Roaming Free In An RV

After leaving Vegas mid-March, we continued on our way to Provo, Utah and stopped in Mesquite, Nevada for two weeks with our goal to be in Provo by April 1st. We might have been only 4 hours from Provo for those two weeks but it gave the Provo area time to warm up. It was in the 70’s/80’s in Nevada but still in the upper 50’s in Provo.

The campground in Mesquite was really small but comfy. We were walking distance from a grocery store so we went on a daily morning walk to the store to get food for the day. We donated blood one day and found a regional sports complex that had walking and hiking trails, soccer/lacrosse/football fields, and a playground for kids. We would go to this park often to get in steps and one morning explored the multiple short hiking trails.

We have good friends in the St. George area, which was only 30 minutes away and we actually tried to stay in St. George but the campgrounds were packed. Driving from Mesquite to St. George is an interesting drive. First, you cross the border to Arizona and then drive through a gorge. The highway is curvey with multiple drop offs and the wind can turn in a matter of minutes. It may be a bit scary at times but the views are awesome for those few miles. Then the land levels out and you are in Utah, where the highway is pretty flat but in the distance are mountains and red sandstone.

We explored two state parks while in Mesquite and went on a small hike off the highway that ended up being very short due to it not being passable due to a raging river. Here are the state parks we visited:

Snow Canyon State Park: This small state park is located in St. George, Utah and has lots to offer. One can bike, hike, or horseback on the many different trails and even rock climb or camp overnight. Brad and I hiked this park with our good friend and we ended up combining multiple trails to make up one big hike. The beautiful red sandstone is seen throughout the park and towers all around you. There are sand dunes, river washouts, petrified dunes, an amphitheater, wavy white rocks (so cool!!), and overlooks that make you make to stay all day. This is a must see park and for $6 all day you cannot go wrong. Right outside the park is a lava field, which we explored last year, and one can walk all along the black lava. If you are in the area, both are a must!

Valley of Fire: As soon as you get to this state park you understand why it’s called Valley of Fire: the bright red sandstone. The sandstone is so brilliant and so different from any other sandstone we had even seen. We hiked many

trails including White Domes which has white rocks against the red rocks with a very small and easy slot canyon, saw petrified logs, Arch Rock, the silica dome, and our favorite, the Fire Wave. Fire Wave which features wavey and stipped sandstone of all different colors and slickrock. It’s called the “mini-wave” as in Page, AZ is the real Wave hike. This is a must see park and we would love to return to the park and also explore Lake Mead, which is very close to this state park.

We are now in Provo and will be here for a few months. The next blog post is about being back in Utah, what has changed, and what new things we have been up too. Till then!