It's more than just a pit-stop off the freeway

Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park

For the first two years of college, Ben attended Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. He's always had a soft spot in his heart for the school and city because he really enjoyed his time there. That's why we've always had the small town on our list of "Must See Places", after Hawaii and Cancun. But since Cedar City is a slightly cheaper vacation, we thought we should make the effort to visit there first.

Our opportunity came last week when Ben was asked to film the BYU Special Olympics team for the Center for Service and Learning. We left early Thursday morning and arrived in time for Ben to film some of the olympic events as well as opening ceremonies. It was so inspirational to see the individuals with special needs so excited to participate. My favorite events to watch were the assisted walks/dashes since family members were right by the side of the participant on the track, cheering them on the whole way. In the evening Ben took me to his favorite restaurant in Cedar, The Pastry Pub.

That night we stayed in New Harmony at my Uncle Scott and Aunt Jane's house. It is a beautiful home in a great area. In the morning we slept in, then after my uncle made us breakfast we drove up Kolob Canyons to do a short hike. It's a beautiful canyon and worth a stop. Later in the day Ben showed me around SUU campus. It was good because I always imagined it to be old and a little ghetto... but it's actually a very nice school with a beautiful campus.

On our hike. Ben was practicing with the camera and I was modeling...

but then the flies came. I hope you like the contrast in pose as much as I did.
I'm trying to swat the flies away of course.

We drove home Friday afternoon (since I had to work Friday night) but had such a fun time in Cedar City. So there's our tourism plug for this year. That is until we make it to Hawaii or Cancun.