When I say that we stopped in Richfield, Utah, in early-mid October 2019, that’s exactly how we planned it.  It was a stop for us between our planned time in Colorado and our planned attendance at an event in Las Vegas.  We wanted to cross the Rockies before the snow came, which had us leaving the east side of Colorado in early October.  And we were certain that we didn’t want to spend too much time in Las Vegas (I had no idea what Las Vegas offered other than The Strip”).  Plus, we wanted to break up our drive between the two places.

Brian pointed Richfield out on the map one night as we were discussing travel plans and making reservations.  I was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the choices we were making.  Not only is our country huge, but there are a lot of campgrounds!  Richfield appeared to be about halfway between Fruita, Colorado, and Las Vegas, Nevada. 

“Sounds great,” I said, although I felt unsure of what we’d do while spending two weeks in Utah.  At that point, I was more than willing to schedule it.  If nothing else, than just to end the decision-making process.      

I laugh as I write this, thinking back to the wonder that we both experienced in the first hours of being in the state.  The awe of the landscape causing us both to look out the window, saying, “Wow!” over and over.  It didn’t take long for us to realize that two weeks wasn’t going to do it.  We agreed that we would like to take a couple of months to explore the state.  And when we began planning where we would spend time in 2020, we were both anxious to get back to Utah to explore. 

Plans to visit with two groups of friends in Southern Utah anchored our time in St. George.  When the Coronavirus pandemic arrived, and our friends canceled vacation plans, we decided to continue with our plans.  When the National Parks closed and visiting the big five (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches) went by the wayside, we decided to stick to our plan.  We have changed a few things but generally have kept our Utah plans intact. And because the national parks have been closed, it’s forced us to visit and do other things that we might have overlooked.

We spent our first weekend’s adventure exploring some of the sixty miles of multi-use bike paths in and around the city.  What a wonderful asset for the city and a great way to encourage people to get out to walk, run, and bike their way around town.  Our e-bikes are getting some good use here with all the places to go for a ride.  The pedal assist allows us to ride further and up much steeper hills than we would otherwise be able to.  I’m not very good about taking pictures when we are out riding, but I did capture this shot down by the Virgin River.

State parks began reopening about a week after our arrival.  With Brian taking a few days off for an extra-long weekend,  we took the time to go to Snow Canyon State Park, where we enjoyed the drive to and through the park as well as walked part of the Whiptail Trail. 

With such distinct rock colors so close in proximity, this park has us evermore curious about geology.  Not interesting enough for you? Maybe reading that the quartzite sand that created it blew into the area more than 183 million years ago or that Anasazi Indians inhabited the region between 200 and 1200 A.D will pique your interest.

In use as a state park since 1959, the park claims fame to the filming location for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969.

Personally, I was happy to see more wildflowers blooming, including the primrose below.

From Snow Canyon, we drove a little further west to Gunlock State Park, where we admired the reservoir. Many people were out enjoying the area fishing, boating, and setting up camp.

The drive to Gunlock and back to St. George essentially took us full circle around Snow Canyon.  It was amazing to see the difference in landscape on the north end of town with lots of pinyon junipers and quite a bit of snow still on West Peak.

Later in the weekend, we trekked over to Hurricane and explored some BLM land for future visits to the area.     

Last weekend, in addition to doing some maintenance work on the rig, we drove out to and through Zion National Park on Highway 9. Since the park is technically closed until May 13, we weren’t able to stop at any of the scenic turnouts. We did get a glimpse of why so many people talk about and visit this park.

If we don’t make it back to Zion National Park this trip, that might be the best news ever as it will give us an excuse to come back to this area again!

These days, I love to have my opinions changed, my universe expanded, my preconceived notions brushed away.  These days, I simply love being in Utah!