st. george

H's parents arrived in town last Wednesday, their visit with us fortuitously overlapping with H's sister-in-law's work trip to SLC so we all went out to dinner at Stella Grill together.  There wasn't much late night catching up that evening, however: we were off to St. George for sunshine and warm temperatures first thing in the morning!  St. George averages in the high 80s in May and we were all looking forward to that, especially H and me after this dreary, wet spring we've had.

It was 41 and raining when we hit the road Thursday morning, after dropping B off at the kennel/groomer.  It rained the whole way down there (approx. 295 miles and just under 5 hours), only stopping for SNOW when we crossed the passes near Beaver.  H and I were incredulous: May 19 and snowing.  That's just not right.

Right around Beaver, Utah, on 5/19/11

We paused in Cedar City for lunch at Sullivan's Cafe - where I had biscuits and gravy, of course - a very local, family-food type establishment adorned with a decent amount of taxidermied game animals and the Wall of Fame/Shame photos from their burger eating contest.  (None of us entered, in case you were curious.)  It wasn't far to go after that and we arrived in St. George around 2:00 p.m., two hours before our condo check-in time.  So we cruised downtown St. George, with its pretty historic center and marked dearth of pubs, and then headed out of town to Ivins.

Ivins is home to the Kayenta "desert community" and Coyote Gulch Art Village, which a work friend had told me about.  A stunning planned community located under bright red cliffs, Kayenta's homes blend right into the landscape, with their large lots and native plantings.  It is gorgeous - and, unsurprisingly, really expensive.  Coyote Gulch is a little plaza with art galleries, studios, shops and cafes, located right in the center of things.  There wasn't much going on at the time we were there, but we poked around in a couple of the galleries and wandered through the Desert Rose Labyrinth and sculpture garden.

They made it, eventually

We got to our condo (Las Palmas at Green Valley) around 5:00 p.m., entered the combination to the door and walked right in.  Las Palmas seems to be the older development at the resort but it was just what we were looking for: two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen/living area (ideal, so we could eat breakfast in and pack lunches) and a balcony overlooking the four (three outdoor/one indoor) pools.  H and I made a quick run to the grocery store for breakfast, lunch and beer supplies, then we all went out for dinner at a sports bar.

After that, there was just enough time for a couple of card games and cocktails before calling it a night.  Despite the poor weather - the high all day was 67 and that only lasted for a short time - we were all in optimistic spirits and looking forward to Zion National Park on Friday.