Sunny St. George

We started the Christmas season off right with a trip to downtown Salt Lake to see Ballet West perform the Nutrcracker. My coworker's husband was given tickets from his work and she kindly offered two of them to us. I was so excited! It was held at the beautiful Capitol Theatre and the sets and special effects were amazing! Jeff wasn't sure if he would enjoy a ballet, but even he was impressed. Those ballet dancers are super strong and athletic. Seeing the show put us right in the holiday spirit. I've been humming the songs ever since : )

This weekend we took a break from winter and made a quick trip down to St. George. Our friends Caden and Shikeyah Rutter have a family house there and they invited us to join them for little getaway. They have a cute two year old named Makai, who they call Muk for short. They were super easy-going travel companions and we had a fun time together. Every time I go to St. George I like it more. The house styles are so cute and everything just looks like summer. We were able to spend Saturday morning in Zion National Park where we hiked the Canyon Overlook Trail. It's a short hike but the views are stunning. We even saw some mountain goats up close! When we got back to St. George we stopped at a cool vintage shop that was full of antiques and Christmas goods. We also climbed up the Dixie rock which is a big red rock that overlooks the town. After relaxing at the house for a bit we went out for dinner and had dessert at Neilsen's Frozen custard, which was de-lish. We also took a drive around some of the best Christmas decorated houses in the state.

Canyon Overlook Trail, Zion National Park

The next day when we headed out of St. George we stopped near La Verkin to walk around the Red Cliffs Recreation area. I thought it was going to be a short stroll through the desert, but it turned out to be much more! The path started out looking like landscape in Back to the Future III when Marty McFly is drives the Delorean over the sagebrush and red dirt. But then it led through some really unique rock formations which tuned into slot canyons with a beautiful clear river running through it! 

It did not feel like December as we climbed over the orange rocks that were bathed in sunlight. Sunshine and warm temperatures can be so rejuvenating in the winter! It had been in the low 20's and 30's all week in Pleasant Grove, so the 60 degree weather felt amazing. There was one part of the hike where we had to scale a wall using a rope to reach the backside of the canyon. We felt a little bit like Indiana Jones! 

This was certainly one of the coolest places I've ever hiked. It was AWESOME. After a couple of hours we headed out and began the scenic drive home. We enjoyed the time with our friends and being outdoors. So thankful for weekends and for our proximity to such magnificent landscapes!

Now we are home, have our Christmas lights on, are watching holiday movies, and feeling like it's winter again. We will be heading up to snowy McCall for Christmas to spend the break with my side of the family this year and are looking forward to it!