Hiking in Southern Utah

Don't let the happy face fool you, hiking is not a favorite activity of nine year old girls, or
at least not my nine year old daughter. Or my nine year old son fifteen years ago for that matter. An uncanny sense of deja vu was setting in with full force.
The above photo was on day one of our Southern Utah adventure. Nicole was able to be coaxed out of the car for a couple of photo opps, but otherwise preferred to sit in the car and play her DS. Go figure. It was kind of chilly (43 degrees at the summit, where there was still snow...) so at least that was a reasonable excuse to stay in the car.
She was hoping the same would hold true for day two (yesterday) when we went to Zion. No way. We did end up hiking (a word she would be happy to omit from her vocabulary) about five plus miles and saw incredible vistas, apparently lost on her.
Oh, but back to the deja vu. When Matt, (her red-headed brother of whom she truly is a clone) was about the same age we went to the Grand Canyon with a friend, and he was impossible. Whining, moaning, almost over the edge the entire time, the beauty also lost on him at the time. The ironic thing is that he now loves the wilderness, hiking, rafting, snowboarding and the beauty of nature.
But Nicole really was a trooper, hanging in there and not complaining to the extent anticipated.
No such luck this morning. The muttering about, "we're not hiking" started first thing, even before "good morning".
I do take solace in the fact that as parents we are not alone in this experience of unhappy campers who don't like to hike. Yesterday at Zion, the scenario played out over and over again with kids of all ages from tiny tots to teens. Sad faces, (parents and children) bedraggled bodies, and dragging feet, some kids being carried, many others wishing they were being carried and others lagging ten paces behind with incredibly sour pusses.
So today we are off to Bryce Canyon, where I have a feeling I am going to experience more deja vu. But at least now Matt and I can laugh together about it. Unfortunately it will still be several years before Nicole and I will reach that point.