The Cedar City area offers many opportunities for fun family outings – many of which these days are spent primarily with Stephen and Meagan’s children, Ryan (8) and Erin (5), while Stephen and Meagan tend to the business of managing the Top Spot Drive Inn Restaurant and Gas Station. So Dave and Jan enjoyed a recent hike up a wash near their house where there are fossils to be found! Here are two rocks with fossils in them from Jan’s collection.

Ryan and Erin enjoyed success in scouring the wash in search of some fossils of their own.

As a part of the celebration of Cinco de Mayo, Cedar City held an event which included a “slow roll” around several downtown city blocks which were blocked off for the occasion. Dave and Erin and Ryan took it in on their bicycles while Jan walked to keep an eye on Erin.

On another evening, when Meagan was helping with restaurant duties, Dave and Jan took Ryan and Erin to nearby Three Peaks County Recreation Area for a barbecue meal and some hiking on the rocks.

There are many things to see and do in southwestern Utah, and Dave and Jan are looking forward to spending some time with not only their son Stephen’s family, but also their daughter Alissa’s family. As Dr. James Dobson famously observed, nobody ever arrived at the end of their earthly days saying “I wish I had spent more time in the office”! Dave and Jan are grateful for the blessing of their family!

You have probably heard that “the best made plans of mice and men are often going awry.” Well, it wasn’t exactly a case of a “best made plan,” but Dave and Jan decided to go camping at Pine Valley southwest of Cedar City in Utah. When they arrived in Pine Valley they discovered that the Forest Service Campground in the valley was still closed for the winter season (though it was now spring – the second week-end in April). So they drove south and west a few miles to Gunstock State Park. The state park, nestled among beautiful red rocks, appeared to be primarily a park for water sports and fishing, and the campground was under construction (or re-construction, as the case may have been). After checking on some camping options north of St. George (at Silver Reef and the town of Leeds), they ended up at the KOA in the town of Hurricane.

Though the KOA was just to the east of Interstate 15, it was located in a very scenic area. Thursday evening, after dinner, Dave and Jan hiked into a canyon just south of the campground and followed Quail Creek to the reservoir where Quail Creek State Park is located not far from some very scenic cliffs. On Friday morning they crossed under the freeway to Red Cliffs, a very popular destination for hikers. All of the parking at the Forest Service campground and parking lot was filled to capacity, but there is a large dirt parking lot west of I-15 where there was plenty of parking, and a trailhead leading to many of the trails in the Red Cliffs area.

The hike on the White Reef trail was an enjoyable hike to the north toward Silver Reef, once a silver mining town but now a sparsely populated upscale housing community.

The White Reef trail eventually connected with a trail heading back to the south along the Red Cliffs after passing over a small creek which flows southeast through the valley between the White Reef and the Red Cliffs.

A picnic stop at the Forest Service recreation area offered this additional scenic view before completing the hike by returning east along Quail Creek to the dirt parking lot where the hike started.

After their evening dinner Dave and Jan headed back to the Silver Reef area for an additional short hike on a well-used trail with some beautiful vistas of the mountain regions surrounding Silver Reef.

As Solomon wisely observed (Proverbs 16:9), “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” So it was – but Dave and Jan were pleased with the way the Lord’s direction turned out. They’ll plan again for another camping outing to Pine Valley sometime soon – wondering as they do how their plans will compare with the Lord’s direction!