Following the Hood Ornament: St. George, January 2020

When our kids were young, most Saturdays we would toss them all in the back of the woody station wagon and take off for “high adventure with Low Daddy.”  (An allusion the kids never got to a 1950s TV show, High Adventure with Lowell Thomas.) We usually had no idea where we would end up—we just said we would “follow the hood ornament.” (In those days cars had hood ornaments, small decorative pieces of chrome sticking up from the front of the car.) In other words, we just went where the car took us.

Since Paul and I have retired, we once again are “following the hood ornament.” We just take off and see where we end up. Once we thought we would go to Vernal (a small town in east Utah, about 2 hours away) for an overnight visit. We ended up wandering around Colorado for a week (rinsing out underwear in the sink each night.) One afternoon last fall, we headed to our local Home Depot, somehow missed the freeway exit, and ended up driving all the way to Burley, Idaho. I never know quite what will happen when I get in the car with Paul. High Adventure indeed!

So last Thursday we woke up and looked out at yet another grey, cold January day, with snow flurries eddying in the air. On a whim, I checked the weather in St. George, just three and half hours to the south. Clear skies and 60 degrees!

I turned to Paul and said, let’s go!

So we threw some things in overnight bags, hastily put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and headed south for the freeway. As Paul drove, I sent a group text to my kids to let them know our destination. Then I texted our good neighbor to ask her child to pick up mail and paper. This neighbor is well aware of our impetuous travel, since her kids always take care of our house while we are away. She just replied, “Sure! Have fun!” Then I called a St. George Marriott to arrange a room.

Having taken care of all the responsibilities of travel, I then settled back in the passenger seat to blissfully watch the scenery pass by.  Around Holden, the sky cleared to a wide expanse of blue. 

In St. George, we reveled in blue sky and 60 degrees. We headed to Main Street Town Square, a charming park in the middle of downtown. There we found planters filled with blooming flowers! And palm trees! And a splash pad that was splashing! And small barefoot child splashing and playing in the water! We were clearly not in January Provo anymore.

We walked around the square enjoying historic buildings of sandstone, a colorful carousel (not running just then), and quaint little shops in quaint little buildings. We stopped at the historic St George Tabernacle, noting the sign promising tours, and stepped in the back door. Sure enough, there were two kindly senior missionaries just waiting for us. We learned how the early pioneers had sacrificed in 1869 to build this beautiful building when they themselves were barely surviving in huts. We had our photo taken behind the podium where Brigham Young spoke.

Next we drove a few blocks across town to the striking St George Temple, which rises up surprisingly against the red rock cliffs surrounding St. George. It is closed currently, under construction to make it earthquake safe and return the interior to be more like it was in pioneer times. We went in the Visitor Center which was still open, and talked to some charming young sister missionaries who told us all about the remodel. When I looked at all the construction going on, I couldn’t help thinking of how the Lord works to remodel me, and sometimes the work is not pretty.

When we follow the hood ornament, we don’t spend a lot of time finding great local food. So sorry. But I want to report that the trout fillet at Cracker Barrel was delish.

Friday morning, we were up early, enjoying the hotel breakfast, and studying maps. We love the detailed Delorme maps and Benchmark maps. 

We decided to take Highway 18 heading north out of St. George. We had never been to Snow Canyon state park, and that was our first stop.

A great choice. Snow Canyon is red rock cliffs and red sand paths, punctuated by cactus, yucca, scrub oak, and sage brush. According to the brochure, it is not uncommon to sight desert tortoises there, though we didn’t. Evidently, if you see one in the road, you are supposed stop your car,  walk up to the tortoise, carefully noting his direction of travel. Then you are to pick the big guy up, keeping him level, and walk him across the road, setting him safely down, facing the same direction he had been going, some distance from the road. I really hoped to get to do this, but sadly this was not my day to rescue a tortoise.

Skies were blue, and the temperature around 60. At the visitors’ center, we asked a charming Scottish lady for recommendations for not-too-taxing hikes. “Do ye want aisy, but a leetle bit excitin’ too?” Sure, we said. 

Soon we were hiking Hidden Pinon Trail, ooh-ing and ah-ing over the scenery as we clambered over ragged lava rocks and slid on our bottoms down slick rock. Later we drove down the road a piece and hiked up to a cliff with historic graffiti—Pioneer Names Trail. We did a few more short trails, before heading out of the park on the south, marveling at the beautiful communities right there next to Snow Canyon. Tempting!

Next, we headed back out to Hwy 18, heading north again, to see what we could see. I studied the map and thought we could take a shortcut through the mountains, so we headed east at the little village of Central.  The road was paved and wide, until we reached the tiny town of Pine Valley, nestled in a wood of evergreens, so surprising in the desert country. There we lost the road, and a nice woman walking her dog told us the road did continue, but it was dirt and impassable in winter. We turned around.

But we didn’t leave until we stopped to admire the darling Pine Valley Chapel, the oldest church building still in use by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Ebenezer Bryce (who later discovered Bryce Canyon), an Australian ship builder who had immigrated to Utah to join the Saints in Zion, was asked to construct the chapel. He agreed, as long as he could build it as an “upside down boat.” It was completed in 1868 and has been in continuous use ever since. I thought it looked familiar, and sure enough, a replica of it stands at the This is The Place State Historical Park in Salt Lake City. 

We then returned to Highway 18, driving north to Hwy 56 and then east to Cedar City, where we had lunch at a Subway near the freeway interchange. (I warned you this wouldn’t be about food. But, here’s a tip: Turns out Subway can make you a great salad from all those sandwich fixings, if you are into low carb.)

Then home. As we pulled into Provo around dusk, drizzling rain was falling. At least we had sunshine for a couple of days, just a short distance to the south. We were gone just a little over 24 hours, but we enjoyed plenty of new vistas and adventures. 

Can’t wait for the next time we follow the hood ornament!