward Bound students on a series of hikes.  The students have spent 5 weeks living at Harvey Mudd College, taking college-prep courses in Literature, Chemistry and Math, and participating in non-traditional learning experiences, like this bomb-ass trip.  Many of the rising sophomores from the San Gabriel Valley are camping for the first time. (Bassett, make some noise!)   This trip will convert many of them into lifelong lovers, nay, WORSHIPERS of nature–and that’s just they type of pagan, quasi-religious experience Zion can summon.

onward. outward. upward.

Zion is about 350 miles from greater LA County, basically a straight shot up I-15 N, a familiar route for you degenerate gamblers.  The sojourn zips thru Vegas, skirts into NW Arizona and then delivers you unto Utah’s promised land.  It’s a well travelled route with rest stops, restaurants and restlessness aplenty.

Live Life Elevated

The internets is rife with road trip tips.  To my chagrin, I couldn’t find a site that endorsed mixing Nyquil w/ Kool-Aid.   And most of the suggested games don’t work for both a 2 year-old AND a 4 year-old. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that Joaquin can’t play ‘Eye-Spy,’ it’s that Maya is playing games designed for tweens like, ‘Daddy, why did God make people with bad teeth?’

Alas, music Pandora saved the day. We sang along to dozens of Disney tunes. Then we had a dance party. Yes, it’s possible to execute the Running Man from the driver’s seat.  And then we played some word games with Maya while Joaquin zoned out and texted his homies.

Once we arrived, Angie and Maya met her students for an evening hike up Watchman Trail. Last year, Angie had to carry Maya for a portion of the hike. But this year, Maya was determined to tackle the two-mile hike without assistance.

She did it!

Once the group reached the end of the trail,  the students had an opportunity to reflect    collectively about their summer experiences. They talked about wanting to quit but deciding to persevere. They talked about learning skills and gaining confidence, making friends and gaining independence.  50 high schoolers spillin’ some guts.  They laughed and they cried. And after each of student had a chance to share,  it was Maya’s turn.

It took her a second to gather her thoughts.

“I’m happy that my Mom and Dad are alive.”

And that’s when I had my first spiritual lesson of the trip: if you smile while crying you can drink your own tears and be reborn.