Right Here in our own back yard we have the Virgin River. You can find many fun safe spots to let the kids play in the Water.
Just make sure they wear old clothes, because most of the time the water can be muddy.
As far as ages for this, just be smart about how fast the water is running.
But you can find some great beach on the side and you can play all kinds of game.
Showing posts with label DAY TRIPS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DAY TRIPS. Show all posts
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Leeds Creek
Fishing St George-Area Small Streams
By Dave Webb
March, 2008
Fishing Leeds Creek Link
In southern Utah on business, I found I had a couple hours to kill so I decided to check out one of the small trout streams in the St George area. I keep fishing gear in my truck so I can take advantage of such occasions. This time it proved enjoyable, and frustrating, as I played with small cutts.
It was quite a comedy of errors, actually, on a beautiful, warm afternoon on March 1. It was my first stream fishing attempt of the year and it felt good breaking out the fly rod. Trouble is, I couldn't find my fly box. Sometime over the winter, one of my kids must have walked away with it. I dug to the bottom of my gear and found two nymphs, both well chewed. One was a haresear and one was a bead-head pheasant tail. Not much to go with.
I was in Cedar City at the moment and noticed a Wal-Mart nearby. I marched in, hoping they would have a few flies. They had just one - a Royal Coachman. That's a beautiful pattern, proficient at catching fishermen, but I didn't think it would be much use catching fish in a desert stream in late winter.
The nymphs proved to be all I needed. I tried the haresear first and it elicited a few hits. The bead caused the pheasant tail to run a little deeper and the little cutts hit it on virtually every cast. But I'm getting ahead of my story...
I chose to fish Leeds Creek, a small stream that flows south from Pine Valley Mountain just above the towns of Leeds and Silver Reef. The other option in the area is the Santa Clara River, which flows off the west side of the mountains past the town of Veyo and down to Gunlock Reservoir. The Santa Clara is bigger and has a few nice browns, or so I hear, but Leeds Creek was closer and so I drove up that canyon.
There was no snow or ice in the area. The stream flows through a steep, V-shaped canyon, over boulders and through dense brush. I choose to fish the area where it cuts through the red Navajo sandstone that flanks the mountain. I love playing on the red rock and though it would be fun to fish the same formation.
I had my dog with me, a border collie, thinking it would be a nice buddy experience. Wrong! Laddie is a bit exuberant and wanted to charge ahead, wading into the pools before I had a chance to fish them. I spent all of my time trying to restrain him. It's hard to sneak up on wary trout in a small, clear stream when you're forever calling out to your dog, telling him to stay back.
Finally I gave up on the dog and took him back to the truck. But climbing out of the steep canyon took valuable time and it almost dusk before I got back to the stream.
I approached holes quietly, staying back away from the bank, and pushed my rod through the brush. I would flip my nymph up to the top of the hole - no room to cast - and let it drift down along the edge of the current. Oh, I didn't have any strike indicators - those had disappeared with my fly box. So I reached out with all of my senses, trying to feel the soft takes. But when I got a strike I couldn't set the hook because I couldn't raise my rod. The brush was so thick, there was no room to sweep the rod upward without getting tangled up.
Pulling my line tight, I felt several fish thrash momentarily before they flipped off.
Thinking the pheasant tail might have a sharper point, I tied it on and started getting more strikes - a strike on virtually every cast when the nymph got down near the bottom. By now the light was starting to fade and it was hard seeing my line. And I still couldn't move my rod tip more than a couple inches because of the thick brush.
I did get clear views of several fish. They were small native cutthroat, about 7-10 inches long. Beautiful fish.
It was a fun outing, even if I didn't touch a fish.
The weather was an extremely nice 75 F that afternoon, but it changed quickly as I drove I-15 north toward Salt Lake. It was snowing in Beaver, and that turned into a blizzard as I drove toward Fillmore. It was almost a whiteout on top the mountain, heavy snow falling horizontally, pushed by a strong wind. Plows had not yet hit the road and so it was slick. I drove that stretch in 4-wheel-drive, at 25 miles per hour.
Still, I enjoyed that business trip.
By Dave Webb
March, 2008
Fishing Leeds Creek Link
In southern Utah on business, I found I had a couple hours to kill so I decided to check out one of the small trout streams in the St George area. I keep fishing gear in my truck so I can take advantage of such occasions. This time it proved enjoyable, and frustrating, as I played with small cutts.
It was quite a comedy of errors, actually, on a beautiful, warm afternoon on March 1. It was my first stream fishing attempt of the year and it felt good breaking out the fly rod. Trouble is, I couldn't find my fly box. Sometime over the winter, one of my kids must have walked away with it. I dug to the bottom of my gear and found two nymphs, both well chewed. One was a haresear and one was a bead-head pheasant tail. Not much to go with.
I was in Cedar City at the moment and noticed a Wal-Mart nearby. I marched in, hoping they would have a few flies. They had just one - a Royal Coachman. That's a beautiful pattern, proficient at catching fishermen, but I didn't think it would be much use catching fish in a desert stream in late winter.
The nymphs proved to be all I needed. I tried the haresear first and it elicited a few hits. The bead caused the pheasant tail to run a little deeper and the little cutts hit it on virtually every cast. But I'm getting ahead of my story...
I chose to fish Leeds Creek, a small stream that flows south from Pine Valley Mountain just above the towns of Leeds and Silver Reef. The other option in the area is the Santa Clara River, which flows off the west side of the mountains past the town of Veyo and down to Gunlock Reservoir. The Santa Clara is bigger and has a few nice browns, or so I hear, but Leeds Creek was closer and so I drove up that canyon.
There was no snow or ice in the area. The stream flows through a steep, V-shaped canyon, over boulders and through dense brush. I choose to fish the area where it cuts through the red Navajo sandstone that flanks the mountain. I love playing on the red rock and though it would be fun to fish the same formation.
I had my dog with me, a border collie, thinking it would be a nice buddy experience. Wrong! Laddie is a bit exuberant and wanted to charge ahead, wading into the pools before I had a chance to fish them. I spent all of my time trying to restrain him. It's hard to sneak up on wary trout in a small, clear stream when you're forever calling out to your dog, telling him to stay back.
Finally I gave up on the dog and took him back to the truck. But climbing out of the steep canyon took valuable time and it almost dusk before I got back to the stream.
I approached holes quietly, staying back away from the bank, and pushed my rod through the brush. I would flip my nymph up to the top of the hole - no room to cast - and let it drift down along the edge of the current. Oh, I didn't have any strike indicators - those had disappeared with my fly box. So I reached out with all of my senses, trying to feel the soft takes. But when I got a strike I couldn't set the hook because I couldn't raise my rod. The brush was so thick, there was no room to sweep the rod upward without getting tangled up.
Pulling my line tight, I felt several fish thrash momentarily before they flipped off.
Thinking the pheasant tail might have a sharper point, I tied it on and started getting more strikes - a strike on virtually every cast when the nymph got down near the bottom. By now the light was starting to fade and it was hard seeing my line. And I still couldn't move my rod tip more than a couple inches because of the thick brush.
I did get clear views of several fish. They were small native cutthroat, about 7-10 inches long. Beautiful fish.
It was a fun outing, even if I didn't touch a fish.
The weather was an extremely nice 75 F that afternoon, but it changed quickly as I drove I-15 north toward Salt Lake. It was snowing in Beaver, and that turned into a blizzard as I drove toward Fillmore. It was almost a whiteout on top the mountain, heavy snow falling horizontally, pushed by a strong wind. Plows had not yet hit the road and so it was slick. I drove that stretch in 4-wheel-drive, at 25 miles per hour.
Still, I enjoyed that business trip.
Hiking Kanarra Creek
Hiking Kanarra Creek
Kanarra Creek is a fun hike in an easy slot canyon; the hike is only moderately difficult. The canyon has plenty of appeal for adults and is easy enough for adventurous kids of about age 12 and older. Younger kids will need help to get through.
The canyon offers several narrow sections that are beautiful and photogenic. A small stream flows between the towering walls and you've got to wade multiple times as you make your way up the canyon. Most pools are not deep - normal sized adults don't need to swim and only a few pools come up to your waist.
Three features add excitement to the hike: two waterfalls that you have to climb up and one small waterfall that you can slide down. A log leans against the first waterfall and makes it fairly easy to ascend. The second fall is a little higher and more challenging, but still not bad. A wooden ladder puts you halfway up. Then you grasp ropes and pull yourself up another log.
You can hike the canyon for many miles but the slots stretch for only about 2 miles. Beyond that the canyon and creek are beautiful but not particularly unusual for the Zion area.
The canyon is located east of Kanarravlle, just south of Cedar City, just outside the Kolob Canyons area of Zion National Park. You access it by following 100 North Street to the east edge of town. 100 North becomes a dirt road that winds past water tanks and into the canyon. Unfortunately, you have to park in town and hike the dirt road into the canyon. That adds about 2 miles round trip to the hike.
You follow the dirt road until it drops down to the creek, then you just follow the creek up the canyon. You are in and out of the water, wading about 1/3 of the time. There is no way to hike the canyon without getting wet. For this reason, it is best hiked during the warm months - May through September.
Most people will turn around after about three miles - so total hiking distance is about 6 miles.
This is a great introduction to easy, non-technical canyoneering. To appreciate other canyoneering adventures, just picture how it would be to do Kanarra Creek without the logs and ladders to help you up and down the waterfalls.
It's a fun canyon.
Copyright Dave Webb, 2005
Train Ride
We have driven "the back way" out to Boulder City through Overton since the ride is gorgeous. It's fun to go and ride the train in Boulder City and stop and look through the "museum" of trains. It does cost to ride the train, but I think you can look at the museum free of charge. It's open on Saturdays and it's a short ride, but fun way to let your kids feel what old time travel was like. Boulder City has a couple of other interesting museums on the Hoover Dam and such. We take our time on the back way stopping at Roger's Springs along the way to look at the little minnows. We also stop in Overton for ice cream on the way back to Mesquite.
http://www.nevadasouthern.com/NSR2010/Train_Ride_Info.html (Train rides)
http://www.visitbouldercity.com/ (Boulder City Travel)
DJW
http://www.nevadasouthern.com/NSR2010/Train_Ride_Info.html (Train rides)
http://www.visitbouldercity.com/ (Boulder City Travel)
DJW
Sunset Movies
Sunset Movies every other Friday in Saint George. Pull up a blanket and take the family to a (I believe free) movie every other Friday through summer at the Town Square Park in Saint George. They will be selling pizza, snow cones and popcorn as well.
http://www.sgcity.org/news/sunsetonthesquare.php
DJW
http://www.sgcity.org/news/sunsetonthesquare.php
DJW
Kingman 3 Day Route 66 Trip:
Kingman 3 Day Route 66 Trip:
Day one--take the back way from Mesquite through Overton for beautiful sightseeing and then over the Hoover Dam on the 93 to Kingman. Visit the Route 66 Museum for a very good learning experience about the old "mother road". http://www.kingmantourism.org/Kingman_Tourism_Content/Kingman_Museums/Historic_Route_66_Museum/ Have a meal at Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner and sample their wonderful sweet potato fries and homemade root beer. Yum! Enjoy a little rest in Locomotive Park before retiring for the night.
Next day: Head due east on the the old Route 66 (I-40) towards Flagstaff and stop at a most interesting spot in little over an hour--Grand Canyon Caverns. This place has the most unusual cave to visit. It is 200 hundred feet down and super dry. I don't want to spoil the surprises, but it was really interesting and our family really enjoyed it. Afterward the gift shop and café brought a welcome treats and barbecued burgers. We drove back to Kingman via Peach Springs (makes us wonder if the Disney Movie "Cars" uses some of these places in their cute movie). We then headed out after a brief rest at the hotel to Oatman, http://oatmangoldroad.org/index.html a little mining town preserved in its glory with live burro roaming freely through town. It's reached by following Route 66 West. The road moves and curves the landscape and is really a treat in and of itself. The mining town is really cute and the kids enjoy buying a bag of carrots and feeding the wild burro (except you are never allowed to feed baby burros). The burros are super people friendly. You can eat here and shop here and then head back to Kingman for the night. Notice all of the old mines along the way.
Day 3 we went to Lake Havasu and went on their Dixie Bell paddle boat tour of the lake. http://www.go-arizona.com/Lake-Havasu-Dixie-Bell/ Then we walked the promenade past the London Bridge. We had a lunch in Lake Havasu and headed back to Kingman to enjoy a few more local museums in town. Our kids wanted a second trip to Mr. D'z Diner for homemade root beet. It's a fun trip to learn about the neon past in Kingman, see the pretty waters of Lake Havasu, go down deep into the Grand Canyon Caverns and feed wild burro in Oatman. We paid very little for 3 night's lodging. It's only 3 hours from here and you see a whole lot for not much money. Our kids still talk about this quirky adventure and look forward to doing it again some time. I recommend watching the Disney movie "Cars" before traveling--it makes it more fun for the kids and the adults in reference to the "mother road" of Route 66. We also bought the sound track and listened to it and it matched our adventure real well! It was fun!
DJW
Day one--take the back way from Mesquite through Overton for beautiful sightseeing and then over the Hoover Dam on the 93 to Kingman. Visit the Route 66 Museum for a very good learning experience about the old "mother road". http://www.kingmantourism.org/Kingman_Tourism_Content/Kingman_Museums/Historic_Route_66_Museum/ Have a meal at Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner and sample their wonderful sweet potato fries and homemade root beer. Yum! Enjoy a little rest in Locomotive Park before retiring for the night.
Next day: Head due east on the the old Route 66 (I-40) towards Flagstaff and stop at a most interesting spot in little over an hour--Grand Canyon Caverns. This place has the most unusual cave to visit. It is 200 hundred feet down and super dry. I don't want to spoil the surprises, but it was really interesting and our family really enjoyed it. Afterward the gift shop and café brought a welcome treats and barbecued burgers. We drove back to Kingman via Peach Springs (makes us wonder if the Disney Movie "Cars" uses some of these places in their cute movie). We then headed out after a brief rest at the hotel to Oatman, http://oatmangoldroad.org/index.html a little mining town preserved in its glory with live burro roaming freely through town. It's reached by following Route 66 West. The road moves and curves the landscape and is really a treat in and of itself. The mining town is really cute and the kids enjoy buying a bag of carrots and feeding the wild burro (except you are never allowed to feed baby burros). The burros are super people friendly. You can eat here and shop here and then head back to Kingman for the night. Notice all of the old mines along the way.
Day 3 we went to Lake Havasu and went on their Dixie Bell paddle boat tour of the lake. http://www.go-arizona.com/Lake-Havasu-Dixie-Bell/ Then we walked the promenade past the London Bridge. We had a lunch in Lake Havasu and headed back to Kingman to enjoy a few more local museums in town. Our kids wanted a second trip to Mr. D'z Diner for homemade root beet. It's a fun trip to learn about the neon past in Kingman, see the pretty waters of Lake Havasu, go down deep into the Grand Canyon Caverns and feed wild burro in Oatman. We paid very little for 3 night's lodging. It's only 3 hours from here and you see a whole lot for not much money. Our kids still talk about this quirky adventure and look forward to doing it again some time. I recommend watching the Disney movie "Cars" before traveling--it makes it more fun for the kids and the adults in reference to the "mother road" of Route 66. We also bought the sound track and listened to it and it matched our adventure real well! It was fun!
DJW
Travel to a foreign country....
When strapped for funds one year (or many) we decided to take a trip to a foreign country. We gave the kids choice from among 7 or so countries: India, Japan, China, Germany, Italy, Greece, England. Our family voted on China. I told the kids to get ready for our amazing adventure. We made airline tickets and and passports and stamped them with the date of our trip. Our "in flight movie" on our couch was a wonderful video on China from our local library. When we "arrived" we went to a super authentic Chinese restaurant and sampled the good foods. We learned some Chinese words and Chinese art (watercolor) at home and we tried very hard to find a Chinese missionary to help us with slides and mission tales, but we couldn't find one. We liked our foreign travel so well, that we did it again. Consider planning several weeks ahead to get someone who has lived in the country or traveled there for mission or schooling to come and share slides, movies or other tales with the family. Order in to our local library: books and videos on your country of choice. Type up cute passports of learning and airline tickets and serve snacks and drinks on your flight. It's fun and a good way to see some amazing things while on a tight budget. If you cannot find a restaurant serving the authentic cuisine of an area, consider learning some dishes yourselves from sites like cooks.com. Fun!
NIGHT VISION
On a drive one time to Yuma in the evening, we couldn't help but realize that the desert comes absolutely alive at night. It seems all those "heat of day" dormant animals are nowhere to be found until the mysterious hours of the night. We consider it a special and rare treat to see a coyote or fox or even a family of skunks up around our neighborhood. We decided to aid our summer's fun this year to purchase two items: night vision binoculars and black light flashlights. While we might appear to be a strange commando group going out on night patrol, we find the cooler air and deep blue skies to be among the treasures of summer to watch these amazing animals. With night vision (a bigger spend, but something maybe hubbies would love for Father's Day) you can see the animals in the pitch blackness and make sightings less rare. With the black light flashlights, you can see scorpions. While I would never recommend a close encounter, it would be super fun to be able to sight them out. The scorpions glow under black light here and so it makes it really an interesting learning experience. Now, I know this makes some people squeamish--I am one of those people, but I have all boys and had all brothers and learned really fast if you can't beat them, join them!
DJW
DJW
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