Pine Valley Road Trip!!

On Sunday Mark and I took a drive up to Pine Valley. Pine Valley is a small community nestled in the Pine Valley Mountains northeast of Saint George. I had heard about it from some of the locals so I have always been curious to see it. It takes about 45 minutes to get to Pine Valley but is well worth it! The temperature in Pine Valley is 20-25 degrees cooler than Saint George and some people from Saint George have summer homes and cabins there. Mark's boss lives up there in the Summer and makes the 45 minute commute to work every day. As you wind up the mountain road to Pine Valley the landscape starts to change from desert red rock to green and pine trees. After you summit one of the mountains you get your first glimpse of Pine Valley. It reminded me of a tiny Jackson Hole or Mantua. It was surrounded by mountains and pine trees. There is a small reservoir to fish or swim in and a few mountain trails to hike. The wild flowers were in full bloom and looked beautiful. I immediately fell in love with it. I informed Mark that we would be spending many of our weekends this summer in Pine Valley. It is becoming a popular place to build cabins but hopefully it will stay small and quaint. Another reason to make the drive is the local LDS Chapel. It as built in 1868 by Ebeneezer Bryce. This is the same Bryce that Bryce Canyon National Park is named after. He was the only builder in Pine Valley but he was a ship builder, thus the chapel is built like an upside down ship. It is a beautiful pure white building and the oldest continually used LDS chapel. I also learned that the wood used to build the Salt Lake City Tabernacle organ pipes came from Pine Valley. So there you go, you have officially had your Southern Utah history lesson for the week!!