The road to Bryce Canyon from Cedar City travels through Red Canyon – a drive Dave and Jan have taken quite a few times since moving to Utah. But, except for stops a time or two at the visitors’ center at Red Canyon and a short hike with Andrew and Alissa’s family two years back in nearby Losee Canyon, they had never camped at Red Canyon or explored the trails in the area. So this year was the time to learn more – and it was time well spent!

Views from the campground itself already provided very beautiful scenes of the area’s abundant red rocks!

And an evening hike from the campground after setting up and eating dinner was already a scenic and satisfying experience.

The next day was an opportunity to take the Thunder Mountain trail up into the heights above the Red Canyon. After hiking around a mile there was a sign marking the entrance to Red Rock Canyon with some spectacular red rock “hoodos.”

The voices Dave and Jan began hearing as they approached the steep ascent to the heights turned out to be the voices of cyclists on their mountain bikes. It was amazing to see cyclists climbing and descending such steep trails, but there were quite a few of them – including some women who were on multi-day treks through the region. And there were horse riders on the trail as well!

The day was a beautiful day for the hike, and the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful in almost every direction.

Jan found a comfortable place to relax following lunch at an elevation somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,500 to 9,000 ft. where panoramic views made the effort to climb to the top of the ridge well worth while – with many miles of additional trails to travel for the really ambitious (including the mountain bicyclists and the horse riders).

Because there are many additional trails to explore in the Red Canyon area, Dave and Jan expect to return for more discoveries in months and years ahead – if the Lord’s return doesn’t bring this troubled age to an end, as many believe it well might. If the Lord’s return does interrupt future adventures in Red Canyon we have been assured that there are even better adventures ahead for those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior! Dave and Jan hope that includes you!

Since their son Stephen and his family have moved to Cedar City, Dave and Jan have many contacts with their grandchildren in Stephen and Meagan’s family, Ryan and Erin. So here are a few pictures of shared activities with Ryan (8) and Erin (5).

A visit to Cedar City’s nearby Frontier Homestead State Park Museum exposed Ryan and Erin to several aspects of Cedar City’s earlier years and experiences. Ryan, for example, sampled frontier clothing – including formal wear and jail clothing.

He also tried on the infamous dunce cap which unruly students had to wear, and joined his sister Erin in the traces of an early form of hauling equipment.

Ryan and Erin tried their hand at panning for gold (which yielded only “fool’s gold”), and Erin tried her hand at roping a steer (which very patiently stood still for the experience).

A fall stop in nearby Parawan (15 miles north of Cedar City) featured a few minutes on the playground.

Driving further to the city of Beaver, the family enjoyed a picnic meal of barbecued hot dogs along Beaver Creek at the beautiful Ponderosa Picnic area provided by the Forest Service. No pictures of the picnic, but it was hard to resist pictures of the beauty of the fall forest along the stream which Ryan explored.

Returning to Beaver City the family enjoyed a stop at a much larger playground for a few minutes, before paying a visit to one of the city’s best known businesses, The Creamery, for some good ice cream.

Dave and Jan are very grateful for the Lord’s provision of family to enjoy. They always look forward to visits from time to time with their son-in-law Andrew and daughter Alissa and their four boys who live in South Dakota, but it is also a blessing to have some family members living nearby in Cedar City.