Kayenta

We were in St George last weekend for what turned out to be the rainiest, muddiest soccer tournament ever. When the weather finally cleared up on Sunday afternoon we drove out to Kayenta, a community just outside of St. George, near Ivins, UT for what turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon.

The Coyote Gulch Art Village lies in the heart of the Kayenta community. It's a enclave of galleries, restaurants, studios and festivals (held on various weekends throughout the year, check their calendar for upcoming events) in a stunning desert setting.

The landscape is magnificent- inspiring to us all to learn a bit more about using native plants and conserving water no matter where and in what climate you live.

Wander the grounds (don't forget your camera) and view the southwest style architecture and sculpture gardens.

Seed pods on a bare tree.

Springtime is an excellent time to visit, the desert is in bloom and the temperatures are pleasant. I would recommend any season but summer for a visit. Summer temperatures are well above 100 degrees fahrenheit... you just might melt wandering around in that heat.

We visited for the Art in Kayenta festival, (President's Day Weekend Feb 19 & 20, 2011). There were about 50 vendors outside, and all galleries were open for browsing a fine selection of Southwestern style art and craft. 

The surrounding landscape was breathtaking, nestled near the red rock cliffs of Snow Canyon, I could not take my eyes off the view, or stop snapping photos. The cold, rainy weekend in St George meant snow at the elevations just a bit higher. Snow blanketing red rocks and spring greenery beginning to show was a breathtaking sight to see.

A friend's sharp eye caught a glimple of these waterfalls on the distant cliffs above Kayenta (see the smaller one to the right?). We drove through up through the development, getting a closer look at the homes- all tactfully and environmentally blending into the landscape- to get a better view. We learned from a local that these waterfalls don't run year round. It was the wet weather and melting snowfall on the cliffs that brought on this amazing view.

Sunset magazine has a great write-up of Kayenta, with all the extras (places to stay and eat, hikes, maps, eco info)- check it out here.

Nambucca Heads Public Art

Driving through the town of Nambucca Heads we were stopped in our tracks by the mosiac street art/ bus stop in the center of this sleepy coastal town. We all piled out of the RV in amazement and started exploring.

The best part was that the mosaic wasn't haphazardly constructed- it tells a story all the way through. We learned later that the mosaic is called "Fish & Chips" and was constructed by local artist Guy Crosley and a team of volunteers, school children and art students, started in 1996 and completed in 2000.

Every piece of "Fish & Chips" was constructed from ceramics and objects donated or specifically made by artists locally and from around the world.

Here is the story: Starting from the serpentine deep sea: sharks, whales, rays and schools of fish begin their journey to the shore, through exotic waves of tile and rock into the Smokey Cape Bay, passing the headlands, through the river mouth onto the break-wall and along the river passing the ugly brick suburbs and pastureland to Macksville, over the hills and forests to the fertile earth beyond. All types of earthly and airborne characters adorn these landscapes. Beneath the colourful and glossy facade there is a dark undercurrent that surfaces including a large drunken octopus with three pigs in the clutch of his tentacles, monsters that dwell within the waves that wait offshore and a rainbow serpent wrapped around a gold topped mushroom where people await a magic bus to arrive.

C's favorite part- the windy roads of the suburbs- perfectly sized for his cars.

rock sculpture, fjord, Denmark

Late Evening Fjord

bike,
swim,
stack rocks,
late evening fjord trip