Come - Share some spring with me!
We arrived in Provo, Utah yesterday April 10, 2013.  We got storm stayed in Cedar City for 2 days as there was a wicked storm over much of Utah.  They are having unusually cold weather here as well and are anxiously awaiting a warm up.  If any of us compared to what Saskatchewan is experiencing this winter/spring we should probably SHUT UP!
Don was talking to his mom and she said in all the years that they came south for the winter they never ran into snow in Utah.  Well that figures.  It was really wet, snow, rain and high winds.  As we heard on the news, no travel recommended in a lot of areas and high profile vehicles - watch out.  They said "a lot of "sem eye's" will end up in the ditch or overturned.  Kind of a boring 2 days but did a lot of reading, playing on the computer and what not.

There was a lot of snow close to the road and a lot of salt on the highway.  It was clean and dry when we drove so it was all good.  Along the way we saw a lot of cows, horses and sheep.  The last little calf in this group was running to catch up and it looked so cute.

 There was a petting zoo right beside a rest stop on the highway, I had seen this zebra from the highway and had to take a closer look

 This is Mt. Nebo, I loved the way the clouds swirled around it, it is at an elevation of over 11,000

Take a Hike! - in Kolob Canyons
On Saturday April 6 we drove to Kolob Canyons which is in northern Zion National Park.  It was about a half hour drive on a beautiful warm sunny day. 

Very beautiful area, look at how red all the highways are.

We went on a small hike hoping to some some bluebirds, let me clarify, I was hoping to see a bluebird and Don was hoping I would see one so I will finally shut up about seeing a bluebird.  We took this little trail as they said bluebirds were often present so we gave it a try but no luck.

Does this count as a blue bird??  I stopped and talked to this pleasant lady for a little while.  Her and her friend come to Zion every weekend to paint.  How fun is that!

We decided to take the Taylor Creek trail as it is supposedly one of the best birding trails, has a creek running alongside and crossing the trail and can be hooked up to other parts if you want to hike longer.

One of the first things we saw when we finally got down the side of the canyon (it was a fairly long steep way down, and believe me, an even steeper one on the way up).  These turkeys are huge!

I loved hiking on this trail a lot.  We had to cross over this pretty little creek 12 times on a one way trip to the first marker on the trail.  It was so fun to pick your way across the rocks and look at the pretty water as well as the wet rocks.

 Sure wish I knew how I got these 2 pictures beside each other - I have tried to do it before with no success??

These were just some really pretty areas along the trail.  It was like walking on a beautiful sandy beach with a few roots, rocks and water hazards to keep you on your toes.  There were so many pine cones in some areas.

In a lot of spots a lot of these little black larvae were clinging to the rocks.

This rock had a perfect little seat built right into it. 

I will never be sick of looking at the colors of the rock here.

There was an old log house from approximately 1930.  It was so pretty here and we both decided we would turn around and go back after we sat on a log and soaked up the scenery and had a cookie and a drink.  It was so peaceful and amazing.  On the way back I decided I need to add to my "need" list.  This summer I will get a comfortable pair of hiking boots and some of those zip off hiking pants.

 Such a pretty little flower. 

I have a serious fascination with water and oak leaves.  There were quite a few of these water bugs floating around - do you suppose the larvae were these insects? 

I didn't even see this little (3 inches long at most) lizard at first, I noticed the cactus and oak leaf,  but it sure was a bonus.

Love this sand - my shoes are permanently colored the same from all the walking we have done.
The next day Sunday I did laundry, made a "chewy bar" square (which was amazing, it is a recipe we got from Suz and Larry our new friends from Colorado).  This time I actually followed the directions properly and it was super good!  I also vacuumed and washed out the motor home.  Don had a busy day watching Nascar.
We had planned on leaving today (Monday) to go north and kind of wait it out until the snow is gone (or until April 24th ish comes along) so we can head home.  From there we will do 2 or 3 days of big driving.  However, the  whole state is under a huge storm warning.  The wind last night was crazy, and it is still windy, with huge dark sky and periods of rain and snow.  We will hopefully be able to leave on Wednesday for Salt Lake City/Provo area.

Big - Beautiful - Bryce
April 4th we got up early and drove through the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel.  It was made in 1930 and is 1.1 miles long.

We drove a long way up on switchbacks to get to the tunnel.

At a couple of spots in the tunnel they had cut outs for light and to get an amazing view. From the inside looking out.

Look how it looks from the outside.

The cactus were so pretty, these were the only ones blooming as spring is just starting here.  The paintbrush flowers were also a bright bright red but I could not ever get close enough to one to take a picture.
After the trip through the tunnel we loaded up the motorhome and headed to Cedar City, Utah.  It was still early enough in the day to go for a half hour drive to see the Parowan Gap  Petroglyphs.

Wind, water and sand carved out this passageway that was once used as a major thoroughfare by ancient Native Americans. This petroglyph is called the zipper. They believe that this was an ancient solar calendar.

There was even a really cool cave there.  The elevation of Cedar City is over 5000 which is interesting as we had gone a long way up at Zion to get to the tunnel which was at about 5000 feet.  Spring is also just starting here as the elevation is high and they had a long cold winter as well as a late and cold spring (hmmm is that everywhere this year?)
Yesterday, April 5/13 we decided to get up early and drive into Bryce Canyon.  We packed up a lunch as well as it is about a 90 minute drive to Bryce Canyon.  It was pretty cool in the morning and we had both layers on as well as the heat!  We took the I15 to the 14 which is a scenic byway.  The drive there was almost as spectacular as the canyon.

Along the way the rocks were dripping and the ice had formed into beautiful sculptures down the rock.
This is the Navajo lake which is in the Dixie National Forest. As we headed up the west side of the mountain we watched the elevation rise to 9913 and the temperature  drop to 3 Celsius.

There is a section with huge lava fields along the way.
http://www.allbryce.com/scenic_drives/highway_14.php

All along the highway you can see the red posts on either side of the highway to guide the snow plows.  When we were up here at the top it reminded me of northern Sask.

There was even a park called Elk Ridge and a Duck something or other which I found amusing.  I love dry deserts and cactus but when we got out at the canyon and smelled the pine - well, it just doesn't get any better.
As we drove down the mountain, there was a lot less snow on the east side.  There was also a lot more houses etc.
Before you drive into Bryce Park you pass through Red Canyon. It has the reddest rocks and two beautiful little tunnels.

Bryce Canyon is almost the opposite of Zion.  At Zion you drive into the bottom of the canyon and hike up and around.  For the most part you see Bryce from the top.  The best way to see the whole park is to drive the 37 mile round trip through the park and stop on the return trip at all the viewpoints.  Most of the viewpoints were between 8000 and 9000 ft elevation.  The elevation, temperature and wind made it pretty cold.  We did not do any hiking here as you have to have good hiking boots and plus, it is a little too high up for me.  It actually made me dizzy looking down the canyon until I got used to it.  You could definitely tell you were at a high elevation when you got out and walked around a bit.

It is hard to even really explain it with words or even pictures.  At every stop we were just amazed.

 This is called the natural arch and it was so pretty.

The rocks were every color, from sand to pink to bright rusty red.

 This area was called the grottos.  I think they looked like castles. 

It was a really great day trip. On the way back it got cloudier and cooler. At one point we were pelted with some hard little snow type drops.  I saw a number of birds that were blue.  You cannot stop on this scenic byway to check them out but I think they were mountain bluebirds.  Sure would have loved to see them close up.