I didn't grow up in St. George (or even Utah). My native habitat is coastal California, but here I find myself in southern Utah, a stone's throw from the Arizona border. How I landed here is a long story, but suffice it to say that my first day here looking at my new home, it was 117 degrees. It's a miracle I stayed. Well, not so much so, because I do have family roots in the area that go back for generations, and I think the Arizona desert is beautiful. That being said, if I were choosing a home based on climate only, I might be somewhere in the Colorado Rockies, and if I were choosing based on degree of urbanization I may well have ended up in New York City or San Francisco.

Zion Canyon is practically just outside town, and Bryce and the Grand Canyon are nearby. I couldn't spend enough time in any of these National Parks. They are simply stunning. But the same can be said of many lesser known canyons, mesas and buttes, as well as the forests that can be found nearby. You can't have everything., I suppose. The Pacific Ocean and Redwood forests were, and are, beautiful. I miss them. But I also feel fortunate to be where I am now. Well, that is when the temperature doesn't reach 117! (Okay, I'm only half serious about that – you can't have desert without a desert climate.)

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