Close Enough Arch 10-11-08

Today, my brother and a couple of his friends and I went seeking after Elephant Arch. I was just there a few months ago and felt certain I could find it again, but this time the elephant was elusive. We did find a cool slot canyon and a couple of other arches, and the view was as beautiful as ever (although cold: it even started to snow for a few minutes).

Black Butte in Buena Vista

On Labor Day, my brother and a few of his friends, along with Craig and I went hiking up on the Black Butte in Buena Vista. The hike starts at the end of Green Springs Drive in Washington.
The view was awesome!!

And the mountains are always pretty :)

This was a fairly short hike, but it was a hot day. Fortunately, there's a refreshing new splash pad (this isn't it, but it's very similar) at the beginning/end of the hike - bring your swimsuit!!

Hurricane Sculpture Garden

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Now playing: Jimmy Cliff - I Can See Clearly Now
via FoxyTunes


A couple months ago the singles hiked the canal trail in Hurricane, and on the way home, Craig and I saw this cute little sculpture shop. It's just a couple blocks off the main road before you turn left to go to LaVerkin.



So a few weeks ago, when my parents took us to see Flyboys at the Hurricane Theatres, we stopped over for a visit, and all the sculptures were different!




In addition to all the sculptures out front, there's a little pond on the side where we saw a dragonfly perched on the dragonfly sculpture! (Can you spot him?....He's on the upper left wing...you can click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Here's Mom getting down with the ants :)


Adios!!

Cedar City Sky Festival

One of the perks of going to school in Cedar is all the cool festivals they have, including the Skyfestival! I was so excited to go to this last year, but it was too windy for any of the balloons to take off, so it was very gratifying to count over 14 balloons in this year's festival. Someday...Albuquerque.

Spring Creek 9-6-08

Here's a link to the Spring Creek pictures.

This hike was really beautiful, although a little less cleared than Kanarraville Creek(e.g. wear long shorts or pants). The hike was mostly dry and wove through a lovely slot canyon. We hiked for a couple of hours in - the last twenty minutes or so had some thicker brush, and reached a small waterfall where a hummingbird was taking a shower (it was too quick to grab it's picture, though). Didn't quite make it to the top, so not sure what's beyond the waterfall - something for another day! There appear to be a lot of cool caves to explore, too, especially at the first, and there were a couple branches off the main path that looked worth exploring.

You can't really tell from the picture, but this field was swimming with sunflowers!

Singles Hike 9-13-08 Red Hill

Here's the link to the singles' hike on the red hill. (Sorry there's not more - my camera ran out of batteries :( )

Can you spot the flying saucer?

Family on Labor Day 9-1-08

Here's the linkto my labor day pics.

Lone Pine Arch 8-30-08

David and I explored Lone Pine Arch while he was visiting over Labor Day.

David brought his rainbow along :)

And a lot of cheer for me (Thanks, D :) )

He was careful not to run over any of the 20 or so tarantulas we saw along the way.





We followed a lonely dirt road out past Ivins to a narrow, bumpy, but gorgeous sidepath.

A sign told of nearby Indian relics...

And not far beyond was a mysterious cave.




After glorying in our arrival at the arch (underneath the Pine)...

we stopped to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Mmmm...makes me glad I live in Southern Utah :)

The Subway 8-23-08

Scott's pictures have been added to the link. Descriptions to follow soon! (My camera got wet about halfway through, so sorry for the blurry pics.

Elephant Arch - June 2008

Craig and I went to Elephant Arch in June.
You start off by driving on a dirt road over in Buena Vista (the north half of Washington's Main Street), going towards Pine Valley. You should have large tires to drive on this road, or you can take your bike.
The hike isn't very long - you can get there in an hour or so, and there are beautiful views along the way. The trail is pretty level - follows a dry riverbed - until you get to the arch, where you have to hike up a little.

Here I am taming the elephant.





Doesn't this elephant have a great view?

Oh, how cute!!

Red Hill - June 2008

Craig took me up to hike on the Red Hill in St. George in June. I've hiked around here a little as a kid, especially in the Narrows part, but forgot how many cool caves and crannies there are here.

Red Cliffs - July 2008

Piece of advice: Don't go to Red Cliffs in July. Everything was dry except for a few stagnant pools.
Craig still had fun hiking up to the cave.
And we hiked up to a little overlook.

Duck Creek Chili Cookoff - July 2008

In July, Joe and I went with my parents up to the Duck Creek Chili Cookoff.
It was a beautiful day, and much cooler than in St. George!
Here's Joe trying to walk the line with his drunk driving goggles on.
The wildflowers were in full bloom!
Joe had never been to Cedar Breaks overlook before :)
What's holding this rock up? Should I jump on it? Don't do it Joe!!
Here's a little overlook at the top of the dirt road branching off to the right from the road going in to Brianhead.
Nice view!
Joe was a good sport - helped my Dad change a tire when it blew out coming off the dirt road.
Here's Joe posing with the bears from Georg's Ski Shop in Brianhead :) A lovely day!