Coral Pink Sand Dunes

About 42 miles to the south and east of where we are staying is a Utah State Park called Coral Pink Sand Dunes. It is a fascinating place to look around and if you are into ATVs a great place for riding. Yes the sand does look pink in various light because the sand comes from the colored Navajo sandstone cliffs found in the area.

The larger sand dunes are protected and restricted from either vehicular or foot travel to protect the fragile environment and ecco system. There are some bugs and plants that are unique to this isolated sandy environment.

Deanna and the boys are up on a viewing deck. They had great paved walking trails and this well done observation deck so you could look out into the dunes without getting the fine grains of sand all in your clothes. The grains of sand were almost as fine as talcum powder, really fine.

How does the sand move around you might ask.This information was on one of the placards on the observation deck:

The wind moves the sand by three main processes, surface creep, suspension, and saltation. The larger grains move by surface creep which occurs when a light wind exists and causes the grains to roll across the surface of the dune. Suspension occurs when the wind is strong enough to pick up the sand and carry the grains through the air.

Over 75 percent of the movement of sand grains is through saltation. This is when the wind bounces the sand grains along the surface of the dune field. When a sand grain hits the ground it often dislodges another grain and the process continues.

Saltating sand grains form ripples across the sand dunes. Notice how uniform in pattern the ripples are. The average space between the ripples is equal to the average bounce of a saltating sand grain.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is a fascinating place well worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

Changing locations for a moment, on one of our treks around we ended up out west of St George and passed through a small community of Veyo, Utah. There was a gas station, general store, pizzeria, Mexican restaurant, and this pie shop. They claimed to have wonderful pies.

Oops it seems they not only have pies but cinnamon rolls as well. We passed on the decadent looking cinnamon rolls and got a piece of pie which was really great tasting and a wonderful crust. Good place to stop for a snack.




Let us know if you have any questions or comments and be sure and stop in Veyo for a piece of pie or a pastry if you are ever in this area.

All the best - George & Deanna

Cedar Breaks

About 62 miles north of where we are staying in Hurricane is an area of sandstone formations called Cedar Breaks. It is similar to Bryce Canyon though not nearly as large. We headed north up the highway to Cedar City and then went east on Highway 14 to Highway 142 and Cedar Breaks. Parts of Highway 14 are narrow and windy and even this early in the year there were spots of ice along the road in the narrow canyon.

Going up Highway 14 you get glimpses of what lies ahead. You are looking from below up into Cedar Breaks and the rock formations. This is only a teaser of the beauty that will be found above.

This is a view looking north from the visitor center. Because of the season the visitor center at Cedar Breaks and the associated facilities were closed for the winter. We were on your own.

Why is it closed so early in the season you ask. This geologic marker not far from the visitor center shows the elevation. 10,354 feet. We are up there in elevation and it is cool to say the least. When the first big snow comes they do not keep Highway 142 open to the Breaks. If you want to see them, snowshoe, or snowmobile in.

Hoodoos that you find at Bryce Canyon are also found here. Here is some interesting information on the forming of hoodoos taken from the Internet:

Forces associated with the uplift caused the rock layers to develop fractures known as joints. Rain that falls during the Cedar Breaks summer combines with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, forming a weak acid. As this mildly acidic water seeps into the joints, it reacts with the calcium carbonate in the limestone of the Claron Formation, slowly dissolving it and enlarging the joints. When temperatures drop below freezing, as it does most nights of the year at Cedar Breaks, water trapped in the joints expands. Like a geologic crowbar, the freezing water forces the rocks apart, further enlarging the joints in a process known as frost wedging.

• Over time, this creates thin walls of rock known as fins, left standing under capstones made of harder rock. These capstones act like umbrellas, protecting the fins from the elements and slowing the weathering process.

• Weathering and erosion always prevail; wearing through the capstone, leaving isolated pillars of rock known as hoodoos.

• Undercutting of fins can also form shallow caves and arches.

• Gravity pulls loose rocks from the cliffs and draws them sliding down the slopes. Water from snowmelt and summer rains wash rock and sediment into the valley.

• Occasionally, saturated rock and soil causes entire slopes to fall in slumps or landslides.

We were really surprised to find this Hairy Woodpecker at this elevation so late in the year. She was certainly busy looking for food and with good reason. It was cold.

This image gives you a perspective on the elevation. We are looking west basically down the canyon that we drove up. Cedar City is in the near distance out in the flats.

An interesting line of rock formations, hoodoos, heading west. The surrounding rocks have been eroded by time and the constant wind and rain and freezing and thawing.

Yes the white stuff is snow. Not far from Cedar Breaks is a ski resort called Brian's Head. It opened for the first day of the season when we visited Cedar Breaks. We drove by there and it did appear that they had man-made snow for the few runs that were open, it was snow none the less.

Back at the RV park where we are staying they had this sign, "Weiner Wednesday". About once a month they cook up a bunch of hot dogs and for a dollar you can get several hot dogs with all the fixings.

This image shows the hot dogs. It appeared that you could have basically as many as you wanted to eat for that one dollar, they were not a dollar each. Fun event and an inexpensive dinner.

Come on down and visit Cedar Breaks for some beautiful high altitude country and stop by the RV park for a Weiner on Wednesday.

Let us know if you have any questions. Best Regards - George & Deanna

Muddy Bees Bakery

You can find Muddy Bees Bakery at 525 W State Street in Hurricane, Utah providing lunch, baked breads and sweets with healthy options available to those who desire them.  They are also licensed bee-keepers with local, flower-fed, non-medicated honey available for sale. 

Backyard bee-keeping courses are taught once a year in February. 

This is the main counter at Muddy Bees. We will not get a lot into the bakery portion other than to say their baked goods are fabulous. You can order a sandwich for lunch by choosing the type of bread, cheese, condiments, and meat or filling. It can be cold or put in a panini press, we opted for the press. The sandwiches and soup were wonderful and quite inexpensive.

This is a t-shirt that is available for sale in the bakery.

As you look around you will find there are lots of fascinating treasures.

There is a diverse array of hand made items scattered around the eatery that are for sale. This happens to be a beautiful copper wire tree that was positioned on the counter.

We had wonderful sandwhiches for lunch. You should not eat only ice cream for desert, though come to think of it why not, so for variety we ordered this piece of carrot cake. It was better than great. Moist and sweet and an excellent flavor.

Muddy Bees is a great place.

Snow Canyon

There are a number of State Parks near St George, Utah, Snow Canyon is one of those. Our initial thought was that Snow Canyon was named for the deep winter snows found there. That thought turns out, not true. It was actually named after early Mormon settlers Lorenzo and Erastus Snow. Further research indicates the canyon only gets about 7 inches of rain per year. So no deep snow but gorgeous geological formations.

The most common rock in Snow Canyon is Navajo Sandstone. This is a common rock all over the southwest. The massive cliffs found in Zion are Navajo Sandstone.

The huge red cliffs rise above. This is a canyon and the access road runs from the south end to the north end with a connection to highway 18. You climb in elevation as you travel from south to north.

Not all the rocks are red as we will see. In this image the large lighter colored mountain appears to have a split running down the south face. This formation was in the north end of the canyon.

In this image we can see some of the newer (geologically speaking) rocks that were deposited by volcanic activity. By newer, we mean only 27-30,000 years ago. They are basalt flows from the volcanos that once were active in this area.

Here is another contrast between the volcanic rocks in the foreground and the larger red sandstone cliffs in the background. As the rocks of the Navajo get progressively younger, their colors change and the cliffs and domes of "petrified" sand dunes range from orange-red, to orange, to yellow, to cream, to white.

There a lot of hiking trails throughout the park. This happens to be the Whiptail Trail that is a paved three mile long trail that allows dogs. In general, dogs are allowed only in certain designated areas of the park.

This was one of the mileage markers embedded in the trail. The lizard helps you keep track of your distance, the numbers on the marker help as well.

We chatted with the two ladies whom have the orange back packs, they are trail stewards. They volunteer and walk the various trails checking to see if any people along the trial need, water, direction, or other assistance.

This collection of rocks appears to be stair steps. This formation is located directly adjacent to the trail we were walking along. The canyon is relatively narrow and most of the rock formations are easily accessible.

The people climbing on the rocks, seen in the center left part of this image, gives you a better perspective as to the size and scale of the formations.

The layers are certainly wild looking and quite fascinating. In this image they appear as if they were pools of mud that dried only to be partially covered by another pool that dried and on and on.

There is a campground in the park with some number of sites having electric and water hookups for campers. This unit is away from the campground proper but seems to be in a nice setting. It would be fascinating to stay in Snow Canyon for a few days and watch the changing light play on the rocks.

This was a brief look at some of the myriad of rock formations in Snow Canyon and the images and this blog really did not do the place much justice. You really need to see this place in all it's grandeur. Way beyond fascinating.

Here is a link to a PDF document compiled by the state of Utah that discusses the geology of Snow Canyon.

https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/public_information/pi-13.pdf

A great deal of additioal information can be found on the Internet regarding Snow Canyon by performing any number of searches. We hope this piqued your interest, the place certainly captivated ours. If you have any questions send us an e-mail or leave a comment.

Best Regards - George & Deanna

Good Times Creamery

We rather much enjoy ice cream and we have found a fabulous place from which we can consume that wonderful food. This is the sign on the curb by the sidewalk out in front of the "Good Times Creamery". This ice cream shop is located along the main road "State Street" or Hwy 9 that runs east and west through Hurricane. Many of the streets in this area have two names, it can get confusing. The creamery is located on the eastern edge of the city.

Here is the initial view of the creamery as you walk in the front door. You need to remember that ice cream is one of the major food groups and is at the top of our food pyramid. That is a little know fact. Also you need to know that all of the ice cream served here is home made, none of that fancy store bought stuff with many many additives.

This board on the wall inside the creamery contains the list of flavors that are currently available. The ice cream flavors are all made in this creamery and the lady who makes the ice cream has some wild flavors. She also asks customers for suggestions about new flavors.

One of the more unusual flavors is cactus ice cream made from prickly pear cactus. Some of the other flavors include rum raisin, butter pecan, java chip, and the more standard fare of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. An excellent variety of offerings.

And this is a dish of the cactus ice cream. They harvest the cactus fruit, using long barbecue tongs to avoid the multitude of tiny stickers, they then steam them to extract the juice. This technique eliminates all the stickers. It was delicious. The fruit is red or pink in color hence the resultant color of the ice cream. They also make cactus jelly which is available at the creamery.

Looking around the inside of the creamery you see some fun items on display. This is truly a place of Good Times.

Oh and if you wanted something other than an ice cream cone or a dish of the great stuff, they also have Hurricone Nachos. It consists of a scoop or two of ice cream, some candy, then drizzled with sauce, and finally accompanied by waffle cone chips. My good friend Rodger, the Nacho King, would absolutely love a double order of this great looking stuff.

This little sign was hanging on the wall when we were there getting ice cream just before Halloween. If you are ever in or near Hurricane you must stop in the Good Times Creamery. They have fabulous ice cream, Best Witches.

Remember a scoop a day keeps the doctor away, another little known fact and as always let us know if you have any questions or if you prefer, leave us a comment.
George & Deanna

Kolob Reservoir

On Thursday we took a ride out to Kolob Reservoir which is located at a higher elevation on the western side of Zion NP. On the route there is a restaurant in the small town of Virgin, called "The Cactus Room Cafe". It is located in Buffalo Trails Trading Company. It is right along Highway 9, the main route to Zion NP. This is not a fancy place and seems a somewhat eclectic assortment of items to buy and food items to consume.

As you enter the establishment you quickly realize this is more than just an eatery. They have a lot of native american art work and paraphernalia, that follows the name "Trading Company". They also have other things to eat such as Ostrich Jerky and a myriad of other Jerky treats. We did not try any of those items as we were saving ourselves for the main attraction, the "Buffalo Burger".

Before we got our order we were seated at a booth and the waitress, a very pleasant young lady, brought us glasses of water, rather large containers of water.

She is not one to argue with as we saw her carry 7 of these at once, full of water or soda to another table. They are glass, not plastic, very heavy.

We had ordered the Buffalo Burger, for which this place is famous, and so the waitress brought the mustard and ketchup condiments. They do not skimp on the quantity of these items and as you can see, serve them in the original, large containers. No individual packets to mess with here.

Here is the Buffalo Burger. Bob, who is the owner, chef, sometimes waiter etc, brought these to us and stated "I have worked 4 years 7 months 23 days and a few hours to perfect these, you don't need no mustard or ketchup or anything else. They are perfect as they are". So we tried them as he suggested and he was right, they were without a doubt one of the best tasting burgers we had ever eaten.

Really a fun place, lots of character and personality both with the people there and the establishment. If you want further images and some information regarding the Buffalo Trails Trading Company, visit their facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Cactus-Room-Cafe/494889983910102

Having finished a wonderful lunch we headed towards Kolob Reservoir. As mentioned, the road, which is a great paved all the way road, is along the western boundary of Zion and in fact you meander in and out of Zion as you head towards the reservoir. Signs indicate such as you follow the road.

There are lots of sandstone rock formations along the road. In the 24 miles to the reservoir you meander in, around, and among a variety of eroded formations. You are also climbing, the reservoir is a little over 8,100 feet and Virgin, where we started was only 3,600 feet.

We thought this image was interesting. It shows the striations in the sandstone and if you look closely at the tree in the center left of the image you can see the roots extending a long ways out from the tree probably searching for water.

This particular formation reminded us of a Mummy that you might see in one of those recent Halloween movies. It is very fascinating how the winds and rain over time have eroded different sections of the rock at different rates.

Some of the softer stone disappears quickly forming the holes you see while the winds and blowing sand create the other features.

Along the road you will encounter this turn. It is not a highway built for speed but rather slow travel and stopping to absorb the beautiful surroundings. The 5 MPH curve sign caught our attention.

Here, you can see why they wanted you to slow to five MPH. You do not want to go careening off the road to see the rock formations up close. There are trail head parking areas scattered along the road to the reservoir and trails from which you can do that much better and a whole lot safer.

This is just another example of the formations that you can see along the road. If you are ever in the area around Zion NP be sure and take the road to Kolob Reservoir out of Virgin, it is a fascinating excursion. Also, stop at the Cactus Room Cafe along the way and try their Buffalo Burger, it is fabulous.



We hope you enjoyed this information and if you have any questions email us or leave a comment on this post.

Best Regards - George & Deanna