Spring in St. George

Spring and fall are our favorite times to visit St. George.  Dave and I spent the weekend of March 23, 2018 re-experiencing favorite St. George activities, as well as finding new adventures.  Dave is standing, above, next to Oscar's restaurant in Springdale, where we ate a salad with Oscar's special dill dressing, served with grilled portabello mushrooms.  Worth the trip!

The town of Kayenta, near Tuacahn and Snow Canyon, has a new Center for the Arts.  Every weekend, it hosts distinctive plays, concerts, and lectures in its 150-person auditorium.  We spent both Friday and Saturday nights at the Center.  On Friday night, we saw the play "Driving Miss Daisy," produced by the troupe that puts on the yearly Neil Simon Festival in Cedar City.  On Saturday night, we attended a chamber music concert performed by the chief pianist, violinist and violaist from the Las Vegas Symphony.

 There is an art gallery in the Center's lobby.

On Friday night, we also stopped by Nancy and Darrell Moench's St. George condo, where Janice and her husband, Mark McGrady, were visiting.  Mark and Janice announced that Mark has taken a job as air traffic controller for the Saudi Arabian army in Ryadh, with a start date of April 1.  Janice plans to follow Mark to Saudi Arabia in August.

 We spent Saturday afternoon in Springdale and Zions Park.  We truly love the Zions Park red rock country.

 We often stop at David West's photography gallery in Springdale, where we have bought several photographs for our homes in St. George and Salt Lake City.  On this visit, we met David's wife, who told us the stories behind some of the photographs.  David West once spent three or four hours waiting for a mountain goat to peek his head over an embankment, to get the perfect shot of empty wilderness with one reclusive animal in it.

 "This is the best rock shop I've visited," David said of Zion Prospector.  We have searched through enough fossils, semi-precious stones, and Native American jewelry over the years to know a really good store when we see one!

 The quaint Springdale shops sell some strange items.  Who will buy that antique gas pump?

We not only see the wild country at a distance, but get out into it.  Dave and I spent an hour hiking the Coal Pits Wash Trail, which winds, mile after mile, through sagebrush, with blue mountains and red rock formations in the distance.