Road Tripping: Drive through Moapa, Nevada

Drive through the desert for about 75 miles heading South on the I-15 from St. George, Utah, and you'll find your way to Moapa Valley. Dubbed as the "Gateway to Valley of Fire and Lake Mead", which it quite literally is, this small town is a pleasant reminder of civilizations' existence after expansive emptiness that's more reminiscent of Mad Max.  It's quite a charming little town, and we'll definitely have to make a point of visiting it and spending more time there in the future. As of this venture, we were trying to beat the sun to the horizon and squeeze in a quick photo shoot before it grew too dark. We had miles yet to go, so we drove through Moapa without stopping but I managed to snap plenty of photos of the town on our brief tour. There wasn't a huge amount to it- there's no major chain stores or familiar fast food franchises proliferating to choose from, but there are small neighborhood markets and restaurants. One in particular stood out, with a giant rooster standing high above the roadside. The large bird jokes are easy to make, but I'm going to try to rise above the immature impulse to make some joke that ends in "that's what she said!"...

I don't know about you, but I've been dropping that line into conversations a little more regularly than I think is probably ideal. I blame the constant rotation of "The Office" in our home. I really don't want to let Michael Scott's mannerisms rub off on me (that's what she said). Anyway, it's hard not to notice a giant red cock glistening in the sun, and it definitely adds a unique charm to their downtown sprawl. 

 

Driving through Moapa it's not hard to see why people would want to live out here. It's close enough to multiple bigger cities that any amenities or things you might want or need are still fairly easily accessible (so long as you have a vehicle) but it's far enough away to feel secluded and maintain it's rural charm. There are farms and boats, for heading out for a day on the nearby lake, and at night it's small enough that the light pollution is absolutely minimal, especially when compared to its ostentatious neighbor Vegas. This is a great locale for people who enjoy the outdoors and the beautiful scenery of Valley of Fire as it's right next door. The quiet life, with Vegas just an hour down the road if you miss the bustle and hustle. 

Road Tripping: Riverside, Nevada

Sometimes you take a detour in life and you're rewarded with random cows. This little experience in our timeline of life, happened to occur because we were trying to see the goats from Glendale again. Antho misjudged where we'd encountered them, pulling off the freeway on the exit for Riverside. The goats, as it were, are located in Glendale, not Riverside. That being what it was, we cruised along the two lane road in the hope that it would eventually route us towards Glendale, or at least the freeway. What we found instead was that it grew more rural and rapidly ended in the driveway to a beautiful farm with a very large front gate. Along the way, we encountered a couple of cows out for a stroll, which was extremely entertaining for us as a couple of city kids from Vegas. These particular bovines were ambling along the road, so we tried to go slowly and cautiously so as not to spook them or cause them to run in front of the vehicle out of startlement. We love cows, after all, and certainly wouldn't want to harm someone's pets. I know there's probably some vegans out there taking deep breaths preparing for an epic argument, and I assure you guys, I get it. I do. But I'm still going to eat the occasional hamburger. I know there may be a degree of cognitive dissonance that occurs when you dwell on it, but it is what it is. Lab grown meat is showing promising advances day after day, so maybe in the not-too-distant future soylent beef will be our burgers. 

Given the spontaneous cow encounter, we weren't too upset about losing some time to this detour. Once we reached the end of the line, quite literally, we turned around as best we could in the narrow lane and made our way back to the freeway. It was a nice side trip and we saw some beautiful fields full of lush crops that I certainly wouldn't have expected to find in this climate, but it always gives me hope to see people overcoming the odds and thriving. I know we have several farmers markets in Vegas and the farmers have to grow their produce somewhere, but I typically assume the majority of it is coming in from the cooler hills of California. Glad to see some places thriving in Nevada! We saw several other farms during our drive, too, which again was quite pleasing for me. There were plenty of photos taken along the way, so those lie ahead. Enjoy!

Road Tripping: Return drive through Arizona

Now that the time for fun in St. George had come to an end, it was inevitable that we'd have to hop back on that fateful highway and head southbound. All good things must come to a close sooner or later, right? We managed to get quite a bit done during the day, though! We cruised through town, saw the Historic District and some creepy art there, checked out a local shop, hiked in two different areas, one with an incredible view of the city, got our feet wet... all in all I'd say we did pretty dang good given the circumstances! Go us. After being on the road for a bit going south, we hit the stateline of Arizona and I was able to snap a photograph commemorating the moment. It's all just lines in the sand, literally enough, but it marks the transition point from one region to the next so it at least makes organizing photos a little easier. 

The handy sign above helps to orient where we are here, too. Mesquite is only 18 miles down road, and Las Vegas (aka home, sweet, home) is 97 miles away. Not bad, not bad at all. That's why I've tagged all these posts, or at least the majority, with "day trips from Vegas"! it's totally manageable, guys. If you're in Vegas and want to get away and see something different, a day trip out this way would be nice. Leave in the early afternoon and get some photos at the look out sights or any significant spots you intend to hit, grab an early dinner then hop back in the car and head home if you must. I'd highly recommend trying to make it a day or two long affair if you have the time because there was quite a bit we didn't get to see. 

  

Arizona, of course, has it's own unique charms. There's a lot to see and do out here, too, but we didn't stop much along the way because we were trying to beat the sun. We had things to accomplish yet and miles left to go, so we had to make some executive decisions and driving through Arizona was one of them. There's plenty of natural beauty to see just hauling down the highway, so we didn't feel especially deprived. I've been to Arizona multiple times over the years for hikes and visits and things, so it's not as much of a rarity for me that Utah is. Visiting St. George was far from my norm, and I'm glad we got to do it, just as I'm glad to have been able to capture at least some of Arizona's beauty during the drive. 

   

  

Road Tripping: Further explorations of Pioneer Park in St. George, Utah

I mentioned in my previous post that Pioneer Park has 52 acres of land to explore- which is quite a lot of space! We didn't have that long to explore, so we didn't get too far from the car, but we tried to take in what we could. After checking out the overlook and making myself thoroughly uncomfortable by waddling closer to the edge of a large rock with a steep drop than I feel comfortable with, we returned to less frightening environments. What's scary about a dark tunnel going into the mountain, after all? I guess it depends who you ask... for all we know there could be trolls, scorpions, rattlesnakes, homeless people (who aren't necessarily threatening but might make some people really uncomfortable), Droogs, the possibilities are endless! Lucky for us, we didn't encounter anything frightening other than my camera running low on battery. Womp womp. These things. We still managed to get a pretty good amount of photos, but when it was time for Antho to get a fancy tunnel photo shoot my camera started flashing the low-battery indicator which caused a bit of grumbling from Antho. Sorry, buddy, next time. 

This park seems like an ideal place to bring your mountain bike if you're into that sort of thing. We found this nice paved route for biking on, but I expect there's plenty more unpaved routes to take that we simply didn't have the time to find or explore in this venture. While it does get up to the 100's during the summer, there were still people out getting their pedaling fix during our walk. Downhill is really nice, after all, as you get your own breeze from the momentum to cool off from the exertion of getting to the top of the hill... unless you just drive to the top and save your workout for the end. Whatever works for you, guys. I'm not here to judge, I'm just trying to say there are so many freaking options out here! There were picnic tables for those who want a more casual snack outside, and there were dudes with their remote-controlled ATVs playing among the rocks.  Lots of things to do out here!

     

Road Tripping: Pioneer Park in St. George, Utah

If you want to get THE best view of St. George, then Pioneer Park is the place to go! It's not much further up the road from where we were in the previous post, and the big rock overlook is easy to spot from anywhere in the city. Such a prominent landmark makes it easy to identify and locate, and if you get lost you could surely ask any local and be pointed the right direction. There's a bit of a trek to get to the viewpoint after parking, but it's nothing terribly arduous so don't worry if you're not in outstanding physical shape. If you can climb some stairs, you'll be okay. If you struggle with a narrow stairwell, then be forewarned, the route to the top of the rock is a roughly defined stairway in stone that could be slippery or a little difficult if you have mobility difficulties or it's just rained. No rain fell on us this day, so we're grateful for that, and we were able to get a photo together near the edge of the large rock thanks to a friendly couple who happened to pop up to take in the view around the time we did. We traded phones and cameras for photos, an even exchange. 

I don't know if you can tell from my body language or not, but I was ready to be away from the edge. Despite working at the Stratosphere tower on the 108th floor for years, I'm not too keen on heights, especially out in the open like this with the wind blowing my hair about. We got our photos and took some for the other duo, then went back to our hike where we were less precariously perched near the edge. There's a lot more to the park than just this big rock look out point, after all! It's a pretty massive park, with 52 acres full of hiking trails and biking paths. We'll definitely have to make a point of it to explore the area more in depth next time we find ourselves out in the area. The colors in the stones remind me of home, Valley of Fire and Red Rock, but all the trees and greenery add a lush contrast to the usual views we get. It's not that Vegas and the nearby areas don't have greenery, any trip out to Mount Charleston to admire the bristlecone pines and aspen will quickly affirm that we, too, can have forests, but these are different. While landscaping choices are going to divert from the traditional Fremont Cottonwoods or Honey mesquite, the fauna is going to be subtly different from what we're used to in our stretch of desert. 

It's always a good idea to try to get a new perspective whenever possible. This was a nice glimpse of the city and we enjoyed our visit. We'll definitely make a trip back out this way at some point in the future, perhaps when we can spend more than a day exploring all that it has to offer. With so many miles of hiking trails, and the nearby nature reserves, there's so much to see and we'll definitely have to plan an overnight van-stay. 

Road Tripping: Overlook hike in St. George, Utah

As I mentioned in my last post, St. George is located in a prime spot for outdoor enthusiasts. Not only are the somewhat mild (by Vegas standards) summer temperatures ideal for getting out and going hiking among any number of outstanding natural rock formations and national parks but the winter brings ample options not-too-far away for going skiing, snowboarding, or otherwise enjoying the outdoors. If you're not keen on snow, never fear! St. George averages only 8 inches of precipitation a year, well below the national average, and the mild winter temps mean it's unlikely you'd have to ever contend with too much snowfall, but if you're pining for the powder you won't have to travel far at all. Brianhead Ski resort is only an hour or so further north on the I-15 and has a ton of options for enjoying the snow, from tubing to ziplines, to disc golf! I have to admit that I've never gone skiing myself, but I know people who go annually as tradition and Brianhead has always been spoken of highly. This time of year, of course, it's not going to have much snow, and you're going to see a lot more mountains that look like this:

I mean, that's not a bad thing, right? That's actually quite pretty. Reminds me of some of the photos of Mars that have been sent back. I think it's absolutely fascinating how the same basic building blocks make the basis for life, the universe, and everything, just in an infinite variety of combinations. A little more heat or a dash more of one element or another and you have something else entirely, like exoplanet Cancri e, whose surface is made of graphite and diamond rather than the water and stones of our home. Nature is pretty cool in that regard. Endlessly creative. I guess you could say life, uh, finds a way. Deserts always provide proof of that statement in the virulent life that crops up despite the harsh environment, plants taking root in the most unlikely of crevices and making a life where they land. It's poetic, of course, which is why countless tomes and sonnets have expounded the merits of nature, and Japanese studies have shown the health benefits of simply strolling among the trees.    

So go on, get out there and take in some nature! Do it for your health! Most cities, at least that I'm familiar with out here on the Western side of the US, have ready access to the outdoors, and even our more landlocked neighbors have endless ways to get outdoors. I'm sure our East Coast, Midwestern, Northeastern and Southern friends all have their own amazing outdoor areas to explore during the appropriate times of year, I'm just not as familiar with them. I remember loving Ohio summers as a kid when I'd get to visit, and feeling like I was going to melt into a mosquito-drained mass of goo in the humidity of central Florida during the summers, but there were still so many awesome options for going out and being among nature. Plan accordingly for the seasons and climate of your region, then have at it. The world is a big beautiful place with a lot of stunning, less-seen corners we won't get to take in if we don't make a point of going out there and trying. 

And you never know, you might have a random ice cream truck show up when you're coming back down the mountain or something. 

More photos below~

Road Tripping: Drive out to overlook in St. George, Utah

Given that the city of St. George is situated in a region full of gorgeous natural stone formations, rich mountains and sweeping valleys, there are plenty of options for getting outdoors and exploring the bounty of nature. Having spent the better part of our day thus far looking at things that were highly landscaped and maintained, we definitely wanted to get out of the city and see something a little more remote. This did not prove difficult at all, as a quick search on our phone offered up directions to this spot. If you're having a hard time with the reception you can always go about it the old-fashioned way and try to make your way to the highest elevations. There were some seriously steep hills along the way, but Vanticore conquered them like the V8 monster she is. My cute little Volvo would have struggled up those hills with her four-banger engine and transmission going bad. Unfortunately, little Miss Svetty might have to be sold off soon because she's beyond the point that I can manage her repair needs. Alas. At least we have Vanticore, who is running strong as ever and made this drive out to Utah and back with no hiccups! So, up the hill we went, and the view was pretty awesome on the way. 

The city spread out beneath us as we wound our way up the hill. The sky had been bright and clear when we first woke up but the clouds had started to roll in little by little as the hours stretched on, so by the time we got to the end of this hike it was starting to look like we might actually get rained on if we didn't get vamoosing. Given the beautiful weather, we weren't the only people who went out to the park. Can't blame anyone. Everyone we encountered was friendly, which was pleasant, too. You certainly meet a lot of people who are happy and having fun in Vegas, but there's the darker side of gambling addiction and alcohol abuse that you'll encounter if you spend any significant time in the city...after all, it's Sin City, so catering to people's vices can and will bring out the worst in people. It's a nice reminder for us that other cities don't necessarily operate that way, facilitating and attracting positivity and happy people. With so many options for getting outside and being active in gorgeous accommodating weather, it makes sense that the locals might be running on endorphins rather than booze or meth. But hey, who knows, we were only there for a short while and maybe the city has a seething underbelly of sin and debauchery we simply didn't find in our short stay!

There will be more photos below, but I split this outing into two posts (the drive up and then the actual hike) so as to prevent it from becoming too overwhelming with the amount of photos. Enjoy!

Road Tripping: Hornets and flowers, St. George, Utah

Look at that big, bright, beautiful butt. Don't let the appearances fool you, though- it's got a terrible stinger on the end of it! And lucky for them (but not for us humans), unlike their cousins the bees who have to kamikaze and rip their own guts out when they sting you (making the majority of bees far more hesitant to sting unless absolutely necessary) hornets can happily keep stinging and stinging until they feel satisfied that any and all threat has gotten the message; "F**k off!"

Yeah, hornets are jerks. They're pretty awful, and because they know their stings come with an unlimited (or nearly) supply of ammunition they're not hesitant about using them and can get rather aggressive. Because of this fact, we had to be extremely cautious in our efforts to capture photos of them. We managed to get these without receiving any unwanted pokes or prods from the models, but we quickly ceased our photo shoot when they grew agitated. While pain is often equated with the price of beauty, we were in absolutely no need of pain on this particular day. 

I believe these particular beauties to be the European wasp variety, given their bright brown and yellow coloration and extra-large size. There's also yellowjackets in the area, but they tend to be smaller, about an inch or less, while these guys were well over an inch in length. Whatever their particular strain, their stings still suck so we noped out as soon as they got tired of our attention. I can't recall being stung by a hornet or wasp any time in my lifetime, though I've been stung by bees and know I had no allergies when I was a kid it's not a risk I'd like to take.  They are fascinating creatures, though, those insects. Personally, I like studying them from a safe distance, ideally. How about you?

Road Tripping: Historic District Water Park

When the sun is shining brightly in a crisp blue sky and the long, warm days of summer sweep in there are few things that can cheer the spirit quite like splashing about in some water. Whether it's going to Wet n' Wild or out to your nearest river with an inner tube and six pack, or even a sandy beach if you're coastal like that, there's something inherently pleasing to the soul about submerging in the cold waters. In this case, we weren't really submerging ourselves so much as splashing a bit, but we definitely made a point of it to get our shoes off and get our feet wet. I even made my way out to the fountain for a minute, but I felt self-conscious being the only adult in such a child-oriented area, so I got a quick misting and moved onward. There's tons of art in this park to check out, so we tried to take a moment for each one to appreciate the artistry and talent. Most are related to play and fun,  or fantasy and adventure, which makes sense in a park, though we found one that seemed a little suggestive? Maybe not. I was surprised to see it included in such a public area, but I'll leave it up to you to decide. 

There are three or so semi-distinct areas with running water open to the public in the park, though there may have been others we missed. They're all pretty close together, and as kids from a city afflicted by drought we were a bit surprised to see just how much water was running through the park. It wasn't an unpleasant surprise, and access to water like this makes any city much more livable and enjoyable in my experience. While it would be nice for Vegas to have more areas like this, it's not really realistic or responsible with our current climate situation. I'm curious to see what the future of Las Vegas will hold, but this post isn't about Vegas! The people we encountered were pretty friendly here, and when one little boy became fascinated with the areas we stopped to check out ("Oh, you're taking photos here? Must be special!") his mother laughed and apologized for his meddling. Families and flowers abounded, and it was overall a lovely pitstop on our trip through the area.  

Road Tripping: St. George Historic District Walk

💗Happy fourth of July, my fellow Americans!💙

🎆

 What better way to celebrate our country than by reflecting on one of our towns, so similar yet so unique to so many others throughout the USA?

 Our great big shiny arachnid friend is here to greet us all, as is toss-the-baby-statue! Okay, technically it has another name ("Flight time", which arguably isn't much better), but come on. Toss them babies! Aside from the potential nightmare inducing gargantuan spider and the baby-chucking statues, this little district in the St. George metropolitan area is quite lovely. We found parking right in front of the great big brick building and were able to explore the surrounding area on foot comfortably and readily. There's a giant guitar tucked away, along with a carousel, TWO different water-park play areas open to the public, and lots more art nestled in among the trees as well.

We also happened upon this little pavilion, in the public park, which warns against loitering. Antho astutely pointed out that there's no other real point to these little buildings but to loiter, unless you're specifically having a wedding or some sort of event. I mean, I get what they're really saying- they don't want homeless people congregating here and making their pretty little park look bad or something. We saw a guy posted up with a guitar when we were making our way back to the van. We're not bothered too much by that sort of thing, but given how many kids were scampering about I suppose some parents might get their hackles raised at the sight of a man loitering...in a public park...but I digress.  If you don't want to sit in the shade, there's a giant iron-wrought guitar to check out! It seemed like there was some sort of carnival or fair going on during the day we visited (and school had just let out for summer) so there were a lot of families out taking advantage of the great weather. Even so, parking was a breeze!

If you ever find yourself cruising down this particular stretch of the I-15, I'd recommend taking an afternoon to cruise around St. George. I don't know if I'd want to move there, though it's supposedly the fastest growing metropolitan area for 2018, but it's certainly nice to visit. There were a lot of super cute little restaurants around, too, so you wouldn't have to look too far for a tasty bite to eat to refuel before you hit the road again and resume your own personal adventure. There's plenty of hiking nearby, too, if that's more your jam. We weren't really prepared for anything too arduous, but this walk downtown warmed us up for a bit of a hike later on, so check back in a couple days for that post if that's more your speed. 

Road Tripping: St. George, Utah

St. George, Utah, was our first stop in the lovely state. It's a beautiful little town in the Southwestern region of Utah, tucked in near to the Pine Valley mountains who glisten with snow in the winters. The picturesque little town was rated the second-fasted growing metropolitan area in 2005 and by 2018 it's jumped to first place. I guess people have forgotten about all that radioactive fallout that drifted downwind from the Nevada Nuclear Test Site and fell predominantly on the area... To be fair, the last major spike in radiation seemed to sync up around the timeframe of the incident in Fukushima, so it's probably safe. Just keep an eye out for Deathclaws when you're out in those mountains...

Our first impressions of the area were that it was a cute little Southwestern small town. Further explorations helped to cement this idea more deeply, though we did witness an incident of domestic violence along the roadside next to the hotel pictured above. A man was sitting on the brick wall and a woman was slapping about his face and shouting... charming. So, it's certainly not an untainted paradise, free of human woes and suffering. The demographics veer predominantly Caucasian, with roughly 87% of the population, and almost 71% of the population are members of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Given the Church's history with racism, including a rally from The Book of Mormon to be "a white and delightsome people" 

( 2 Nephi 30:6

“…their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and a delightsome people.” - source) 

and a history of excluding darker skinned members from participating in certain rituals and rites, it's not entirely surprising that the demographic veers a certain direction. The passage quoted above has since been adapted to read "pure" instead of "white", but given the recency in which the book was written, it's unlikely that a translation error occurred. Who knows. These days the LDS Church tries to paint itself as inclusive and welcoming of all members, including the LGBTQ+ on their own official website, maybe times are changing. After all, this little burb is rapidly growing and change is inevitable.