Yesterday I took a 45 minute ride from our home near St. George, Utah, up into the mountains. In that short time I went from a dry, hot desert climate with a day temperature around 100 degrees F, to a lush, green alpine climate with a temperature of 44 degrees F when I arrived.
Cedar Breaks National Monument
The wild flowers were in full bloom.
Beautiful meadows and beautiful skies.
Here is the view from the other side of the road. It was a reminder that I was still in southern Utah and not far from the beautiful red rock cliffs I love.
Brian Head Peak
After spending time taking photos of the wildflowers at Cedar Breaks, I drove up to this summit, where the wind was howling and I was surrounded by fast moving clouds. The elevation here was over 11,300 feet. (I came from an elevation of 2,800 feet in St. George.) My car temperature showed 44 degrees, and I don't know what the official chill factor was, but I was freezing! From this point not only can you see vast expanses of Utah is all directions, you can see parts of Nevada and Arizona.
