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.

One of the things Dave and Jan enjoy most about their place in Cedar City is its proximity to so many recreational options. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas the mild weather permitted a round-trip hike from their house up Cedar Canyon and Red Hollow and back home through Thor’s Hideout and Steven’s Canyon.

Red Hollow is a steep climb to a “saddle” which leads into the Thor’s Hideout trail system.

Looking back down the Red Hollow trail gives a clearer perspective of the elevation gain involved.

There are three trail options heading down from the “saddle” through Thor’s Hideout – so named because the terrain offers many places where Thor (the Southern Utah University mascot) could hide himself.

At the end of the Thor’s Hideout trail Cedar City reappears through the rocks in the valley below.

Dave and Jan enjoy the fact that they can take a three or four mile hike through beautiful scenery from their front door without bothering to start up a car. The Lord’s creative genius is all around them!

Winter weather in Cedar City has been quite comfortable in the early weeks of the 2024 winter season. The first measurable snow occurred the day after Thanksgiving (2023), and the next one came soon after Christmas, so there have been seasonably cool nights, but even cool daytime temperatures have often been warmed by bright sunshine, so Dave and Jan have enjoyed pleasant walks (even hikes) and, for Dave, nice bike rides. Because their son Stephen and daughter-in-law returned to their jobs the day after New Year’s Day, but Ryan and Erin didn’t return to school until the following day, January 2 was a good day to enjoy a hike up Cedar Canyon – with even a picnic lunch to enjoy.

 

Because the bike/walking path passed by three city parks on the way, Ryan and Erin enjoyed some fun on park playground equipment to add interest to the day’s activities from their perspective.

When more snow fell later in January it was time for some sledding and skiing, and the fun was not restricted to the grandchildren. Kathleen, a fun-loving neighbor, joined in the fun – adding her sled collection to the sled Ryan and Erin brought for use on the Cedar Ridge Golf Course which is just across the street from Dave and Jan’s house (and just over the fence from Kathleen’s).

The golf course provides some very nice and quite lengthy slopes which are ideal for sledding (and skiing) and some excellent sights to enjoy as well, because the course winds its way around some beautiful scenery – and there seem to be very few people who are aware of the great opportunity the golf course provides for fun in the snow without competition from crowded conditions in other locations.

Dave and Jan (and family and friends) are enjoying the beauty and the recreational opportunities of all four seasons in the Cedar City area. And they recognize that the snow of the winter season provides not only refreshing beauty, but the Lord’s ingenious way of storing up the water we all depend upon for distribution throughout the rest of the year. And for those who would like to have a closer look at the amazing structure which the Lord has built into every snowflake, check out the Illustra Media video at thejohn1010project.com/video/jewels-of-winter/.

Though snow has fallen in Cedar City in mid-January, and riding is a little more challenging as a result, Dave has enjoyed many rides on his road bike and mountain bike over the months – including a pleasant fall ride around town on bike trails and roads (where there are no bike trails). He didn’t even have to leave his neighborhood to begin enjoying fall colors.

The paved bike trail passes near Dave and Jan’s neighborhood along beautiful Coal Creek.

From the Coal Creek Trail, the ride up the Cedar Canyon portion of the bike trail continues beside Coal Creek for around a mile and a half with some beautiful views of the creek and surrounding red rocks.

Back on the southern extension of the Coal Creek Trail, the East Bench Trail climbs fairly steeply to its high point and then levels off after a drop in elevation toward the southern part of Cedar City.

Crossing under the I-15 freeway, heading west, the bike trail becomes the Cross Hollow Trail.

A newly added eighth of a mile trail turns north along what Dave describes as the west hills – where there are miles of dirt roads to be explored by bicycle or on foot (as Dave and Jan did recently).

Riding north, then east on public roadways takes the rider back to the northwestern part of the Coal Creek Trail and back into Dave and Jan’s neighborhood with more fall colors to enjoy on the way.

Of course, with the arrival of winter the scenery has changed quite a bit – but that is the way the Lord said it was going to be, and there are a variety of enjoyments in each of the four seasons.

Genesis 8:22 (NASB)
²²  “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”

Dave and Jan have visited Snow Canyon, just northwest of St. George, on several occasions – finding more of interest with each visit. During another visit from their former neighbor in Brea, California (Pattie) near the end of October, they returned again to the canyon to enjoy more of the scenery which is there to be enjoyed.

The north end of the canyon includes quite a variety of geological formations. The red rocks which are common in southwestern Utah are very evident throughout Snow Canyon, but as the terrain behind Pattie in the picture above illustrates, red rocks are also accompanied (and even intermixed) with large formations of white rocks as well.

And very prominent in the northern part of the canyon are also large beds of black lava, and lava caves.

A small flower hung tenaciously to a lava cave, with a healthy display of Cholla cactus not far away.

Farther south in the canyon high red rock walls were dotted with white specks – rock climbers testing their skills – and maybe risking their lives in view of the slick surfaces and heights they were navigating.

A short hike into Jenny Canyon, where Dave and Jan went with their daughter-in-law, Meagan, and their two grandkids (Ryan and Erin) a few weeks earlier, allowed Pattie also to enjoy the visit to the slot canyon so named.

A longer walk into Johnson Canyon near the south end of the state park was another scenic treat.

Fellow-hikers alerted us to an impressive red rock arch which would have been easy to miss because of the way it blended in with the red rocks around it and behind it.

It wasn’t hard to determine where the trail ended because Johnson Canyon is a box canyon with an impressive collection of high rock walls. It was a pleasant day to explore and enjoy more of Snow Canyon – where snow is probably seldom seen, because the canyon was named after an early settler by that name. Enjoying a personal relationship with the Lord who created the earth, and then refashioned it at the time of the flood of Noah’s day, makes a hike in Southwest Utah another worship experience. As a member of our Sunday School class likes to say these days – “Praise Yahweh!”

There are many people who drive through Red Canyon on U.S. Scenic Highway 12 on their way to beautiful Bryce Canyon. Dave and Jan did it a number of times before stopping to camp at the nearby Red Canyon Forest Service campground. An evening hike up the Buckskin trail, followed the next day by a hike on the Thunder Mountain Trail and the Red Canyon Trail made it evident that Red Canyon deserves far more than a drive through! But the return to Red Canyon for another camping experience provided some excellent hiking across the highway near the Visitor Center and the nearby Cassidy Trail the third full week of September 2023.

The Red Canyon Visitor Center is not open during much of the year. Dave and Jan got in on one of its last days for the season, but the best part of the Visitor Center is the trail system which leaves from the center parking lot. A Thursday evening walk on the Birdseye Trail provided some beautiful views of the varied rock formations of Red Canyon.

A hike on Friday from the Cassidy Trailhead provided views of the nice variety in red rock country.

Taking the Rich Trail which diverged from the Cassidy Trail led up to ledge views back into Red Canyon.

The trail leads from Cassidy to the Rich Trail to the Ledge Trail to the scenic overlook at Braydon Point.

Color Country forests include many examples of the artistic woodwork which anchors trees to the soil.

Another visit to the trails west of the Visitor Center occurred on the way home on Saturday morning.

Red Canyon was Dave and Jan’s last camping outing for the 2022-2023 season. The camping trailer has been winterized (to prevent frozen pipes in months ahead), and the first snows have fallen on the mountains above Cedar City so, though there are still pleasant hikes closer to home, it probably won’t be long before there are winter sports to enjoy. But it has been another enjoyable camping season around the area in southwest Utah and into north central Nevada. Dave and Jan are very grateful for such nice scenery to enjoy – product of the amazing creativity of the Lord and creator of it all!

The Great Basin of the North American Continent is the largest area of water drainage on the continent for which there are no outlets to the ocean. It covers almost all of Nevada, large portions of Utah, and spills over into California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming and Baja California – stretching from the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California to the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. The national park is in a remote high desert region in central Nevada not far from the Utah border and is one of the less crowded national parks in the nation. But Dave and Jan enjoyed a camping outing in the area in early September.

Surprised to find the campgrounds pretty full, a private RV campground in the small town of Baker, Nevada, a short drive from the park, became home away from home for two nights.

An evening drive up the steep road to the Wheeler Peak Forest Service campground above 10,000 feet in elevation provided views of changing forests from the sage brush and juniper trees at Baker to the tall pines at the campground, along with views along the way of the top of Wheeler Peak (over 11,000 feet) above and the great basin floor far below (at around 5,000 feet). Conditions were not very good for photography, but a photo from Friday’s hike at an elevation of around 7,500 provides some idea of the views to be seen of the basin.

After a stop at the Lehman Caves Visitor center to make reservations for a cave tour later in the day, Dave and Jan enjoyed a hike up the beautiful Lehman Creek Trail.

The sights and sounds of a rushing stream along the trail is always pleasant to see and hear.

And there were lots of interesting plants and flowers to enjoy along the forest trail as well.

The forest eventually opened into a meadow for some views of Wheeler Peak and its surroundings.

Following the hike (and picnic) it was time to return to the visitor center for a mid-afternoon cave tour.

The drive to Great Basin National Park from Cedar City takes only two and a half or three hours – even pulling a camping trailer (which slows things down a little). But it was an interesting visit with plenty of variety to enjoy. Dave and Jan are always fascinated to see the ingenuity of our earth’s Creator – and there are many, many examples to see without traveling far from Southwest Utah.