Touring Cedar City

We toured Cedar City with Grandma and Grandpa Aksland.



An old LDS church near the center of town.



Savannah on the SUU campus.



The family performing at the reproduction Globe Theater on the SUU campus.



Italian sodas at Bulloch Drug.



Playing at Cedar Canyon Park.



Coal Creek, which runs through Cedar City.

Parowan Gap Petroglyphs

Each year on the summer solstice, the sun aligns perfectly in the gap at Parowan Gap.  People gather from all over to view and celebrate this unique area, even holding a free bbq and discussions about the history of the area and the petroglyphs found there.

We skipped all of that and waited for the crowds to be gone and went this weekend instead.  Much better!

Bea and Gene joined us as we explored the petroglyphs.  There is a special petroglyph called the Zipper, that is believe to be the only Native American petroglyph to tell a chronology of the people that lived here.

While walking, I walked straight towards a Great Basin Rattlesnake that was in the road.  I was within about 6 feet before I saw it.  I gave it some space while I took some pictures.  A little while later, Tucker was walking on a trail and heard the rattle of a juvenile rattlesnake too.

















The Great Basin Rattlesnake (a subspecies of the Western Rattlesnake):






A juvenile Great Basin Rattlesnake (hiding next to the rock):



A Mormon Cricket:

Cedar Breaks National Monument

We were excited to have Grandma and Grandpa Aksland visit for the weekend.  With the car fixed (at least, we hoped it was fixed), we decided to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument.

The stratified cliffs were beautiful to see.  Amazing to think how this was all formed.

You climb about 4000' in elevation from Cedar City to Cedar Breaks.  By time you reach the summit, you are about 10,000' and the temperature is considerably cooler.  Despite it being summer, there was still snow.

All fixed

After some significant work, the car is running again.  We replaced the fuel pump, which we believe to be the primary cause of the issue.  The issue has been intermittent, so we aren't positive it was the issue.  The fuel pump is inside of the fuel tank, so we had to drain 24 gallons of gas out of the car, disconnect lots of hoses, then remove the fuel tank.  East-coast rain led to some seriously rusted parts which significantly complicated the repair.  We ended up cutting multiple parts off of the car to get the tank off, then replacing those parts.

Tucker helped replace the idle air control / throttle body for good measure -- we found a returned performance aftermarket one on Amazon for a good price.

I asked Tucker to put on some clothes that can get dirty -- these were what he chose:

Within minutes of finishing the repairs, we nervously took the car out of town, passing the spot it broke down before.  So far, so good...

Iron County K9 Police Recognition Event

The Friends of Iron County Police K9s hosted an activity and recognition event of our police force in the park. 

The SUU Aviation School had one of their impressive helicopters for everyone to see.  We regularly see these red helicopters flying around the area.









The SWAT team used explosives to blow the lock on a door and had the K9 storm the area to attack a well protected aggressor.  It was amazing how fast the dog moved -- it wasn't even phased by the loud explosion!

Children at Play - No Shooting

Hmmm...  'Children at Play' -- 'No Shooting'.  You have to wonder what kind of place you are in when the 'Children at Play' sign isn't clear enough.

Broken Down

This weekend, we drove through the beautiful Cedar Canyon, with its narrow two lane road and steep rocky cliffs.  As we pulled into Woods Ranch Park, the engine died.

Of all of the places for it to die, this had to be the best.  We had a nice green park, bathrooms, plenty of space of play.  We are SO glad it didn't break down on the steep, windy, narrow road that had little to no shoulder to park on.

After repeated attempts to start the car, it was obvious that it wasn't going anywhere.  Fortunately, there was just enough cell signal to call a tow truck.

Wayne from Mountain Towing & Recovery of Cedar City came to our rescue and told us all about the history of the area as we rode back into town.

Tour of Southern Utah University

We walked around the Southern Utah University this weekend.  It was a beautiful campus, but a lot of it was closed.  So we'll have to go another time.

They have a reproduction of the Globe Theater -- the Shakespeare Festival is a really big deal here.

If you look closely, we are wearing jackets.  Despite it being summer, it was pretty cold.

Cub Scout Day Camp at Woods Ranch Park

Tucker had a great time at Cub Scout Day Camp at Woods Ranch Park.  Angela helped out as a volunteer.







Tucker got one of the faster times in the obstacle course.

Mountain Biking Cedar City

We've been taking advantage of the great mountain biking trails in our backyard.











It can get pretty windy in the hills.

Frontier Folklife Festival

Frontier Homestead State Park hosted the annual Frontier Folklife Festival this weekend.  They had historic exhibits and re-enactors eager to help us learn about our history.  The Paiute Youth Dancers performed while we were there.







We learned about medical practices during the Civil War.