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.

Dave and Jan enjoyed a camping experience in the Beaver area the last week of August. Beaver is a small town along Interstate 15 around 50 miles north of Cedar City. The outing began with a stop at Beaver’s Creamery, a favorite stop for many travelers, where the Balsleys enjoyed a visit with Kay, former member of the First Baptist family in Cedar. Seven miles up Beaver Canyon there is a very nice Forest Service campground called Little Cotton Wood Campground which served as a base camp for the next two nights. After dinner the first night it was time for a hike from Little Reservoir to Posey Basin.

Though the sky was making some ominous thundering sounds it did not turn into rain – and the hike was beautified by the reassuring sign in the sky that no earth-changing flood was about to take place.

The next day it was time to head up Beaver Mountain for a longer hike. Beaver Mountain is the site of an expanding ski resort known as Eagle Point. Driving to what may be the highest point in the Eagle Point development (at around 10,500 feet of elevation) Dave and Jan headed higher into the Tushar Mountains. Their hike started out on a bike trail which traversed the slopes beneath one of the chair lifts.

Leaving the ski resort boundary, the trail headed upward toward what may have been Mt. Holly, one of several peaks in the Tushar mountains which exceed 12,000 feet in elevation.

The trail was bordered by many beautiful displays of mountain flowers to be enjoyed by hikers.

There were also some refreshing streams to enjoy – along with some of the mountain’s local residents.

It was a beautiful day and place for a hike, and Dave and Jan are so grateful to the Lord for the opportunities and the energy (at their increasing ages) and the resources to be able to enjoy the amazing beauty which surrounds them in southwest Utah – including the Tushar mountains near Beaver.

The city of Kanab, Utah is southeast of Cedar City along the border between Utah and Arizona. Located in red rock country, it is a popular vacation destination which has also been the scene of numerous western-themed movies. With a population of only around 5,000, it offers some nice accommodations for visitors in terms of lodging and dining, and it is located in an area of significant geological beauty. Dave and Jan chose to do some exploration in the Kanab area the first week of June – setting up at a Bureau of Land Management campground called Ponderosa Grove Campground around 15 miles northwest of Kanab.

After a visit to the Visitors’ Center in Kanab, they headed east of town on the highway, then north for around 10-12 miles in search of a “slot canyon” known as Paria Box. What they discovered was the entrance to Paria Canyon which takes those who hike it for fifty miles upstream in a narrow canyon which has no exits along the route! Because the Paria River was filling even the canyon entrance, Dave and Jan only got close enough to take some pictures – enjoying some of the picturesque geology and some of the spring flowers in the process.

Canyon Entrance

Driving back toward Kanab, Dave and Jan enjoyed stopping for a short hike at the Toadstools Trailhead, one of many interesting locations which are a part of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

Ponderosa Pines Campground is only a few miles east of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park – a park which includes large dunes of colorful sand which visitors can climb or glide down on sand boards something like the boards used in skiing. What Dave and Jan didn’t realize when they checked into the camp ground was the fact that they were just across the highway from the coral pink sands of the Moquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area with coral pink sands in smaller dunes, featuring a variety of plant species and some natural beauty of its own – including views of the rocky bluffs just north of Kanab.

There is much more beauty to explore and experience in the Kanab area, but Dave and Jan were happy for their introduction to another example of the Lord’s amazing creativity in the world He made. As the psalmist challenged, in Psalm 148:5, “Let them [us] praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.”

Dave and Jan began the month of August with a return to beautiful Pine Valley, Utah for a three-day, two night camping adventure. They camped in the same spot in the “Equestrian Campground” where they first camped at Pine Valley and shortened their stay (during a fall camping outing) because heavy rain set in, pretty much confining them to their trailer. This time the weather was beautiful and the outing was very pleasant.

The first evening Dave delayed dinner a little by riding up the Santa Clara River Walk to the top of the canyon, then riding back out of the canyon on a trail which occupies what was once a canal dug by some of the early settlers to provide water for the community of Pine Valley. Riding the trail down from the Canal Trail back to the campground on the Gardner Peak Trail got him back for dinner much more quickly than the same stretch of trail which he and Jan walked the last time they were camping in the valley. But he and Jan decided to retrace the route he rode on foot the next day for a very pleasant hike of around five or six miles.

Views of a part of the Pine Valley community began to open up as the trail climbed the mountain.

A “forest” of interesting high desert plants provided interesting framing for both the mountain and the valley.

The Canal Trail is bordered on the north by the mountain, and on the south by a berm of dirt which must have taken many strong pioneer men (and women?) a long, long time to create with a lot of effort!

Views from the trail provided glimpses of some of the rocky ledges on the way to the top of Gardner Peak.

The Canal Trail came to an end in a walk-in camping area which served as a nice lunch stop.

The hike back down the canyon to the Equestrian Campground was a very pleasant walk on the Santa Clara River Walk which includes beautiful forest scenery along the Santa Clara River – an important source of the water supply for St. George, the sizeable city at the edge of the Mohave Desert 45-50 miles south.

The Pine Valley Reservoir is a favorite destination for fishermen from around the Pine Valley area.

Pine Valley is one of the many beautiful recreation destinations within an hour or two from Cedar City which Dave and Jan thoroughly enjoy being able to visit and explore in their senior years – along with the many other activities and ministries available in the Cedar City area. The hiring of a new pastor for the church they attend on Sunday mornings offers the prospect of increasing activity and ministry in the community, even as Dave and Jan plan to continue exploring the amazing beauty around the area!

Dave and Jan left Cedar City on July 1 with their camping trailer for the drive to Maxwell, Nebraska (just east of North Platte) to take part in a family camp at Maranatha Bible Camp with their daughter, Alissa, and son-in-law, Andrew, and their four boys.

Also attending the camp were Andrew’s father and mother and Andrew’s two brothers and most of the members of their families (for a total of over twenty five in all from our group).

The camp’s schedule was fairly relaxed – with meals in the dining room, a family-friendly session in the camp chapel and some family devotional materials for each family to share in morning hours, free time with lots of options during afternoon hours, and an evening chapel service in the early evening hours. It was a nice break for the ladies to have all meals prepared cafeteria style.

There were numerous recreational activities during free times (afternoons especially), with many of them centered around the swimming pool and the lake (with its many options).

Grandpa Alan Crandall with Andrew and Alissa’s youngest, Ephraim.

Grandma Jan (Crandall) playing Bananagrams with grandsons.

Ephraim, Grandpa Alan, Alissa and Levi playing miniature golf.

Elijah and his Dad, Andrew, trail riding.

July 4th was celebrated with an evening fireworks display above the lake which is owned by the camp.

On the trip home Dave and Jan traveled apart from Andrew and family, though they camped overnight together at the KOA in Rawlins, Wyoming. The Crandalls, though, joined the Balsleys in Cedar City where they spent the next week doing things together in the Cedar City area – like paying a visit to Cedar Breaks National Monument and the Mammoth Caves, which the Crandall boys enjoyed exploring.

With Stephen’s family living in Cedar City, the visit from the Crandalls also provided the opportunity for some family reunion activities – including some meals and snacks at the Top Spot Restaurant. Times spent with family are among the best times in life, so Dave and Jan enjoyed having the family together!

With 2022/2023 winter season’s snowfall the best in recent years, the mountains of Utah are still covered in many places with snow. So Dave and Jan decided to try a camping trip to nearby Yankee Meadows. They had driven to the meadows on several occasions, but had never taken their trailer there, so they were a little surprised to realize how much the road climbed until they experienced the steep climb with their trailer to the campground at the meadows.

Though the campground, at 8,800 feet of elevation, was clear of snow, there were mountains nearby which were still covered. The Sylvan Ridge east of the campground was topped with snow, and Sylvan Peak was still almost completely covered.

Though a forest fire devastated much of the forest east of the campground in 2020, heavily forested regions nearby were very pleasant by comparison. A hike up a forest road just north of the meadows on the second day at the meadows provided some nice views of the surrounding terrain.

Dave and Jan were pleasantly surprised to find three ponds, reservoirs, or lakes along the roads and trails they followed.

The largest body of water in the Yankee Meadows area is the reservoir along the road to the south through the meadows area – a favorite spot for fishermen in the region.

And just beyond the reservoir was a drop off providing views of the red rock features which beautify the drive up to the meadows.

Yankee Meadows was a pleasant camping experience. The campground was simple (no water or restrooms), but the scenery was beautiful, and the price was hard to beat – free. Dave and Jan feel very blessed to live so close to so many beautiful examples of the Lord’s creative genius!

Dave and Jan’s daughter-in-law, Meagan, expressed interest some time back in going together to some of the sights to be enjoyed in the Cedar City area (where she, Stephen, and their two children have lived for around a year and a half now). One sight which she indicated she would be interested in seeing was Snow Canyon, not far from St. George. Snow Canyon, for anyone who is wondering, is not named for its snow, but it is named after one of Utah’s early settlers by the name of Snow. So May 6th seemed like a good date to head for Snow Canyon – though it happened to be the day St. George was hosting a major race event which altered traffic routes for much of the city. So when the family had traveled the circuitous route to get to the north entrance of the State Park, the entrance was blocked to provide safety for cyclists who were participating in the day’s events. Fortunately, there was a small parking area along the highway past the park entrance which provided access to a trail to the White Rocks area of the park.

Wild flowers along the route added beauty and interest to the trail – as wild flowers always do!

And Ryan stopped for a short time on geological evidence of past volcanic activity in the area – contrasting with the white rocks.

A sandy wash provided a suitable environment for a lunch break where lunch spots were in short supply.

The white rock formations which were the trail’s destination provided a good climb and good views of other canyon features.

When the day’s race activities were coming to an end, access to the main park opened up for an interesting walk at Jenny’s Canyon.

The slot canyon portion of Jenney’s Canyon provided lots of interesting geology of special interest to Ryan and Erin.

Snow Canyon is filled with interesting geological features and various colors which provide, for Dave and Jan, clear evidence of the Lord’s ingenuity in reforming the earth with the waters of the flood of Noah’s day.

Genesis 7:10-12 (NASB)
¹⁰  It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth.
¹¹  In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
¹²  The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

Snow Canyon is a beautiful example of the Lord’s ability to create amazing beauty even in an act of divine judgment!

Dave and Jan have looked forward to the return of weather warm enough to permit them to resume camping outings – and the time finally arrived the last week of April. Studying a brochure on state parks in northeastern Nevada, they decided to try an outing at Echo Canyon State Park – twelve miles east of the former silver-mining town of Pioche. When they arrived near the park and were met by a bright red sign which said “CLOSED,” they decided to drive on anyhow to see what they could of the park. Driving through the park they saw plenty of evidence of recent flooding. Driving back through the park they stopped along the road near one of the park’s campgrounds so they could walk through and see what they might have enjoyed – learning in the process that the campground was being used by quite a few campers. So they picked a site and set up camp, and were glad that they did.

Dave enjoyed an afternoon bike ride around the lake at the park on the road which topped the dam which backed up the reservoir, then up a very sandy trail in a juniper forest. After dinner, he and Jan walked the road with its nice view of the somewhat muddy lake.

The next day (Friday) it was time to explore the Ash Canyon Trail, beginning at the trailhead at the upper part of the campground. It turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.

Topping the hill above the campground, Ash Canyon began to come into view – turning into a rocky wonderland!

The trail dropped, precipitously in places, deeper and deeper into the canyon with its many interesting rock formations.

There were some canyon depths to which the trail never dropped – continuing along rock walls at higher elevations.

After a mile or two the trail descended onto the valley floor of Echo Canyon where the river had recently overflowed the road.

Echo Canyon apparently earned its name because of rocky canyon walls which bounce sounds back to their source.

Walking along the road through the canyon returned the hikers back to their campground where water sports are available at the lake.

While Dave and Jan find plenty of activities to fill their time with productive and enjoyable activities – caring for grandchildren, doing yard work, church activities, and some assistance with books at Stephen’s restaurant – they are very happy for opportunities to explore the ever-growing list of interesting places within a short drive from town in the “color country” of Southwest Utah.

While Dave and Jan are living many miles away from their four Crandall grandsons (Andrew and Alissa’s boys – Levi, Elijah, Silas and Ephraim) in South Dakota (with whom they hope to spend some time in weeks or months ahead), they enjoy times with Stephen and Meagan’s son (Ryan) and daughter (Erin) who moved to Cedar City a year and a half ago so Stephen could take on the challenge of managing the historic Top Spot Drive Inn restaurant and (very challenging) gas station (with its “out of compliance” gas pumps). So when Ryan and Erin stayed for the week-end with Dave and Jan, while their parents were celebrating their eleventh wedding anniversary, they enjoyed a visit to Cathedral Gorge – a Nevada State Park near the town of Panaca around 85 miles west of Cedar City.

Cathedral Gorge State Park is, perhaps, best know for its “slot canyons” which Ryan and Erin had a fun time exploring.

April 1st provided another opportunity to spend time with Ryan and Erin, so the family drove around 60 miles north on I-15 to Beaver City – a small town (c. 8,000 population) with a fun city park and The Creamery with its many flavors of great ice cream.

Resurrection Sunday brought the family together at Dave and Jan’s for dinner and a rare family photo in the living room.

And the third week of April Meagan pulled off a joint birthday party for Ryan (9) and Erin (6) and around 40 guests (young and older) at Cedar City’s Discovery Park, where Ryan and Erin received a table full of birthday gifts – enough to keep them busy for the next few days (or weeks)!

So we hope you and yours have been having as much fun as Dave and Jan have. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:6, “Grandchildren are the crown of old men” [as well as their much younger wives!]. Dave and Jan are blessed to have children and grandchildren to add variety and excitement to their lives.

With an unusually snowy season in the Cedar City area this past winter, Dave and Jan decided to try hiking with snowshoes for the first time. So they rented snowshoes from a local sports shop and headed up to the Markagunt Plateau with their neighbor, Kathleen, to try the snowshoes out. Driving between snow banks along the highway as high, at times, as eight or ten feet, they found there weren’t too many places they could even pull off the road, but they eventually found a wide spot near the Duck Creek Forest Service campground where there was room to park their car.

Wondering whether snowshoes would allow them to hike across country over two or three feet of fresh snow they soon discovered that snow conditions were not going to make that a sensible experience – unless they wanted each step to sink knee deep into the snow. So they chose a “groomed” forest road for their adventure.

The road was a familiar one over which Dave and Jan had travelled by car and Dave had ridden his mountain bike, but the scenery was entirely different with the forest floor and many of its trees plastered with snow.

Snow shoeing on groomed snow, it turned out, was not much different than hiking on packed snow in regular hiking boots. Dave, Jan and Kathleen were agreed that, though the road they travelled was an uphill walk for the most part, it was an easy and very pleasant experience.

The top of the road provided a nice view of an expansive meadow area through which the road passes right to Navajo Lake or straight ahead (more or less) to the Cascade Falls trailhead and a crossing of the 30+ mile long Virgin River Rim trail.

The weather was crisp and beautiful, and the hike was a very pleasant experience – definitely something to be repeated. It was a good opportunity to say “YES” to the Lord’s question to Job, “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?” (Job 38:22) – though there is far more to the investigation of the wonders of the snow than snowshoeing on snowy fields reveals (see theJohn1010project.com “awesome wonders” video “The Jewels of Winter” for more amazing detail)!