Annual Kite Festival

Every year around April, the Dixie Escalante Kite Festival is held. Many businesses in the community make the Festival possible through their financial sponsorship. It is a wholesome, uplifting, family-oriented event.

The purpose of the Kite Festival is to reward school students who have participated in a special Reading Program. Those who qualify earn a free, high-quality kite for their reading efforts, and they can participate in the kite flying festival.

Besides the open kite flying that is scheduled, there are also kite demonstrations, competitions and contests, such as the largest kite and a Rokkaku Fighter Kite War. Winning school teams earn the money for their school.

At the festival, there are also rides, games, entertainment and refreshments.

Scenic drive

A few weeks ago, when I went to the Pine Valley recreation area campgrounds (see the May 12 post), I took some scenic photos (from within our moving car) on the drive back to town.

Here they are:

Volcanoes in St. George

Cinder cone volcanoes within Snow Canyon State Park, near St. George

Volcanoes are created by internal forces within the Earth that cause heated, melted rock (magma) to rise to the surface. First collecting in magma chambers, some of the magma eventually pushes upward through cracks (vents) to the Earth's surface. As the magma reaches the surface, it loses some of its gases and turns into lava. Volcanoes are created by the release and build-up of lava and other materials. Volcanoes have varied shapes and sizes, but are divided into three main kinds depending on the type of material that reaches the surface and the type of eruption that ensues. One such kind is cinder cone.

A cinder cone is a volcanic cone built almost entirely of loose volcanic fragments, ash, and pumice. Cinder cones are the simplest and smallest type of volcano, built from particles and blobs of congealed lava ejected from a single vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently into the air (often hundreds of feet), it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as cinders (about ½ inch in diameter) that pile up around the volcano’s vent to form a circular or oval cone shape. The molten rock solidifies instantly, often preserving bubbles created by escaping gasses. If an eruption of this type continues long enough, fragments accumulate layer by layer to form a cinder cone. Cinder cones can grow up to 2,300 feet high, but most are between 100 and 1,000 feet. Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit and rarely rise more than a thousand feet or so above their surroundings.

Cinder cone volcanoes are found in many places in Utah, and the city of St. George is located in a volcanic field. North of St. George is Snow Canyon State Park and within it’s boundaries are two cinder cones that are close to the road. The Cinder Cone Trail is a 1.5 mile path that climbs one of the extinct volcanoes. Despite its short length, this path is difficult as people must climb up and down steep slopes with volcanic rock that makes it hard for one to keep their footing. However, the views at the top of the volcano are well worth the effort. Besides, how often can one climb a volcano?

It's snowing COTTON ! ! !

For the last couple of weeks it has been snowing.....cotton....by our house....because two houses down from us we have a neighbor that has a gigantic cottonwood tree in their back yard. And when the breeze comes up, down comes the fluffy white cotton out of the tree and goes EVERYWHERE!! It even likes to come into our house when we open the door.

Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness....

Located 35 miles north of St. George, Utah, the area known as Pine Valley is surrounded by wilderness, pine trees, and wildlife of the Dixie National Forest. The small community of Pine Valley is a welcome summer retreat from the heat of St. George. At 6,630 feet (compared to 2,800 feet elevation in St. George), the cool evenings and shade from ponderosa pines seem like a little piece of heaven.

The Pine Valley Mountain, being a mountain island surrounded by desert, is more or less isolated from the Wasatch Mountain Range, which extends the entire length of the state. The mountains are a striking compliment to the area’s dramatic red rock scenery.
Because the St. George area is located between the Rocky Mountains and the desert southwest, it features the distinct landscapes of both. It has forested mountain ranges and high plateaus, along with rugged and starkly beautiful red rock desert.

The Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness preserves numerous lush meadows (up to 50 acres in size) and a beautiful forest of Engelmann spruce in the south, and spruce mixed with fir, pine, and large stands of aspen in the north. The Pine Valley Mountains rise through the entire center of the area and provide habitat for chipmunks, marmots, red squirrels, and a large herd of deer in summer.

The photos below were taken within the Pine Valley Recreation Area camp grounds.