Butch and Sundance in the Snow

Just north of St George in Utah is Snow Canyon State Park. It's a colourful park because the red and white sandstone rocks contrast with the black lava and sage bushes. It's quite beautiful. I've fallen in love with Navajo sandstone - it's predominant in much of the area we've been in recently.

We were the only car in the park because it was about 43 degrees! All the sensible people stayed away but at least our car was air conditioned. But it is obviously very popular because the car parks and picnic areas are well set up, and it is close to the city. And I noted that there are a 170 designated rockclimbing routes. And it has been the location for a number of films including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

As we drove out of the park and into the suburbs the beauty continued because the gated communities must have had strict design regulations. The houses are rendered in the same colours as the surrounding rocks, the gardens are desert gardens and the roadside garden areas are also desert. Each subdivision is surrounded by rendered walls as well. We weren't able to drive in to have a proper look - it was all very exclusive and manicured.