Pine Valley Adventure

One of my favorite things about living in Southern Utah is the weather.  I have never been one who minded the heat, but have not been a big fan of snow and cold for a long time.  I think Hunter stated it best today when he said that he and snow have come to an understanding - It can do what it wants as long as he doesn't have to be out in it.  Unfortunately, snow does not usually cooperate.  So I love Southern Utah, because I can look out my window and see the snow on the mountains where it should be and I don't have to shovel it from my driveway. Then if I want to play in the snow with my children, we can jump in the car and drive to the snow and play.

Driving to snow is what we did today with my parents.  My dad had read about all the snow in Pine Valley and wanted to go see where Pine Valley was.  My mom commented that the Pine Valley Chapel is the oldest LDS Chapel is the oldest LDS still in use.  The drive to Pine Valley is absolutely beautiful through many differing landscapes found here in Southern Utah.  We drove through Cedar Tree Forests and my mom shared a story with my children of getting a tree for her grandma when she was about my daughter's age.  We drove past lava flows and cinder knolls and of course the red rocks the area is known for.  

Pine Valley is a charming town nestled in the Pine Valley Mountains.  It was from this starting point that my husband and other leaders started off with our local scout troop in what ended up as a 51-mile hike.  As we came into town today, my boys and Rick reminisced fondly on that experience.  One of the first sites to greet you as you enter the town is the Pine Valley Chapel.  Of course we had to stop and take a few pictures.  We then drove through the town and enjoyed the mixture of old pioneer homes and more modern constructions.

Unfortunately, the Chapel and Historical Society were closed while we were there, but I was able to find this video tour on YouTube: