St. George, UT (11/30/2018) & Interstate 70, UT (12/4/2018)

During my stay in St. George, a weather system came through and produced intermittent rain.  This wasn't a big problem for me, especially over the week-end when I was staying indoors to watch football on TV.  There was a brief period when the sun broke through, so I decided to re-visit Pioneer Park.  On the way, I passed the Mormon Temple and admired some of the fall foliage.

Pioneer Park, as previously described, is a 52 acre section of red rock formations that overlook the city.  The public is welcome to climb on the formations and take advantage of the hiking/biking trails that start there.  In addition, the park is adjacent to the Red Cliffs Desert Preserve, a 60,000 acre sanctuary for the endangered desert tortoise, which also has miles of trail system.  The parks are popular attractions for St. George families and tourists alike.

Among the formations are arches and a slot canyon called The Crack.  I walked into the slot canyon, but it quickly became too narrow for me.  The last thing I needed was to get stuck in there and need help getting out.

The Red Hills Desert Garden next door, which I visited before Halloween, is now decked out for Christmas.  I enjoyed another stroll through the garden, but most of the decorations are light strings that would show best at night.  I thought I might return that evening and get photos of the lights, but the rain returned and I didn't make it back.

From the garden, I had a good view of downtown, including the temple.

While it was raining in the valley, nearby mountains were getting a dusting of snow.  From the higher ground south of the city, I had a view of town, the red bluffs and the mountains beyond.

Farther north, the storm brought considerably more snow.  On the day I had planned to start home, much of I-15 and I-70 had snow and ice.  So, I stayed another day and monitored the UDOT web site.  Once the highways were reported dry, I left.

Interstate 70 is one of our most scenic highways, but I had never experienced it with snow all around.  The snow added a nice contrast to the colorful formations.  Much as I wanted to stop often for photo ops, my nine-hour drive was quite enough, and I did not want to extend it.  I settled for a few shots taken through the windshield, souvenirs of a beautiful day and trip.

Now I'm back in Colorado and the motor home is in storage.  At this point, I have no plans for the next trip.  You'll be the first to know what and when I decide.

Zion National Park, Utah (11/28/2018)

Starting in 1979, I've visited Zion more than a dozen times, yet still feel awestruck by the magnificent formations of colorful rock.  This is my first time during Fall, so that added a nice dimension to this visit.  Also, I planned to seek out some petroglyphs I had not been aware of before.  Unfortunately, a front had been forecast to arrive during the day, and clouds began to build until it was completely overcast.

The first petroglyph site is a short distance inside the south gate and only about 100 feet from the highway.  How many times I have passed it without knowing it was there, as the Park Service does not advertise them as a way of limiting traffic and vandalism.

I did not even go into the main canyon this time, instead heading for the east side of the park.  The drive up the spiral road is always enjoyable for me.

In the main canyon, all the hiking trails are well defined and named.  I've done all of them that I'm capable of doing and have no desire to repeat them.  One exception would be hiking The Narrows, walking in the Virgin River, but it's too cold this time of year.  On the east side, the sandstone formations are fun to hike, and you can go pretty much anywhere you like.  Washes, usually dry, meander all through the formations and often lead into beautiful canyons.

 I was looking for a pull-out just over a mile past the short tunnel.

 After reaching the right location, I climbed down to a wash about fifty feet below the road.  The wash soon led to a culvert under the highway and into another canyon.  The wash was very sandy, but it wasn't long until I saw the cliff where I expected to find petroglyphs.

Small trees and underbrush hide the petroglyphs, so one might walk by them and never know they are there.  After finding an opening, I went to the base of the cliff and found the art.

The sandy wash continued into the canyon, so I kept walking until reaching a dead end.

On the return trip through the park, I took a quick look at Pine Creek Canyon, the most popular "technical" canyon in the park.  There are six rappels over the four mile long canyon, the highest one about 100 feet high.  A wet suit is required, since there are always pools of cold water to be traversed.  The upper opening to the canyon is only 2-3 feet wide in most places, but there is an entry right beside the road, making it the most accessible canyon in Zion.

Breaking the law, I stopped briefly in the long tunnel to get a photo through one of its windows.  The tunnel is slightly more than a mile long with five or six windows for ventilation.  (I could clearly see there were no cars behind me.)

Here are a few more photos from the drive back through the park.

Santa Clara and Gunlock, UT (11/27/2018)

Heading back toward Colorado, I stopped in St. George, UT to wrap up my "to do" list from October, when the Senior Games prevented me from staying longer.  One thing on my list was to visit Santa Clara, an historic Mormon town that really is a suburb of St. George.  The main street through town is lined with sycamore trees, colorful this time of year, but not nearly as colorful as the cottonwoods that grow along the Santa Clara River.

 Even downtown, a few cottonwoods can be found, such as these by the local farmer's market.

 As in most small Mormon towns, there are places to remember their heritage and pay respect to their pioneer ancestors.

There are some beautiful homes in Santa Clara, but in typical Mormon fashion, original homes can be found close to the more expensive neighborhoods.

Well beyond the downtown area, I stopped at a place called Anasazi Ridge.  I had read a couple websites describing the hike to petroglyphs found here.  As sometimes happens, the descriptions contained conflicting information.  One said the hike was 1.8 miles round trip with a gentle grade and rated it "Easy".  Another said it was 2.4 miles without saying whether that was round trip or one way, but called it "Moderate" because of the grade.  The kiosk at the site indicated a 3.5 mile hike, not saying if it's one way.  It further showed the petroglyphs were somewhere along the trail, and that Anasazi ruins were also on the trail.  Not knowing what to expect, I set out to see for myself.

I could see right away the trail was not a gentle grade, but wasn't too bad.  After a while, it became steeper and I was feeling it.  Some folks on the return trip pointed out the ruins on a hill above us and estimated that was half way to the petroglyphs.  I pushed on and finally came to the ruins, which were simply a few rocks claimed to be the remains of Indian food storage structures.  Pretty disappointing.

I scoped out the trail as it continued, even steeper than before, and decided it was too much for this old geezer.  It had also been written on one web site that petroglyphs could be found on boulders along the river at the bottom of the ridge.  This would be level hiking, so I went for it when I got back to the parking area.  My attempt ended after about 200 yards when I came to a fence.  Beyond that, I could see signs of major earth moving operations, as in mining or a quarry. 

Despite my fruitless wanderings, there was some decent scenery and the exercise probably did some good.  At least the fall color was good.

One of the web sites noted that petroglyphs could also be found on boulders along the highway as it continued to the village of Gunlock.  Not wanting to be shut out, I drove on, stopping at every place where boulders were located near the road.  I should mention, this was now on the Shivwits Paiute Reservation and fences just beyond the highway shoulder were labeled "No Trespassing".  Although many likely looking boulders were on the other side, I kept to my side of the fence.  And I did find some boulders with petroglyphs, along with more modern inscriptions.

There was also a stone structure whose age was a mystery, as well as its purpose.  It was on Indian land, so I left it alone.

When I reached Gunlock Reservoir, I called it a day and headed back to St. George.

Along the way, I explored several side trails that led to campsites used by locals, as well as some nice fall color along the river.