After two days in Utah, Linda and I drove across Nevada into California. We drove through Las Vegas, headed north to Beatty, Nevada, and then turned west on Highway 374 into Death Valley National Park. I guess we can’t get enough of the hot weather.

Death Valley was HOT. Not as hot as it will be in August, but when we climbed out of our car to hike on some sand dunes, the scorching heat affected us right away. The air was hard to breathe and the hot sand burned through our hiking shoes. We enjoyed the hike, but not for too long of a time.

We only stayed in the park for a few hours. Our destination was Bishop. California, which lies at the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. My (adopted) mom Sherrie and her husband Ernie moved to Bishop over thirty years ago, and every time I’m in California, I make a trip to Bishop to visit.

A few years ago, Bishop was a dying town. Lately though, rock climbers, boulderers, mountaineers, and Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hikers frequent the streets and hotels and shops in Bishop. The small town even has a micro-brewery and pickleball courts. Bishop is heading into the 21st century.

On the second day in Bishop, after breakfast with mom and Ernie, Linda and I drove up toward Bishop Pass, high in the Sierra. Our destination was Long Lake, a very steep and brisk six-mile hike to the lake and back. We worked hard, but the trip was worth every step.

We left Bishop the following morning. It’s always hard to lave there. Mom is 94 years old, and I never know when a visit will be the last.

It was my decision to go to St. George. Here’s why . . .

I know a couple of pickleball players in Erie, Colorado. Scott and Judy are both very good players. They live in Erie during the summer and winter in St. George to escape the cold and snow. They spoke highly of the St. George area, both of its beauty and of its pickleball community. Since I like both beauty and pickleball, I decided St. George would be a good place for our first destination.

St. George is beautiful. Moreso than Mesa. I like to desert topology in Utah better. There are many areas of cool red bluffs and high mountains. I like the flora there. The different desert trees (juniper and pinyon and ponderosa pine) look and smell great.

Linda and I stayed in town for two nights, which gave us a whole day to explore the area. One place in particular that we really liked was Snow Canyon State Park. We spend several hours hiking the trails and climbing the fossilized lava flows. We made an invigorating five-mile hike through the park before heading back into town for dinner. If you ever get to St. George, the park is definitely work visiting.