St George, Utah: Flowers of the Desert

And thoughts on the future

Despite the unease I had staying in the bug motel, we did manage to rest and relax for three days. The bike riding is taking its toll on us nowadays; we just aren’t young chicks any longer. I am fairly sure this will be my final time in the USA. Jan will, no doubt, return – well, I guess he has to as the bike is still there. We may look into having her shipped to mainland Spain so we can do some touring in Europe before taking her on a ferry from, say, Cadiz to Gran Canaria. It depends on the cost.

Talking about costs, it is so much more expensive in the USA than it used to be. We used to fill the tank for about $8; now it is $12-14 (California is THE most expensive state).

Motels used to cost around $40 a night, now it usually cost over $100! And that isn’t even in a luxury one. The Coronada In (The ‘Bug’ Motel) cost us $249 for three nights.

And, as stunning as the scenery is in places, I have seen it so many times; I am beginning to lose the taste for riding 200-300 miles between destinations. The bags are so much work to put on and take off the bike too.

Besides, there is so much of the rest of the world I would love to visit.

Anyhow! Back to St George.

The frustrating thing about this state is the law on alcohol consumption. You cannot have a drink in a bar unless you are eating a meal. Beer has to be less than 3% alcohol by volume. You cannot buy wine in supermarkets – although you can buy beer. To buy wine, you have to go to the State Liquor Store; fortunately, in St George that is within a mile walking distance; in Cedar City, it was an hour’s bus ride away.

On Sunday we decided to walk up the steep road to the Red Rock area where there’s a park we had never visited. Of course, we had to walk up there right in the heat of the midday sun! Great view though; you can see how wide the roads are in the town and also, the beautiful Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day Saints.

Red Hills Desert Garden is Utah’s first desert conservation garden. The nearly 5-acre garden features 5,000 water-efficient plants, a 1,150-foot stream stocked with native and endangered fish species, a replica slot canyon and prehistoric dinosaur tracks found onsite dating back 200 million years.

It really is a lovely place to visit. Because it was around Halloween, there were ‘scarecrows’ in various places, each donated by a local business.

My favourite plants were the sages; who knew there were so many varieties? And the bees love them too.

I tried to capture a shot of the gorgeous dragon flies – they were huge – but this was the best I could do; they are energetic little critters! But I did catch a little lizard.

It’s amazing just how many flowers and plants grow in the

desert!

It was interesting to see some people using drones up there.

I also spotted this rare and elusive specimen hiding in the shade 🙂

Next time…..

Viva Las Vegas and Home.