After three nights at the Hampton Inn in Kanab (which is an excellent dog-friendly option by the way - economical, clean, free hot breakfasts that fueled us for a full day of adventures), we treated ourselves to a night of glamping under the stars at Under Canvas Zion. We stayed in their Stargazer safari tent perched high on a hill, giving us this stunning, unobstructed view into Zion National Park right from our very own deck. Hoku wasted no time making himself and his coyote friend comfortable on the King bed, which boasts a Casper mattress and a viewing window for stargazing at night. There was also a wood burning stove and all the firewood we could burn to keep us warm as the temperatures dipped. "This is so not camping," David laughed as he propped his legs up on the deck chair and took in the dramatic, red mountains surrounding us. "But I'll admit...it's pretty sweet."
The harshest glamping critic I know had finally been swayed.
As sunset approached, we walked down to the lobby tent to grab some dinner at the onsite restaurant, Embers. Hoku snuggled up in his blanket under our table as we chatted with two other guests from Oregon who told us how they were woken up the night before by a pack of coyotes howling loudly into the valley. The food, the beer (David tried Utah's very own Polygamy Porter), the company, the views (again with views, I know), the super friendly staff at Under Canvas, it all made for one heck of a good evening.
After dinner, the mountains began glowing a bright, fiery orange and we headed back to our tent. We didn't want to miss a single minute of magic hour light from the deck. Southwest sunsets are just something else entirely. While some clouds lingered into the evening, we were thankful that it had cleared just enough for us to enjoy a sky full of stars and a faint glow of light that was the Milky Way. It was a chilly evening, but because we had our viewing window, we could take the stargazing party inside and stay warm and toasty. So under the stars, we all fell asleep to the crackling of logs in the wood burning stove. It was the best night's rest we had the entire trip.
Along our journey through the Southwest, we had seen our fair share of incredible sights. And just when we thought we had seen it all, we unzipped our tent the next morning to find THIS. No words.
Hoku slept in and missed the amazing sunrise over Zion, but I think he much rather preferred snuggling with his coyote and having breakfast in bed. The kid sure knows how to vacation in comfort.
After Hoku finally decided to get out of bed, we took a quick stroll down to the lobby tent and helped ourselves to coffee from the complimentary 24/7 beverage bar that included an assortment of teas and hot chocolate. We took our coffees back to the tent and soaked in the Zion morning sky one last time before packing up our things for the long drive back to LA. I can't think of a more perfect way for us to have concluded our short but sweet journey through the Southwest than right there on that deck, with a hot coffee in hand and a warm pup on my lap.
Thanks for an amazing time, Under Canvas! We can't wait to come back again.
