The Cliffs | Teen Ink

The Cliffs

May 31, 2024
By GunnarM SILVER, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
GunnarM SILVER, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
7 articles 0 photos 0 comments

I hate vacations, at least that is what I thought. When we get breaks from school I just want to sit at home and play video games, or go outside with my friends. Why in the world would I want to go for long car drives with all of my siblings? Why would I want to spend a week straight with them? Going into this vacation I had this thought, I knew I would rather be at home or with friends. Why would I want to be in a different place where it is hot and humid? Where the area is unfamiliar. Where my bed was over 1,000 miles away, just thinking this makes me mad, but I didn’t have a choice. It was time to suck it up because the plane had just landed and now I have to “go have fun.” 
A week before this vacation I was happy for summer break. I was enjoying my free time and was having a blast. My parents came into my messy room and told me we were going to Nevada. I was upset and just wanted to enjoy my summer break and they were not letting me. Nevada didn’t seem very fun, because when I think of it all I can think of was gambling. I can’t gamble because I'm not of age. The trip was coming up and I couldn’t convince my parents to let me stay home. 
Getting on the plane seems like it would be the best part. I had only been on a plane one other time and I don’t remember it because it was over 7 years ago. This plane trip didn’t seem that fun though. I was on the plane and I was bored. I was annoyed that my parents made me go on this trip. The plane was landing and if that was the best part then this would be a long vacation.
Getting there was already bad. When we left to get our rental car it was already 1 am. We were all really tired and just wanted to sleep. My dad stood in that long line and he was there for nearly 2 hours. We didn’t even end up getting a rental car so we had to take a taxi to the hotel.
We didn’t end up getting a rental car for another 3 days on this trip and it threw a wrench into my parents' plans. 
We had to stay at the hotel for an extra day but we all didn’t mind much because it was huge and because what my parents had planned didn’t seem that fun. Before we even entered the hotel we could see the bright flashing lights from the machines. When we entered the hotel, there were tables with cards and bright flashing slots, there were no windows in the entire place, but it was a place to sleep. The next day the vacation didn't look so bad, because we had an extra day exploring the hotel and came across more gambling in a different room. We also got to see a giant buffet that was over $25 per person. We eventually convinced our dad to take us there and after waiting in line for 30 minutes, we were in. It was about 10:00 and they had all of their breakfast out. There were giant stacks of pancakes and there was a weird spot in the middle where they made omelets right in front of you. They were also halfway into making/preparing lunch so there was some of that too. We ate and we ate until our stomachs couldn't hold anymore. Then once we got in our car we went hiking. 
I thought it was gonna be awful and to add on top the first hiking spot was over 45 minutes away. Walking up and down a hill for over three hours seemed like it was going to be dreadful. Why would I want to walk just to have fun?  When we got there it was a whole different thing though. We had arrived at Red Rock Canyon. Surprisingly there were lots of red rocks but not too many people. We were all excited, because of all of the rocks we could climb. We got into the canyon and we were having a blast climbing up and down the giant rocks and it was overall awesome. I started thinking maybe this vacation won't be as bad as I thought.
The next place that we went to was Zion National Park. We went to Zion and I was already starting to like this trip because of Red Rock; Zion was different. In Zion, we went hiking but it was a little more traditional hiking. We did find a great trail where we could do a little climbing too. The cliffs and mountains were the best part by far. There were some beautiful white cliffs; We could even see some people on them. The roads were very scary because of how thin they were. We went to a gift shop to see all of the awesome things there. I overall had a blast at Zion.
Nearing the end of this vacation I came to realize I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. The hikes were way better and even though it was rough at the beginning we had a lot of fun. This trip was awesome even with all the setbacks at the beginning when we didn't get our car on time or even the negative attitude. It taught me that even when things are gloomy I can still have a blast. It also taught me that I should not step on unstable rocks. 



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