Hello, once again, from the Red Rocks of St. George, Utah. This is one of our regular stops each fall (or every other fall) to visit relatives, take care of doctor appointments, and enjoy the area. This time it was rather low key (no side trips to Vegas – but did make it to Mesquite – a little Vegas) with a few trips to the desert -hiking, sightseeing and a bit of geocaching. One of the areas that we have worked on geocaching is just a bit west of St. George and in the Joshua Tree National Landmark (not Joshua Tree National Park). In this area, controlled by the Federal BLM, is a very large piece of Geo Art in the form of a Kokopelli. We worked on it two years ago but only finished the head – so this time we worked on the flute and arms but didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to. Maybe next time.
The Joshua Tree Natural 
With endless sandstone to climb and play on, combined with unique attractions like Boy Scout Cave and Dixie Rock, Pioneer Park is a great destination, found just above the busy-ness of St. George. Many trails wind through the park offering visitors a variety of route options. This area is suitable for hikers of all abilities, but we had to watch our step around those cliff edges, the deep cracks, and the slot canyons.
Trail options at Pioneer Park are limitless. Some of the more popular spots include a hike to the top of Dixie Rock. Dixie Rock, also known as Dixie Sugarloaf, is the iconic large sandstone dome rock on Red Hills Parkway with big white letters that say “DIXIE”. We enjoyed a spectacular view in every direction!
During our visit to Pioneer Park we happened onto one of the local residents from the whiptail lizard family. We disturbed his sun-time.
Boy Scout Cave is found by hiking a well-worn trail with railings on the cliffs above. Kids (and adults) love going inside and exploring the cave, which also provides a welcome break from the sun on a hot day. Of course we checked it out!
After exploring Boy Scout Cave, we took some time to discover the surrounding rocks. There is plenty to see and do just by following the various trails and climbing around on the rocks and through the narrow canyons. A few small but interesting arches are perched high on the rim of the park along the Pioneer Rim Trail.
We headed over to Snow Canyon after exploring Pioneer Park – just to reacquaint ourselves with one of our favorite Utah State Parks.
To delve into a bit of a history lesson, Snow Canyon was created in 1958 and has a long history of human use. Ancestral Puebloans inhabited the region from AD 200-1250, utilizing the canyon for hunting and gathering. Paiute Indians used the canyon from AD 1200 to the mid-19th century. Mormon pioneers discovered Snow Canyon in the 1850s while searching for lost cattle. The canyon has been the site of Hollywood films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Electric Horseman, and Jeremiah Johnson. Originally called Dixie State Park, it was later renamed for Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, prominent pioneering Utah leaders.
Two canyons, West Canyon and Snow Canyon, begin side-by-side at the north end of the park gouging deeply into the sandstone of the Red Mountains, each canyon then winding southward, slowly but surely converging and finally meeting in the middle of the park. Red rock formations add to the beauty of the canyon.
From there Snow Canyon continues southeastward as a single, larger canyon. As you near the park's southern entrance, the canyon ends, its mouth opening out onto what’s called the Santa Clara Bench near the west side of St. George or otherwise known as Ivins, Utah.
A paved two-lane road enters the park from Ivins on the south, winds up the canyon a ways, then climbs up the eastern edge to the bench above Snow Canyon, where the road joins State Route 18. Ancient lava flows spill over the eastern edges of Snow Canyon from above, where the road climbs out of the canyon. Lots of great photo opportunities here!
While we were in Snow Canyon State Park we had one of these little guys put on a show for us. He had a bevy of young ladies he was herding around and decided to keep an eye on us as we walked the trails – just to be sure that we wouldn’t bother his harem.
Linda found an immature Night Heron at one of the local parks – it did not mind having his picture taken – he was focused on movement in the water.
Linda found a couple of Wood Ducks during one of her forays with her sister. These were at a local St. George park.
One of our favorite drives when we are in the St. George area is one that is disliked by many of the locals, as well as our relatives – the Virgin River Gorge - located between St. George, Utah and Mesquite, Nevada - is quite the sight. The Virgin River not only created the Virgin River Gorge but is also responsible for the topography of Zion National Park – just up the road a ways. Interstate 15 twists and turns itself through this canyon which is noted for a couple of interesting things, one is the tricky driving conditions and the other is the fact that it is one of the most expensive parts of the interstate highway system ever constructed. Regardless of all these little tidbits the scenery is gorgeous.
Well, after a month in St. George we ,were off to southern California. The winter RV park we stay at (Fountain of Youth or FOY for short) had some unusual visitors shortly after we arrived called “The Gypsy Time Travelers”. Besides their homemade RV (which was entertainment in itself) he is a blacksmith and she is a master storyteller (with a bit of a Scottish accent). They put on a couple of shows - which had her telling a story with him blacksmithing items behind her. These items would be given out to those who purchased raffle tickets prior to the show (or you could also buy an item after the show). They were rather unique and fun shows.
Now…….
The World According to Snickers
Hi! I’m Snickers – but you probably already know that. My sister, Meggs, is taking this blog off, so it’s all up to me to inform you “people” what’s up in our kitty sphere. Meggs and I am growing up – yes, siree buddy! I’m getting big – close to seven pounds and I’m only eighteen weeks old. But then I am a “Bengal” (the Vet said so too!). Meggs is only a Calico (or Tortoiseshell) – she’s small. I like to jump on her – when I can catch her that is. When I’m not doing that, I work hard on training my people – they need help.
Our people told us that we are in southern California right now at a place called the “Fountain of Youth”. That is really a funny name for a place like this because all the people (and most of their owners – which by the way are dogs! - Ugh!) are really old. Fountain of Youth? Really? Might want to check the water in this place.
Anyway, our people have learned some new words since we adopted them. They are really very talented when you consider the species. They learned the word “no” just recently and repeat it a lot along with “stop”, “get down”, “Damn, that hurts” and “Please let me sleep”. I think Meggs and I got a couple of pretty smart ones, it’s good when you don’t have to spend all your time training them. It is a work in progress though.
Even with all the training we are giving our people, they sometimes get out of hand. Every once in a while when they think the training is too hard they sit on me! I put up with it (they are quite a bit bigger than me) but pay back will be fun. A good and rough kitty tongue in the ear at 1 am should do the trick with a little toothy nip on a soft part will add the exclamation point. By the way, this place called the Fountain of Youth does have some really good sunbeams – for a cat, that makes life very, very good.
“Snickers”
Well as always, we will leave you with a few sunset pics that give us reason to return to this area.
Home is where we park it,
Lee and Linda
