From Bryce we had the short hop to Zion, described by some as the closest thing to heaven on earth, and in my humble opinion they were not wrong.

With its towering red, canyon walls, swirling high into the sky like like rippled ice cream it would be hard to beat (but there is still Yosemite to come). Our pitch for the night was right next to the virgin river, where the kids played a slightly feral version of swallows and amazons, where they laid claim to small islands in the river, defending them by throwing water, sand and on occasions even stones at each other. No need to drag the kids on a sunset walk tonight it is right on our doorstep, looming above us is the mighty Watchman.

Next to the strangest walk we have ever taken the kids on. A pretty walk up a riverside (unfortunately with hundreds of other keen tourists), heading deeper into the canyon, and then into the river to wade a further mile or four, we clearly did not intend to complete the full eight mile round trip.

The first thing Joe asked as the river quickly reached above his belly button was whether he would need to swim! We then spent the next two hours on Joe’s fantasy adventure up the river, dodging “rapid monsters”, that were described in minute detail, finding caves, secret sky gardens and importantly stretches of dry land.

Our next day starts early, off to meet our guides Rich and John for a family canyoning adventure. After the Grand Canyon I am not so convinced Mae is going to brave up, but I am wrong. We spend the next four hours, climbing up over “obstacles” known to most as rock faces, and squeezing (a technical term I am told) through gaps that barely look big enough for Joe, to then descending the canyon via a 45ft abseil, a bit more squeezing, or in my case getting stuck and eventually just dropping to the ground when gravity finally took over, a bit of a bum shuffle and another squeeze / fall and a final abseil. Whilst Joe did a tandem, abseil the rest of us braved it solo.