Gentlemen, let me be the first to warn you that if you are trying to find something exciting to do for the weekend and your wife says, “How about a threesome?” be VERY careful how you respond because she might just be thinking about trying to visit three State Parks in one weekend. ☹ I have to admit, that after my initial disappointment, when Melinda told me her plan to visit three state parks in Southern Utah in one weekend, I got pretty excited! Of course, I had to clarify with her, “So just you and me for the whole weekend?” When she responded, “Yeah, pretty romantic huh? Wait, when I said threesome you didn’t think….” I coolly responded, “Oh no, no of course not!” But if you are going to do a threesome there are a few rules you should follow:
- Always observe the 50 mile rule! Really awkward if one of the parks turns out to be familiar to one or both of you.
- No, means no! Either one of you should have the ability to veto the other’s choice.
- Always use protection! Since Covid-19 social isolation has gone in to effect we should all be committed that following social distancing while at the parks is a must.
So after establishing the ground rules, we went to the internet and after checking each state parks’s profile, we swiped right on Frontier Homestead State Park Museum in Cedar City, Snow Canyon State Park in St. George and Kodachrome Basin State Park near Bryce Canyon. This was going to be so much fun!
Day1- Getting There
Coming from northern Utah, we left immediately following work on Friday night and tried to go as far as we could before our first threesome and as ironic as it sounds, we made it as far as Beaver (no you can’t make this stuff up)! After a night in a cheap hotel which we won’t recommend, we rested for our big weekend and woke up early to make our way to Cedar City!
Day 2- Frontier Homestead, Mountain Meadows and Snow Canyon
Frontier Homestead State Park Museum
Cedar City is known as the home of Southern Utah University and the Utah Shakespearean Festival but when Utah pioneers were first sent to settle this land the area was known as the Iron Mission. Frontier Homestead State Park Museum celebrates the pioneer and native American occupants of the Iron Mission with displays related to mining, farming, transportation, ranching and industry in early Iron County. The museum has many hands-on activities to teach about the difficulties of eking out an existence in this hard land as an early settler.
Entering through the doors of the museum there were two things that immediately caught my attention; first all of the cool horse drawn wagons and second the large polygamous family (now how cool is that)? No museum on early Utah history could be complete without an authentic polygamous family so I was thrilled to watch as they enjoyed exploring all that the museum had to offer.
Following our tour of the transportation area (which even included a pioneer snowmobile), we were off to the courtyard that contained exhibits on the living conditions in early Iron County as well as a large exhibit on one of Iron County’s most important industries; sheep! We explored an old fashioned sheering shed and learned to pull wool and all the stages that go into converting wool into useful products. Kids can also throw axes, try to kill animals with an atlatl (not real animals), tie knots and many other hands on activities supported by the museum staff. They even had an old jail cell for those who misbehave while at the museum.
As we were concluding our visit to the museum, we ran into the polygamous family again and ashamedly I couldn’t pass up the opportunity when the husband was off by himself to wander up and proudly mention that I was down in the area for my first threesome and wondered if he might have any advice for me. ”Absolutely!” he replied, “Don’t miss Snow Canyon!” Evidently this wasn’t his first wedding!
Mountain Meadows Massacre National Historic Landmark
We left Cedar City and took the back road for Snow Canyon towards Veyo until we came to the Mountain Meadows Massacre National Historic Landmark. This is by far the saddest event in Utah history where a wagon train from Arkansas was viciously attacked by Mormon militia dressed like Indians along with a group of Paiute Indians they had recruited to help. The wagon train fought back and some of the militia were recognized as white men. The militia feared they would be identified and decided to kill everyone old enough to tell the story. After five days of fighting, and with the wagon train’s resources exhausted the militia entered the encampment under a white flag. After negotiating a cease fire in which the emigrants would turn over their livestock and supplies to the Native Americans in return for safe passage back to Cedar City, the emigrants were separated into groups of men, women and children. When the men were escorted out of the encampment and a signal was given, the Mormon militia shot all the men and then attacked and killed the women leaving only young children alive who were too young to tell the tale. It is estimated that 120-140 people were massacred with only 17 children surviving.
Nobody knows the reason for this awful massacre. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) did everything they could to hide this awful scene and there are now so many rumors it is hard to know what is true. What is known is that innocent men, women and children were massacred by a group of men who claimed to be followers of Jesus Christ and this sad monument stands to remind us all that these deaths were inexcusable. The monument that stands today was built and funded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is maintained by the church although it has been labeled a National Historic Landmark. Every Utahn should visit this hallowed place and never forget what happened here.
Veyo Volcano
Continuing towards Snow Canyon we came upon an old cinder cone known as the Veyo Volcano. Rising out of the ground near the town of Veyo, this ancient volcano was part of the lava flows that helped carve and create Snow Canyon. This whole area is the remnant of a super volcano 30 times larger than the Yellowstone caldera that erupted 30 million years ago. The volcano can be hiked if you have the time, however, the most impressive part of the volcano is its taste. That’s because Veyo volcano is not only a geographical site but is also the name of a famous Utah pie made by Veyo Pie and Bakery.
Located in the shadow of the volcano this bakery is a Utah landmark and since we happened to be there on National pie day 3.14, it was packed! This is one of the most delicious pies I’ve ever tasted so make sure you stop and try this Utah original!
Snow Canyon State Park
If you are going to do a threesome, you can’t pick a lovelier park than Snow Canyon State Park. Formed from sand dunes blown in by the wind 183 million years ago, the orange and white Navajo sandstone is breathtaking! This was hands down our favorite site of the trip and could easily make a great weekend getaway on its own. The orange sandstone is interspersed with black basalt rock from lava flows as recently as 27,000 years ago (remember Veyo volcano) which redirected the waterways that eventually carved out the canyon. This mix of orange, white and black stone is exciting to explore as well as climbing on the petrified sand dunes.
The park has 13 different hiking trails which allow you to explore ancient lava tubes, petrified sand dunes, red sands, White rock canyons, canyon walls with pioneer names written in axle grease, and even a trail to the top of the extinct Veyo Volcano! This park has it all and is one of the crown jewels of the state park system!
Following our day at Snow Canyon we made our way to the fun to say and more difficult to spell town of Panguitch! Although the town was nearly deserted with this being early spring and the first weekend of national quarantine, we enjoyed our time in this small town and especially our over night stay at The Panguitch House.
Day 3- Kodachrome Basin State Park and Grosvenor Arch
Kodachrome Basin State Park
If Snow Canyon is known for its sexy sandstone, Kodachrome Basin is known for its inspiring spires! Kodachrome Basin is a fairly remote park; however, it is accessed via one of the most scenic byways in the nation; the famous “Hwy 12-A Journey Through Time Scenic Byway”. Named by National Geographic after Kodak’s brand name for its widely used professional color film, Kodachrome Basin is a vast landscape of color and contrast. This valley is a menagerie of geological layers ranging from the Jurassic Period (180 million years ago) to the Cretaceous Period (95 million years ago).
One of the distinct features of Kodachrome Basin are the unique sedimentary pipes. Over 67 of these phallic monuments abound in the park providing a manly perspective to our weekend state park ménage a trois!
Grosvenor Arch
Located in the Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument, Grosvenor Arch is an intricate double arch located 11 miles southeast of Kodachrome Basin and is one of the states most impressive arches (which is saying something)! Unfortunately the road from Kodachrome Basin to Grosvenor Arch can become impassable when wet and it had rained the day we visited. Since we had brought our little Hyundai Veloster that Melinda affectionately refers to as Queen Bee we were unable to make the trip to Grosvenor Arch but if you make the trip to Kodachrome Basin on a dry day, don’t miss this impressive landmark.
Where to Eat
Beaver- Crazy Cow Cafe
Located just off I-15 in Beaver, the Crazy Cow Café (the story of the name is on the menu) was a fun, cutely themed restaurant with delicious meals. I had the Malibu Chicken and Melinda had the Sticky Finger Wrap (which explains why she couldn’t take her hands off me). The service was wonderful, the facility was immaculate and the food was amazing. We highly recommend this establishment when passing through Beaver.
Veyo- Veyo Pie and Bakery
This small town bakery at the base of the Veyo Volcano is a bit of a Utah legend and serves both lunches and pies. The Veyo Volcano pie is known statewide and comes highly recommended by Utah’s greatest connesuieur of pies, me!
Panguitch- Cowboy Smokehouse Cafe
Located on the main drag in Panguitch, the Cowboy Smokehouse Café serves up delicious BBQ. We ordered the combination platter to share and it was fantastic. Due to the institution of the quarantine and it being off season we got to visit with the owner as we discussed how the quarantine would effect this small town and the livelihood of the people of this town that relys so heavily on tourism. She had just opened for the season the night we visited and was frightened as to how they would survive this pandemic. One of the great joys of rural Utah is the ability to visit and get to know the people who live here and we enjoyed both our conversation and our meal. We highly recommend a dinner at the Cowboy Smokehouse Café and don’t forget to say hi to these people who are not only your waiter and waitresses but also your neighbor.
Where to Stay
Bed and Breakfast- The Panguitch House
Located on the main route to Bryce Canyon in Panguitch, Utah, The Panguitch House Bed and Breakfast is a delightful location for a romantic couples getaway and very reasonably priced during the off-season! We stayed in the Mountain View Suite and thoroughly enjoyed both the claw foot bathtub and the enormous walk in shower. The fact that we had to use both gives you a pretty good idea how much we enjoyed the queen size bed!
We had a delightful and delicious breakfast in the morning and the owners were a local school teacher and retired principal who were both very cordial and frank as we discussed the looming Corona virus closures.
Camping Options
Camping is available at both Snow Canyon and Kodachrome Basin State Parks and both campgrounds have beautiful views of all that each state park has to offer.
Veyo Pool and Resort & Climbing in Veyo provides swimming, rock climbing and crawdad catching right outside Snow Canyon if visiting after April.
Conclusion
We recommend this weekend state park ménage a trois for any couple looking for a fun escape to our state parks in the south. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together and the three very different, yet unique state parks we visited. There are so many different options and activities at these locations that you need to plan your time carefully. This trip was uniquely special for us as it was the last chance we had to get away before the Covid-19 quarantines began limiting access to our state parks and local businesses. I guess we should have expected this as every threesome comes with the threat of catching a virus, but this virus has been especially brutal to the economic well being of our local Utah tourist industry and we saw the uneasiness in the faces of each of the local businesses we visited.
We sincerely hope that each of these fine establishments survive the economic turmoil this pandemic has caused across our state and hope that we all get down to southern Utah and support our fellow Utahns who provide such great opportunities for us to explore this great state. We can expect few tourists to our great State this year and with unknown travel restrictions threatening our ability to travel outside our region, we should each make this the year to get out and support our neighbors in this most BeUtahful state in the nation.
