Hiking Scout Cave, Kachina Cliffs and Paradise Rim

Barb, Laura, Joyce, Cindy, Jane, Marsha, and Kay saddle up for a great neigborhood hike.

Donna I. is our guest hiker for the day, second from right. She is from Monterey, California.

Scout Cave

We start the second half of the hike along the ridge between the Kachina Cliffs.

Barb and Cindy lead the second half of the group as they climb the steepest part of the trek.

"Are we almost there?" asked those bringing up the rear as those above have ascended and are catching their breath.
Red rock, lava fields, Red Mountain, and Snow Canyon are what this hike is all about. Fabulous!

Once again Red Mountain West of Kachina Cliffs serves as tremendous inspiration to hikers.

Pine Mountain is behind us. In the winter this peak is covered with snow making a dazzling backdrop to all who view it from below with red rock adorning the foreground.

Utah mountains, red rocks and snow canyon at its finest on a November day dazzles the hikers.

Donna, Cindy and Joyce mug for the photographer as they gaze over Paradise Rim viewing site.

Once again Movie Rock above Kachina Cliffs gives a spectacular backdrop to some great pics.

Johnson Arch in Snow Canyon

Several couples went with Ann, our fitness director, up to Johnson Arch. Take a peek at our outing at the following blog site: www.entradahikes.blogspot.com.

Kachina Neighbors hike Turtle Wall

One Thursday morning we took off for a group hike. The Entrada campus lies below us and Red Mountain is on our right. If you are familiar with the area, you can see the country club to the left of Cindy's shoulder in all of its red glory. The lava fields are on the left just behind the clubhouse and below Red Mountain on the right. What a day! My neighbors are good sports.

Mary Ann, Robin, Cindy, and Joyce are framed by Movie Rock, on the left, and Pine Mountain, r.

Hiking in Snow Canyon

This morning a friend and I hiked in her backyard which is about a mile from our house. Diane and I slipped into Snow Canyon about 10:30 to enjoy a great hike - Hidden Pinyon - which is somewhat uphill and very accessible. Snow Canyon is tucked away in the hills west of St George, close to the transition between the Color Country of southwest Utah and the rather more barren Basin and Range landscape that persists all the way across Nevada. One can see it from our abode.

The red rock is crowned by an unbelievable cap of white rock. To one side of the canyon lie the Red Mountains, while a few miles away are the White Hills, and eroded sandstone rocks of both colors make up the cliffs at either side of the valley. You can see how captivating and gorgeous these backyard hikes are to the residents living nearby.

Diane stands at a sign that diverges into 3 different hikes. She lives within a mile of these trails and knows them well. I have requested that she occasionally lead me on a "mercy" hike so I can become more familiar with the area. She and her husband go on daily lengthy mile bike rides and play pickleball many times a week so she is in great shape and is kind enough to let me tag along.

I forgot my camera but Diane had her cell phone so these photos were taken as we walked. Whilel one sees red and white rock abounding, an even greater contrast is provided by a large mass of black lava scattered throughout the park, which originated from a cluster of volcanoes just beyond. These lava fields exist on our back nine so the flow expanded over miles of terrain.

Hidden Pinyon takes about 30 or so minutes to reach the apex and 20 minutes to descend. You can see some of the Pines that are located along the way.

Hiking up above our house to Turtle Wall

This morning I went with a girl friend, Carol, and her dog, Stasha for a hike above our development. The red rocks at 7:30 am are gloriously red and orange as the sun comes up and casts its light upon them. This saturation of color that you will see seems unreal but it is captured in real time and color.

Stasha goes to the edge to take a peek. Her house is in the distance below to the right. One can see the Utah hills in the background. This hike was about an hour and one half long and approximately 2 minutes from our houses to the trailhead.

Carol and Stasha are framed by Red Mountain and you can see the long shadows that are made as the sun is just coming up in the East. The light seems unreal but is just as you see it.

Red Mountain can be seen from our backyard. There is a famous spa located at its base and it borders Snow Canyon which is 11 square miles of hiking and gorgeousness!

I biked up to it last Monday morning - 7 miles uphill and a quick 7 back. Getting ready for a mini triathlon which involves a 30 minute swim, 12 mile bike ride and a 3 mile walk.

Movie Rock which you can see above is where a lot of pictures have been filmed. It can be seen from the golf course and is quite a sight. One can imagine the cowboys and Indians coming right around its base. In the early morning light it glows!

This is Movie Rock with Pine Mountain in the background. In the winter the Mtn. is snow covered and makes quite a beautiful sight from the golf course. We have lava, green fairways, red rocks and then the snow on the mountain top. It is pretty inspirational!

These are other hikers that fell in love with my buddy Stasha the Golden Retriever. Believe it or not, these gals were from Berkeley and Piedmont (Oakland area). What a small world! One of them knew my dear friend in the Bay, Jan. Their boys had gone to school together since Kindergarten.

Jodi and Laura's Exciting Adventure

Jodi, my college sorority sister and long-time friend, came to visit me. She was my "Nurse Rachet" in Colorado this summer when we rented our spot in the mts. We had a fun-filled, furiously-packed few days. Jodi and I were astounded at the outcome of this shot. Some friendly hikers took our picture and had stayed at the Entrada Country Club development in which we live and raved about it. Zion is only one hour from our front door. Soooo, you all come!

Jodi and I have had a wonderful few days exploring our desert home in Utah. She has seen Snow Canyon just outside our back door, Tuachan -an outdoor theater, and Kayenta - an artesian community with several art galleries and a wonderful restaurant where we often go for Latte Rides on our bikes. We also swam in the Fitness Center and dined in the restaurant at the Country Club.

Then we headed for Zion National Park. As you can see we had a glorious day with views galore and an absolutely unique experience hiking. If you have any interest in exploring, the website is www.zionnationalpark.com/parkinfo.html.

At the top of the Valley there is an area called Temple of Sinawava. At the end of a mile hike up a nice paved pathway, we entered the section called the Narrows. This is an area in which the Virgin River cuts through a canyon about 16 miles through which hikers climb in the river to ascend. We went a couple of hours in bouldered-stewn water in tennis shoes and Joan Elaine had a stick which you can tell has been deeply planted in water about a couple of feet deep. Several hikers we saw that day had rented water boots specifically designed for the hike in the water-filled canyon but Jodi and I roughed it and survived. We can safely say it was the highlight of our visit.

Jodi and I had such a wonderful day in Zion! One of the areas on the Eastern side is called Canyon Overlook! This is what our views were at 10:00 am after a short drive from our house to the park. We hiked about a half a mile up to a lookout point to enjoy the expanse. We have neighbors who are building a home just east of here. With their backyard filled with this scenery, can you imagine the flow of visitors they will have?