This past weekend I had a chance to go down to Zion National Park in Utah with 40 guys from my church (Kensington Community Church in Troy, MI.)
It was like a mens retreat with hiking, camping, fellowship, etc. I got to meet a lot of great guys and enjoy the outdoors for a few days.

Zion is located in southwestern Utah and is one of the most impressive national parks in the United States. I’ve been to Zion a few times, but never with a group like this.  On this trip I didn’t take too many photos and instead just enjoyed the scenery and the people I was with.

The rest of our images from the Zion and Bryce region can be found on our website. Here is the direct link:
http://www.arisingimages.com/fineart/00_all/index.html?show=__Utah

Here are a few pictures:
This first one is from Observation Point which is the highest lookout point overlooking the park that you can hike to. Tom Wilson and I hiked up there on Saturday. It was a steep climb that definitely got the heart pumping, but it was well worth it for the views along the way and at the top:

Here is one of the views from the trail up to Observation Point. We got to walk through a really cool slot canyon:

This is just a quick photo showing part of the trails in Zion. The trail on the lower half of the picture is what goes up to Observation Point and the split and then zig zag on the upper half of the photo goes to Hidden Canyon.

This is a pic of our campsite with the moon about to rise over the majestic Watchman peak.

I brought an infrared camera with me and spent some time on Sunday shooting some pics around the valley. This one is down by the river right by the Court of the Patriarchs bus stop:

Here is another one from the same area:

I just wanted to say a quick thanks to the mens group that organized this trip. Planning a trip for 40 guys is no small chore, and they did a fantastic job!!