Epic Journey, Part Two-Utah

After 11 days in Arizona we set off on an eight hour journey north to St. George Utah. Four thoughts and notable parts about the trip. First I hate Phoenix. I know everyone loves it, but it is hot and crowded and it takes hours to get through. There is no way I would ever want to live there. Second, why this no good road between Phoenix and Las Vegas? Third, I love driving through the Sorrel Cactus’s in northern AZ. Lastly, the most notable part of the journey was driving over the Hoover Dam. I have always wanted to see the Dam. Building the Dam is historically one of the great events in the past 100 years. One day I would love to spend some time there and take a tour of the camp towns created to shelter the men and help find work during the Great Depression.

Melissa’s Dad lives in Ivans Utah, a small community outside of St. George and that was our next stop. Her dad and step mom have three kids (the three M’s) who are 13, 12, 10 and they are idolized by our kids. St. George is a great place, but it was a bit hot, making it into the 100s almost every day, but it was not as stifling as it is here in south Texas

Utah Highlights:

1. Spending time with family. Our kids have so much fun playing with the three M’s. I think Jake and Savannah are still trying to catch up from exhaustion incurred by trying to keep up with the kids
2. Swimming in the pool. This really helps when living in St. George with the heat. The kids did really well. I think if Savannah had another week she would be swimming on her own, she really took to the water.

3. 24th of July. Ivans is the only community in the St. George Utah that still celebrates the 24th, which is the day the Mormon Pioneers entered Utah. Melissa’s parent were in charge of the float for their ward, so are kids got to ride along. Jake was so excited to be on a float it was all he talked about for days.

4. The Sand Dunes at Snow Canyon. We spent an evening playing at the sand dunes. Jackson spent most of the time trying to eat sand.

5.The Temple. We went with Bob and Cindy to the St. George Temple. We live over 4 hours from the Temple and so it is difficult to attend often. I enjoyed the time there and being with family, it is good to rejuvenate the spirit now and again.

6. Seeing Le Mis at Tuachan. If you have never been to St. George than you are missing one of the great venues for the arts. Tuachan is an outdoor theater with the red rock cliffs as the backdrop. Nothing will beat seeing Le Mis on Broadway, but Tuachan did an excellent job. Le Mis is in my opinion the greats Broadway play ever. The music can rival any play, but when added to the story and the message no other play can compete. At its core the play is about justice and mercy. If you have a chance to watch this play at Tuacon, I recommend it or any other show they have. They are beginning Big River in September, which is another one of my favorite. By the way the tickets are only $30. You cannot beat that price anywhere for that quality of a show.

7. Riding horses. Bob has two great horses and southern Utah has some excellent rides. My favorite ride was up Pine Valley. Pine Valley is close to St. George but when you enter the valley the temperature drops 20 degrees and you leave the desert for a wooded forest. I truly think Pine Valley is one of my favorite spots. Bob and I spend a day ridding trails in the woods. One a second ride we rode along the red cliffs. We could be very happy living in that area, there are so many places to hike or ride and they are all so scenic and accessible.

8. Bob is the police and fire chief of Ivans, so one afternoon we vistited and Jake got to play on the fire engines.

9. The County Fair. We spend one evening at the Washington County Fair. The kids went on plenty of rides and ate fried fair food (always a treat). The kids enjoyed the 4-H petting zoo are, Jake actually held a snake. Cindy’s brother Travis sings a band that played that evening so we brought blankets and chairs and spent the evening listening to him. Bob and the kids were playing Frisbee. When ever Bob through to Savannah and she missed it she would say “Grandpa you missed me again.”

10. We had a birthday party for Jackson’s first birthday. We had a big family dinner and had the traditional cake for Jackson to smash in his face.