St. George Getaway

My sisters, Mom and I tend to be a little spontaneous. Every once in a while we get a little stir crazy and run away somewhere for an infamous "Girls Trip." We've been everywhere from Twin Falls, Evanston, to Seattle! They are my very favorite trips of my whole life. No plans, no rules, and my very favorite girls on the planet! We blast the music, and belt out our favorite songs with the sunroof down all the way to our random destination we choose!
DAY ONE:

This year, we decided to run away to St. George. We packed up our swim gear, sun dresses, snacks and flip flops and were on our way. We got to about Mona, and came to a screeching halt on the freeway. There were ambulances, fire trucks, and cop cars lined up the sides of the road. And then a life flight helicopter, and a news helicopter landed in the middle of the backed up freeway. It was an awful accident. There was a minivan involved and it was crushed like a ball of tin foil. We never found out if the family was ok, but it didn't look good.... We were parked on the freeway for about an hour and a half. Everyone was walking around out of their cars, talking to each other and trying to get a peak at the accident. Finally, it all got cleaned up and we were back on the road.

(Libbie and I standing on the side of the freeway checking out the accident)

We got to St. George around 10 pm, but it was still 95 degrees! So we through our bags into our hotel room, and jumped in the pool! It was so fun!

DAY TWO:

The next day, we woke up and headed into town. We went shopping at some fun souvenir shops, and I got a cool statue of the "Dancing Man" petroglyph. Annie got a shirt that was dyed red with the famous southern Utah red dirt! And Libbie collects spoons from everywhere she goes, and got an awesome Zions one to add to her collection.

After shopping, we headed over to the Zions Imax Theatre. We got to see an Imax movie about the spirit of Zions Canyon, it was amazing. They talked a lot about the native Americans beliefs about Zions being the center of the earth, and where spirits come from earth to heaven. If you are ever down in Zions, I would definitely recommend seeing the Imax movie!

Right next to the theatre was a David Pettit photography gallery. So, of course, I had to check it out. David Pettit is a Utah Photographer, who ONLY uses film. No photoshop, no editing. Just straight up, old school talent. His work is incredible. We spent forever just oogling over his art.
After a long day of shopping and sight-seeing around town, it was time for some grub! We ate at a diner called Wild Willey's, and it was soooooo yummy! It was a bbq place, so we all got all sorts of bbq'd meat and fries and home made sodas. And to top it all off, Zions famous Bumble Berry milkshakes. It was a perfect afternoon.
After another quick dip in the pool, we got all dolled up and headed for my favorite part of the entire trip.... We got to go to Tuacahn, and see the traveling Broadway play of The Little Mermaid!!! Tuacahn theatre is incredible by itself! The theatre is built outside, into a red rock canyon. There's a river that runs through the back of the theatre that they let FLOOD the stage so the entire play looked like it was underwater! They had these giant water sheets that they would project things onto, and everyone was on heelies so they looked like they were swimming. Now, I am a total sucker for a good play. But this was by far, (besides seeing Wicked on Broadway) the most amazing play I've ever seen! Everything from the costumes, to the singing, to the amazing water effects was spectacular! I just LOVED it!!!

DAY THREE:
The next day we woke up early and drove to Zions National Park. I haven't been there since I was really little, so I was so excited to get to see it as an adult! Zions has a super slick shuttle system that drops you off at all the major sight-seeing spots and trail heads. So we got off at a few different stops and did some of the hikes! My favorite was seeing the Emerald Pools and waterfalls. It was SUPER hot (108 degrees!) so by the end of our hikes, we were dying! So me Annie decided to jump into the river.... in our clothes. I know, we're nuts. But it was so much fun! And after, it was so hot it only took a few minutes for our clothes to dry again.

 Abraham Peak, Isaac Peak, Mount Moroni and Jacob Peak

Me and Annie after jumping in the river

After a day at the park, we headed back, cleaned up, and went to this fancy restaurant called Anasazi Steakhouse. It was the best restaurant I've ever been too! So, first you pick your meat... My mom and sisters were chicken and just got the steak. I was feeling adventurous so I ordered Ostrich! They bring your meat out seasoned, marinated, and uncooked. Then they present it with this volcanic cooking stone that is heated to 700 degrees! And you cut your meat into little bites, and you get to cook it on your stone! It was so fun, and unique. They had all these different sauces and sides to go with it, and it was all delicious. And, believe it or not, I thought the Ostrich was super yummy! Then, as if that wasn't good enough, they bring out this giant platter of fruit, rice krispies, pretzels, and other goodies, and you get to dip it all in a big pot of chocolate fondue! YUM.

 Ostrich!

After dinner, we headed back to the Tuacahn theatre for play number two, Greece! Greece is one of my families favorite movies, so we sang along and danced like idiots through the whole play. It was so good! They had these old restored cars that they drove all through out the play, and they drove all over the dirt canyon behind the stage for the thunder road race scene! We loved it!

DAY FOUR:
Our last day, we got the car packed up and started for home. We made a quick stop at the St. George temple for Annie. She has a ton of pictures of all these different temples from all different places she's been, so she wanted to add St. George to her collection. We had a quick pit stop at Grandma and Grandpa Kenleys house, and they had some fruit for us to eat, and we got to chat with them for a bit. Then we finally made it back home.
I've got to tell you, I feel like I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such a great relationship with my siblings. I LOVE our girls trips! They are some of my very favorite memories of my whole life. I love you girls!!