Dave and Jan spent many hours during the summer of 2020, with their move to Utah, developing the landscaping of their property. And they waited for weeks for local vendors to come through on arrangements they had made for a unique piece of furniture as well as fencing and a sprinkler system and the installation of a sod lawn in the back yard. But all their waiting has paid off and they are settled in their house and pleased with the finished product.

The last piece of furniture to arrive was an interesting unit for their “mud room” – the laundry room which is entered from the garage where, during winter months, cold-weather garments can be removed and muddy shoes either removed or cleaned up. The furniture piece was constructed by a vendor in the mountains east of Cedar City, using logs and finished wood from the Quaking Aspen trees which are so common in the area.

Landscaping the back yard first involved working to level the slope by adding tons of fill dirt and top soil and garden soil.

Plans were made for a back lawn using a border of red edging bricks, but the fencing contractor started on his project before the lawn arrived.

The installation of the fence got underway shortly before Dave and Jan traveled to Arizona and California for visits with friends and family and Dave’s participation (on Zoom) in the annual meeting of the UIM board.

When Dave and Jan got back from their trip they were happy to find that  the fencing and the sprinkler system and back lawn had been completed.  So they were able to finish up most of the landscaping they wanted for this year with the addition of a border around the lawn for shrubs and flowers where the sprinkler system will do the watering, the addition of red rock to cover soil which will get muddy in wet weather, and the planting of a number of fruit and shade trees around the border of the back yard.

Since they finished the work they intended to have done until the spring season comes around, with more flowering plants to be added, the Lord has added a few changes of His own – which Dave and Jan find pretty cool!

Quite a bit has changed in Dave and Jan’s lives in the last six months, and they are thankful to the Lord on Thanksgiving Day of the unusual year which 2020 has been for the changes they are enjoying after their return to “high country” following the thirty five years which they spent in Arizona and Southern California.

Dave and Jan enjoyed a visit to Huron, South Dakota where their daughter Alissa, her husband Dr. Andrew Crandall (pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Huron), and their four boys have lived for the past ten years or more. The four grandsons are keeping their parents busy – as young boys do! They are growing normally – all attending the same school (James Valley Christian School).

At ten years of age Levi, the oldest, is showing some interest in sports.  We watched several football games together, and he took his interest to the park where he played catch with a football with his father.

Levi’s younger brother, Elijah (8), was wearing the facial markings of a football player as well, but he was busy playing on playground equipment patterned after a rocket in the city park.

Silas, who had just turned 6, enjoyed playing with a new toy drone (along with his brothers) which he received as a birthday present from his grandparents.

And Ephraim, the youngest of the brothers (4), decided to clarify his vision with the addition of some glasses belonging to Mr. Potato Head!

Among several meals enjoyed with the family was the Sunday evening meal featuring eggs (with cheese) and pancakes which Andrew and Alissa worked together to prepare in the family’s kitchen.

The two-and-a-half day drive each way took Dave and Jan through many miles of interesting scenery – through miles of colorful and interesting rock formations in Utah, over the Rocky Mountains to Denver in Colorado, and through the Sand Hills of northwestern Nebraska.  On the drive home they stopped to view the interesting geology of the Badlands National Park in Southwest South Dakota.  Both the sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles and the herds of long-horned sheep were very interesting to observe.

How nice to have the time and resources and freedom – in spite of the many inconveniences of the Covid-19 Pandemic – to enjoy the blessings of family as well as the amazing beauty and variety of our nation!

Dave and Jan headed east past Bryce Canyon National Park to visit Mossy Cave and Kodachrome Basin State Park. Arriving at Mossy Cave they found the parking lot blocked off because of road work in the area. But there was plenty to see at Kodachrome Basin State Park, so a side trip to Mossy Cave would have kept them from exploring the park as fully as they wished.

Kodachrome Basin is filled with fascinating and colorful geological features.  The red rock walls and cliffs are already beautiful in and of themselves.

And park facilities are well-planned and well-maintained – including restroom facilities (with showers) and picnic and camp grounds.

The half-mile Kodachrome Nature Trail provides excellent views of some of the spectacular scenery in the park.

The park’s most famous geological features, seventy towering sandstone chimneys called Hoodoos, are red and multi-colored rock columns which rise from six to one hundred seventy feet in height above the valley floor or from the sandstone cliffs.

A hike up Angel’s Palace Trail provided expansive views of the basin below, as well as additional Hoodoos.

 A park poster stated that Kodachrome Basin State Park is one of the world’s best locations for spectacular views of the night skies – good reason for a future camping stay at the park with its views of not only fascinating geology on earth but the amazing universe above our planet.  As the psalmist put it (Psalm 8:1):  “O LORD, our Lord,  How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!”

One of the annual celebrations in Cedar City is the Livestock and Heritage Festival which occurs near the end of October. The festival is a celebration of the ranching and farming heritage of the region – marked by a parade through the middle of town on Main Street, followed by a variety of demonstrations and vendors’ booths at the Cross Hollows Event Center. For Dave and Jan this was their first exposure to the festival – beginning for them with a six-block walk to Main Street through beautiful Veterans’ Park.

Patriotism is strong in Cedar City, so it was refreshing to see the arrival of the nation’s flag recognized by salutes and hands over hearts as it passed down the parade route through town.

The city was decorated for the festival with bales of hay, scare crows attached to light poles, and plywood sheep decorated by various businesses around town as a fund-raiser in recognition of the fact that hundreds of sheep would be parading through town toward the end of the parade.

The parade included a number of the mobile housing units which shepherds occupy throughout the warmer months when their flocks are grazing up in the mountains above Cedar City at around 10,000 ft. elevation.

Some musical cowboys shared their musical talents as they sang of thousands of sheep parading through town for the festival, and a group of young people demonstrated their square dancing skills as they passed.

There were many classic cars and tractors in the parade, along with some large farming equipment – including an interesting steam unit which dampens downed hay in a dry climate so it will bale correctly – and baling hay is serious business to support the livestock raised throughout the area.

The arrival of the sheep is always a highlight of the Heritage Festival.

At the Cross Hollows Event Center there were tractor pulls (to see whose tractor could pull an increasing amount of weight the farthest) and draft horse pulls (to see whose team of beautiful and hefty Belgian horses could pull a weighted wagon the fastest.

It was a fun, full day of heritage celebration – one of the many interesting features of the Cedar City area which Dave and Jan are enjoying very much – thankful for the Lord’s leading to their new “Life Elevated” location!

The sign in front of First Baptist Church in Cedar City, where Dave and Jan attend, featured the message not long ago “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans!” So they were planning to go to Gilbert, Arizona so Dave could participate in the annual meeting of the board of directors’ for UIM (United Indian Mission) International. They made plans to visit some special friends in Arizona, Bill and LaVeta Sparks in Prescott and Lawrence and Diana Ray in Vail (southeast of Tucson). Because of the Corona Virus, board and administration members from Canada and Mexico were going to participate via Zoom, but with Zoom also an option for US board and administration members, not many decided to attend in person, so the board format was switched to Zoom only the week before the meeting. With the anticipated Thursday evening dinner and meeting cancelled, and the board meeting via Zoom on Friday, Dave and Jan decided to plan a side trip to Southern California to visit Stephen and family. They took a route they had not traveled before, enjoying many miles of the sights in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument along the way.

In California, following the board meeting on Friday, it was time to pay a visit to the Burbank Balsleys.  Ryan and Erin were perhaps as happy to see Lola as they were to see Grandpa Dave and Grandma Jan.

At six years of age and first grade in his studies (which his mother, Meagan, is supervising at home on the computer), Ryan is getting to be quite a bright young man.

A highlight of Dave and Jan’s visit was the launching of Ryan’s rocket in a nearby park where the family enjoyed three successful launches, taking the rocket around three hundred feet into the air.

Erin enjoyed the opportunity to take Lola for a walk in the park.

Rocket launching was followed by lunch from El Pollo Loco.

With Halloween approaching the grandkids enjoyed carving pumpkins.

With a little help from Stephen, Ryan created a pumpkin masterpiece.

Erin showed her skills with blocks as a tower builder.

As Solomon put it in Proverbs 16:9, “The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs His steps.” Dave and Jan were very happy to have the Lord alter their way with an enjoyable visit with special friends and family as He directed their steps on their trip to Arizona and (surprise!) California.

Dave and Jan received a mailing which indicated that the last part of September would be a good time to see plants putting on their fall display in the mountains east of Cedar City. So they drove up Highway 14 out of town to the Markagunt Plateau for a color tour.

One of the features of the area which they enjoy is Coal Creek, which follows Cedar Canyon along the highway, flowing out of the canyon close to the center of town. So they stopped up the canyon for a photo of the creek.

The trees at Deer Hollow were not at their peak yet, but there was a little bit of color to be enjoyed in the area anyway.

Closer to Duck Creek Village is Aspen Mirror Lake where the aspen trees were flaunting their colors around a peaceful, beautiful lake setting.

A little east of Duck Creek Village Highway 70 heads north toward Panguitch Lake through miles of forest and some interesting displays of black lava rock – highlighted below by some color in the shrubs and trees.

Turning west and north onto Highway 143 toward Cedar Breaks and Brian Head Resort there were some very showy trees along the side of the highway.

Driving north on 143 toward the town of Parawan a narrow, paved road turns to the east toward Yankee Meadows where the fascinating and colorful rocks compete with the colors in the foliage for attention.

The lyrics of a song by Phillip Keverin and Steve Siler, from their CD album “In Pastures Green,” seems like an appropriate response to the Lord in the minds of Dave and Jan: “In forests green Your sacred presence shades the stillness. In meadows gold Your hallowed hands prepare the harvest. You set stars to blazing. It’s so amazing how You formed the universe.”

Dave and Jan had been in their new house in Cedar City for around a month when work began on the landscaping of their property. Because some of their California Life Group (which has met each week this summer to pray together on Zoom) expressed disappointment that they haven’t seen any progress reports for several weeks, this post provides some information and photos of the ongoing process of yard work.  Much of the work in the front yard was a part of their purchase, to be completed by the builder, and they were very happy with the work which was done.  The red stone retaining wall, the plants behind it, and the railing were Dave and Jan’s additions (with building help on the railing), but the builder did the rest.

The next challenge was the north slope of the property (on the right side of the photo).  Because of the slope, it wasn’t of much use apart from more landscaping.  So two Blue Spruce trees, three Bar Harbor Junipers, and quite a few Russian Sage plants were planted along the slope, and gravel was added on top of the soil for color.  Because of the slope, sheets of black plastic with felt on one side were laid down beneath the rock to control weed growth and encourage the rock to stay in place.  The wheelbarrow in this photo outlived its usefulness under the weight of many loads of soil and rock, so it has become a flower bed near the northeast corner of the house.

The next project was the back yard (on the west).  Because its soil was rocky and hard and its surface was too far from smooth, two 18 cubit yard loads of top soil were added.  Someone driving by saw the loads and asked if Dave and Jan would like help smoothing the load, but he failed to show up as promised.  So the mounds of dirt were smoothed in the customary manner, with shovels, rakes and a newer wheelbarrow – and, yes, Jan got in on the fun!

The plan is to fence the back yard (dirt portion), plant (or have planted) a lawn with a sprinkler system, and raise a garden (in season) at the southwest corner of the property, so ten cubic yards of garden soil came next.

The latest project has been the installation of a red pavestone retaining wall around the south and west sides of the house to contain a pea gravel walkway to help keep shoes clean when wet and snowy weather arrives this fall.

One of the recent additions to the landscaping process was the delivery of two promised red boulders by the builder and their placement on a mound at the northeast corner of the property – completing the front yard landscaping.

The builder of Dave and Jan’s house owns around a dozen lots in the neighborhood and, as you can see, is hard at work building other houses (like the three visible in the photo below – one barely visible, but almost finished) for future neighbors Dave and Jan are looking forward to meeting.

As you can  tell, like Rush Limbaugh Dave and Jan are “having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have” as they continue to develop their property and adjust to the new realities of “Life Elevated” (Utah’s state motto) in Cedar City.  As the sign hanging on the front door says, Dave and Jan are “Thankful, Grateful [to the Lord] and Truly Blessed.”

Dave and Jan started moving into their house in Cedar City the last week-end of May. Their furniture arrived on June 2nd, and the process of getting settled began in earnest. A week later they were pretty well unpacked – and they welcomed daughter Alissa and family as their first visitors on June 10th. As of the middle of July everything is pretty much the way they planned for things to be apart from one piece of “mud room” furniture which is yet to come. Today (July 16th) Dave created a video “virtual tour” of the house to share with friends who said they would like one, but it is too large to send to friends and family by e-mail, so here are some still shots of the house and its various rooms in its somewhat “finished” condition.

Dave and Jan are very thankful for the Lord’s generous provision of such a comfortable house in such a pleasant location – and thankful as well for Jan’s parents who paved much of the way by their provision of a generous inheritance. And to think – there is the assurance for those who enjoy a personal relationship with Christ that things are going to be far better in the “home” He assured His followers He was going to prepare (John 14:1-6)!

Dave and Jan were very happy to see the clear display of patriotism in Cedar City with the recent celebration of the 4th of July. With so many discouraging reports of anti-Americanism and the foolish destruction of national monuments and even open calls for the embrace of socialism in our nation, it was heartening to witness a strong celebration of America’s history and heritage on the streets of the city Dave and Jan are happy to be calling their home.

A small-town Forth of July parade was enjoyed by thousands along the Main Street parade route through the center of the city.

A number of significant events in American history were depicted – each one preceded by a banner identifying the event.

The American flag was on full display – and it was heartily cheered by many of those who saw it so visibly displayed in numerous ways.

Model A fans displayed a series of beautifully restored vintage vehicles.

And, of course, what would a city parade be without the participation of some of the public servants who so faithfully serve the community – especially the fire department which had the opportunity to put its skills to work in the evening as fire works displays were seen all across the city!

As you can tell, it was an enjoyable and encouraging 4th of July in Cedar City where one of the floats included a choir appropriately singing “God bless America, Land that I love.” And Dave and Jan DO love America!