I am back after a very long absence, mostly due to personal matters. The photo is from a recent hiking and backpacking trip to Utah, Nevada and Arizona with our oldest daughter. My wife and I left Washington and drove to Cedar City, Utah, which was our base while exploring the Kolob Canyons area of Zion National Park. That part of the park has few visitors and some great hiking.

The first day we hiked the Kolob Canyon and La Verkin Creek trails to Kolob Arch, a total of 15 miles (24 kilometers) with about 1000 feet (308 meters) of elevation each way. The hike was beautiful but a bit too much for my wife who was not in as good shape as I. The peak is Shuntavi Butte and the hike took us around it and after dropping into the canyon, too us along La Verkin Creek.