Rain, Snow, and Hail...Oh My!

Day 21 - May 26th

Since we had had warning lights on the van about needing an oil change, we had to wait until we reached some kind of civilization before finding a JiffyLube. Since St. George, UT was a good size city, we found one not too far from our hotel. That was the first order of business, well after Starbucks, of the day. We also needed a new air filter from all of the gypsum we picked up from the sand dunes at White Sands. It was all over the filter.

While we were waiting for the car, I was excited to get a picture of the Virgin River. We had seen it before on our drive, but it was not where we could get pictures. Here it was right next to the JiffyLube. The second picture I finally caught on our drive to Bryce Canyon National Park. The water sure looked muddy. As I walked to the river's edge, I spied a hoof print in the clay. Who do you think it belongs to?

We left St. George and headed north to go to Bryce Canyon. As we got off the interstate at Cedar City, we started seeing signs for Cedar Breaks National Monument. We figured it was right on our way so we should check it out. As we got closer, we could see snow on the top of the peaks. Then we knew we had to go.

National Historic Site #16 - Cedar Breaks National Monument

At the bottom of the mountain, the temperature in Cedar City was 78 degrees. The temperature began dropping as we wound around the mountain roads. When we reached the top, it was 39 degrees. Dean was in shorts and a short sleeve t-shirt. We pulled our jackets out of the back of the van.

There was snow everywhere. We had seen fields of white as we drove to the top. We headed straight to the Visitor Center to stamp our passports (really to warm up from the walk). Then we headed out to the overlooks to look out.  What gorgeous views! There was snow on the sides of the rock formations. While we could have looked longer, we were freezing so we headed back to the Visitor Center to warm up again.

Then we headed out to play in the snow. After making a few snowballs and having a snowball fight, it started to rain. Now we are cold and wet! Quickly the van became our destination. As we walked briskly, we realized we were being hit by something harder. It was hailing! The hailstones weren't big, but they certainly weren't raindrops. We stopped at the ranger station by the parking lot. The ranger told us they had had some really weird weather the past few days and confirmed it was hail. We finally made it back to the car. and pulled out the blanket to cover Dean's legs. The heater went on as we tried to thaw out and dry out.

As we traveled back down the mountain and on towards Bryce Canyon, the snow seemed to be piling up even more. It was a beautiful sight!

We drove a little bit and needed gas. As we pulled off, we encountered the weirdest exit. First of all, there was a lighthouse on the corner of the intersection. That seemed out of place. Then the lanes crossed over each other under the overpass. Instead of the right lane turning left and continuing on the right side of the road, the right lane turned left and went on the wrong side of the road until passed the intersection and then it crossed back over. Good thing Dean was really paying attention because you could have easily gotten confused.

We passed lava piles along the way. They, too, seemed out of place in this world of red rock.

National Historic Site #17 - Bryce Canyon National Park
We finally reached Bryce Canyon National Park. It was just beautiful! Judge for yourself! We did learn a new word...hoodoo. Bryce Canyon is known for these. A hoodoo is a column of weathered rock.

While we drove all the way to the tip of the loop before we headed back, the temperature began to drop. It got down to 43 degrees. We again needed out jackets. On the way back, Dean realized we were driving through snow and ice. As we continued, it began to hail again. Wow! Twice in one day...probably the same storm had shifted.  

We spotted pronghorn, a wild turkey (too slow with the camera to catch), and these mule deer before we left.

Nothing better than seeing wildlife! Well, the rock formations were pretty spectacular as well!

We drove on to the city of Kanab and checked into our hotel. We ate at the recommended restaurant which left much to be desired. However, we went across the street to The Three Bears' Creamery for ice cream which helped make the meal better.

We went to bed feeling tired, but feeling very privileged to witness God's beauty in nature.