Dave and Jan met Carl and Nancy Laney over fifty years ago when Dave and Carl were students together at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. Carl went on, after earning his M.Div. degree at Western, to earn a Th.M. degree there and then a Th.D. degree at Dallas Seminary. He has spent the past 40 years teaching Bible and other subjects at Western, and has authored numerous books (15-20?) and led many study tours to Israel. Though the Balsleys and the Laneys have lived in different states since seminary days, they have kept in touch over the years. So it was a pleasure to have the Laneys pay a visit to Cedar City for a few days of great sight seeing and hiking and fellowship in the Lord.

Bryce Canyon National Park is one of Utah’s national treasures only around 70 miles from Cedar City. Filled with multi-colored “hoodos,” the park stretches for many miles and includes many vista points for those who wish to view it from the top – but it also includes numerous trails for those who want to hike down into the canyon for a closer look.

The following day the drive went north through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument to the Capitol Reef National Park – with great scenery all along the way through many miles of amazing rocks and beautiful forests.

The final full day with the Laneys was spent driving through the amazing rock formations of Zion National Park, then hiking at Kolob Canyon (which is Zion National Park West) – located just 20 miles south of Cedar City.

As you can clearly tell, the Balsleys and Laneys had a great time exploring the beauty of southern Utah – both families deeply grateful for all the evidence of the Lord’s amazing creative genius so evident in the region.

Dave and Jan have enjoyed camping since the beginning of their marriage. They purchased a Western Field 8 by10 foot tent with wedding gift money and camped in it for 33 years – until a horse ripped the top open at a Kampgrounds of America campground at St. Mary’s Lake in Montana’s Glacier National Park. For the next ten or fifteen years they enjoyed a used tent trailer they purchased in Pomona, California. In their senior years they have purchased a “camping trailer” – a Dutchmen Kodiak Cub to make “camping” more comfortable.

Snow Canyon State Park would probably be a national park in any other state than the state of Utah. Located in the red-rock country near St George, in southwestern Utah, this park enjoys mild winter weather and seldom receives snow. The park was named after early Utah leaders Lorenzo and Erastus Snow.

Dave and Jan have always enjoyed exploring the Lord’s creativity on their camping outings – and exploring Snow Canyon just 45 miles south of Cedar City near St. George, Utah was another great example of the Lord’s creativity!

Jeremiah 10:12 (NASB)
¹² It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.