Dave and Jan’s camping season for 2026 got off to a challenging start. They chose a campground not far from Cedar City at a county park known as Three Peaks. Setting up to camp, the trailer moved unexpectedly so that its tow hitch dropped to the ground. Getting it leveled was a little challenging, but after a good dinner it was time for a pleasant hike and a good night of rest – though the generator wasn’t providing a reliable source of electricity during a cool night, so the camping experience was cut short.

The second camping outing was a free “dispersed” camping experience when they returned to stay at Webster Flat (sixteen miles up highway 14 east of Cedar City). The generator proved deficient again but, because the car can be reattached to provide electricity, camping continued.

An evening walk to Deer Haven campground (not yet open for the season) was pleasant, and several deer were spotted as we jumped the fence and walked around the empty campground, returning to our “dispersed” camping site at Webster Flat through a long grassy meadow.

The next day was our day for a longer hike somewhere in the area. Driving further up highway 14 to the turn-off to Cedar Breaks (above 10,000 feet in elevation) lead to closed trails because the snow had not yet cleared sufficiently for the planned hike to Alpine Pond. So heading back down highway 14 led to a narrow dirt road and a trailhead into the Ashdown Gorge area.

Dave and Jan chose to take their hike up Blowhard Trail – a popular trail for extreme cyclists who are driven to the top of the Markagunt Plateau for a very exciting ride down a scenic route. Because it was too early in the season for cyclists to ride down from the top there was no need to listen carefully for cyclists racing down the trail.

The trail ascended fairly steeply through beautiful forests of spruce and pine and aspen trees with grassy patches throughout.

Before too long we were beginning to see patches of the red rock cliffs characteristic of the area to the north and the south.

The view continued to open up to the north revealing more of the red cliffs of Cedar Breaks National Monument. In this photo the mountain peak in view is that of Brian Head (over 11,000 feet in elevation) just above the popular Brian Head Ski Resort.

Back at our Webster Flat camping spot we enjoyed some rest, a meal, and another evening walk through beautiful forests.

Dave and Jan are very grateful to the Lord for the ability to continue to enjoy the amazing beauty of the things He has created for their discovery, and for the strength and resources to do what they do well into their senior years. With the author of Psalm 146 we say “I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being” (Psalm 146:2).