Monthly Archives: May 2024

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Salt Lake City Visit

Dave and Jan have lived in Utah for four years as of June, 2024, but they had never visited Salt Lake City during that time until their daughter, Alissa, traveled from South Dakota to take some classes and participate in some evaluations in connection with her pursuit of a degree as a mid-wife. She had a Tuesday afternoon/evening and Wednesday morning free, so Dave and Jan went to Salt Lake City to spend her free time with her. They met for lunch at an In-N-Out restaurant, because they each enjoy In-N-Out meals, and they are not available in Huron, South Dakota. Because Dave took a wrong freeway entrance, Alissa was pretty much finished with lunch by the time their meeting took place, but it was good to connect. Next was a very enjoyable hike at a Foothill Natural Area north-east of the city.

There were lots of spring flowers to enjoy along the trails – being enjoyed as well by many others.

And the beautiful setting provided the distinct impression that Salt Lake City is surrounded by mountains!

The hike was followed by a tasty dinner at a Sizzler Steakhouse – another restaurant not found in Huron in South Dakota. Following breakfast on Wednesday morning Alissa led the way to the University of Utah’s Red Butte Garden where the arboretum’s large collection of spring flowers was on full display.

The arboretum’s paved walkways wound through many beautiful displays of flowers and other scenery.

The pleasant arboretum tour was followed by an enjoyable lunch at a nearby Corner Market – after which Alissa returned to her study schedule and Dave and Jan drove back to Cedar City. Dave and Jan are very blessed to enjoy occasional visits with Alissa and family – in spite of the distances involved. And they enjoy having Stephen and family living nearby in Cedar City. As the psalmist expressed it in Psalm 127:3, “Behold, children are a gift from the LORD.”

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So Many Red Rocks

Dave and Jan hosted their grandson Ryan one week-end in March while his parents were celebrating their anniversary and his sister was staying with friends. They decided, on Saturday morning to take a hike in the canyon leading to Yankee Meadow, but discovered that the road was still buried in snow. So they back-tracked a few miles to the Megawatt trail system just south of Parawan to hike and picnic in an area they had not explored before.

The name probably comes from nearby power lines which pass through the park where Parawan also has a disk-golf course, but the characteristic red rocks of color country were a very prominent feature.

Ryan, who recently turned 10, has always shown an affinity for climbing rocks like the ones here.

Though red rocks were prominent in the area, there were also some impressive black rock features to be seen below the horizon from parts of the trail Dave, Jan and Ryan were hiking.

Because there were still several hours of afternoon light left after their hike on the trails in the hills south of Parawan, the family returned to Cedar City where there are some significant and interesting rock formations just east of Dave and Jan’s house at an area called Thunderbird Gardens, named in honor of the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University. The “gardens” are the site of several interesting trailheads into the hills surrounding the parking lot. Ryan enjoyed exploring and climbing on the rocks before engaging his grandparents in a game of “hide and seek” among the rocks which are so prominent in the area.

As you can tell, Dave and Jan had a fun afternoon with Ryan. And congratulations to Stephen and Meagan as they celebrated their twelfth anniversary with a trip to the Salt Lake area where they enjoyed spending some time with friends from their church family in Cedar City who recently moved north.