Delicious birthday lunch prepared by Jen: quinoa salad with roasted red onions, sweet potatoes and kale. YUM!

It's our third time visiting Zion National Park and honestly, we thought we had seen everything there was to see. Then, we came across that link about Hidden Canyon and decided it would be the perfect birthday hike. I'm so glad we did because it was nothing short of breathtaking! It starts with a long climb up (the same one as the Observation Point hike we did last year) and veers right. There is a pretty exposed section of switchbacks with chains (where some people turn around) and then it's the end of the trail, but you can enter the canyon and scramble your way in as far as you feel comfortable. We left very early to beat the crowd and we rewarded by having the trail and canyon almost to ourselves!

On our way back, we decided to hike up to the canyon on the Observation Point trail since it is so spectacular. We had lunch in the sun just outside that canyon and the sun felt so amazing on our skin.

That night, my amazing friends had prepared a surprise dinner potluck. The kids worked hard to help prepare it and were great at keeping it a secret. The next day, we were all parting ways for a few weeks, or so I thought... but they had another surprise in store (next post!).