Travels With Abs - "Kanab, Utah to St George, Utah"

Since we didn't have to be in St. George until late afternoon on Monday 6/29, Abs and I decided to take the scenic route. Our first stop was Pipe Spring National Monument, the tithing ranch of Mr and Mrs Anson Winser. The house / fort was know as Winser castle. It was built to withstand the Indian attacks, which never materialized, from the friendly, local Native Americans. I was able to use my National Parks Pass here and Abs was given a checklist which kept her busy, interested, and she earned a Junior Ranger badge. There were several rangers available to answer questions and relate information. We learned about different types of lizards in the area and watched rangers reestablishing native grasses. They were incorporating a modern micro-drip system to ensure success.

A Paiute Native American man and a young HS intern gave information on the Native American way of life and demonstrated the technique for extracting fiber from flax to make fishing nets. The natives would take the main tripod when moving and add fresh branches for protection from the elements. In cool weather, they would put the opening towards the fire and sleep with their feet in that direction to stay warm.

I had noted a small place on the map called the Coral Sand Dunes and we set out to find it. It was an intriguing name for a site in the Mountains. We turned, according to the map and drove slowly and carefully over dry, dirt roads, trying to avoid the potholes and rocks.

The map showed this section of unpaved road connecting to the paved one which led to the dunes. As we approached the paved road, a car whizzed by from the left and hurried ahead. Obviously, there was a better way and our map was just old. We weren't sure exactly what we were looking for or where it was, but we had a full tank and a couple of hours to look. We did finally find our destination. An unassuming State Park area that cost us $6.00 to get in and we only had an hour to stay.

However, I felt the time, effort, and cost were worthwhile. The lovely little park actually had rose pink sand dunes and we were early enough in the day to find them unspoiled. Apparently, The wind whips through the rock formations which are close together, and the erosion of the rocks is deposited in fine grains in a calmer area. Thus, sand dunes. Probably a fairly simplistic explanation.

Curiosity satisfied, we hurried on to St. George and arrived just in time to settle in before the introductions of everyone in our program. We went to the cafeteria of Dixie College for a dinner, buffet style. They provided rolls, tossed salad, potato salad, jello salad, mixed yellow and green beans, and chicken with a sauce. I was too engrossed in visiting with my fellow participants to notice what Abs was doing until it was too late. She by-passed everything else on the buffet and feasted on 8 dinner rolls. she did not even like the pecan pie for dessert.