We arrived in St. George on Sunday. Hmmm, that’s a problem. Maybe five percent of restaurants (of which there isn’t a great selection) are open. We did find a  good sandwich shop, Even Steven‘s, a chain which we later found out just went bankrupt. Bummer. The sandwiches were good and it had a hipstery vibe. Although I never thought that I would look forward to that, in Utah it’s a good sign.

No doubt, it is hot here, but we don’t care. It’s gorgeous. It’s also growing like crazy. There’s new construction everywhere. Maybe that will lead to better restaurants. We were assuming we would have to do a lot of our own cooking, so that wasn’t a surprise. We were pleasantly surprised by the range of grocery options and the selection. Our real estate agent, the Marvelous Mrs. Megan of Elevated Properties Group, told us about Harmons, a fancy schmancy store that was about akin to Mariano’s (for you Chicago area folks). The produce was expensive, but we breathed a sigh of relief that we could get most of the products we are used to. Steven might have to forgo his favorite sour pickles, but brave man that he is, he seems willing to do so. (I am hoping that I can order them online – or perhaps arrange a business trip to Brooklyn and I will hand carry them back.)

Megan showed us around town and graciously tried to figure out what we were looking for in a house while we changed our minds about priorities. (My priorities never changed, all I want it a perfect house with perfect views and no close neighbors – pretty straight forward!) We saw some potential, but we didn’t fall in love with anything. Luckily, because we still have a house in Skokie.

The highlight of the trip after Megan was our short hike in Snow Canyon State Park. The park has a combination of red rocks, lava, and sandstone. Hiking, biking and rock climbing are all within easy reach. We started out on Hidden Pinyon trail and decided to head up the Petrified Dunes. Someone became a little petrified when the rocks got too steep, so once I investigated and realized that it wasn’t for him, we headed back down. Still, views you can’t believe unless you’ve seen them, perfectly still air, and silence. The comparison to Zion National Park is stark. Zion is crammed full and to see the splendor, you must do some serious, long hiking. Parking is a challenge, too. Snow Canyon is beautiful, empty of visitors and easy to access.  It borders St. George and you can even drive through it and see majestic views.

Steven here – a small extra point.  As many of you know, I lived in Leeds England for a number of years, so when we saw Leeds on the map near St. George, there was no way we were not going for a drive by.  It is a tiny cross roads.