Up at 4:45 to get an early start on the day. Half hour to get ready, a few minutes to load the car then on the road. First stop was Cracker Barrel in North Las Vegas. There was more traffic than I expected early in the morning, but we made it through with only two major delays. Sometimes I wonder why traffic comes to a complete stop and then half a mile later starts right up.
The rest of the drive was uneventful. It was an interesting trip, learning about what our future life might look like.
Today was a free day with no more facilities to visit, so we skipped breakfast at the hotel and headed to Chick-fil-A. We each ordered an egg and cheese breakfast biscuit. They have the best biscuits around, so it's no surprise they've topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index for more than a decade.
After breakfast, we headed north on Interstate 15 to Cedar City, Utah. It was a short 52-mile drive, made even quicker by Utah's 80 mph speed limit. One of the main reasons for the trip was to visit the new National Cemetery. Opened in late 2025, it is still quite small—only about eight acres—with just 20 to 25 headstones. The cemetery has beautiful mountain views and real grass, unlike the gravel-covered national cemetery in Arizona. As with all National Cemeteries, burial is provided at no cost for eligible veterans and their spouses. If we eventually end up living in Utah, this is where we'll be buried.
After lunch, we continued north on Interstate 15 to the small town of Parowan, Utah. There wasn't any particular reason for visiting other than Barb wanted to see it. With a population of around 3,000, there's not a lot to see. Parowan's claim to fame is that it's the county seat of Iron County and the oldest town in southern Utah. More than anything, it has a genuine small-town, rural atmosphere. It does "small town" exceptionally well, and in today's world, that makes it seem like a wonderful place to live.
Back at the hotel, it was time to decide where to have dinner. After more than half an hour of going back and forth, we finally settled on Sandtown Pizza. It's small and far from fancy, but the pizza was outstanding. When we finished eating, the young woman who had taken our order brought over one of the handheld payment devices that restaurants use these days. She looked at the screen, smiled, and said, "Oops, looks like it's free." Apparently, she had pressed the wrong button, and just like that, our bill was marked as paid. Needless to say, she received a very generous tip.
The rest of the evening was spent packing and getting everything ready for the trip home the next day.
Day 3 began with another great breakfast at the hotel. We joked that maybe we should start doing this when we get home.
We spent the morning exploring St. George once again. One thing that really stood out was how clean the city is. From the most luxurious homes to the more modest neighborhoods, everything was neat and well maintained. The yards were meticulously cared for, the streets were spotless, and we didn't see any graffiti. There also seemed to be an abundance of upscale homes, many perched on bluffs with what must be spectacular views.
At 11:30, we met with the representative who was showing us Legacy Village. Like yesterday's visit, the tour included several different independent living options. Afterward, we had a question-and-answer session with the representative, followed by lunch. Once the tour was over, we decided that Snow Canyon would remain our first choice.
For dinner, we ordered clam chowder from the hotel's restaurant. Although it was prepared a little differently than we're used to, it was excellent. We also finally mastered the hotel's streaming TV system. Tomorrow is a free day, so we'll probably take a drive farther north and see what we can discover.
Before I tell you about our day, I wanted to share this photo we took this morning.
The breakfast at the Inn on the Cliff is outstanding. It is delivered right to your room and includes a small glass bowl with fresh fruit topped with yogurt and granola, a glass of orange juice, a slice of cheddar cheese, and a small bag of almonds. It's a simple breakfast, but a very good one.
With our first retirement community appointment scheduled for noon, we spent the morning driving around St. George. The first thing we noticed was the width of the streets. They aren't just wide—they're really wide. Apparently, when the town was first laid out, the streets were made wide enough for an ox cart to turn around without difficulty.
Notice how the wide street makes the cars look so small.
We also stopped to check out a couple of Smith's grocery stores (the Utah equivalent of Kroger) as well as Harmons Neighborhood Grocer. Harmons was especially impressive—an exceptionally nice store that reminded us a lot of Market of Choice in Bend.
At noon, we met with a representative from Snow Canyon Retirement Community. Our visit began with lunch, followed by a tour of the independent living residences and amenities. We then spent quite a while talking with the representative and getting answers to our many questions. Our first impression was excellent. Of all the communities we've visited so far, Snow Canyon immediately moved to the top of our list. here.
Dinner was at another one of those places we won't be returning to any time soon.
Tomorrow, we have another place to visit and maybe a little more exploring.
Thinking it was going to be a long day, we were up, packed, and on the road by 5:43 a.m. Our first stop was for gas and two apple fritters—fuel for the car and fuel for us. From there, we took Loop 303 to US 60 for the drive to Wickenburg.
US 60 between Surprise and Wickenburg isn't the most scenic stretch of highway, so driving it in the dark seemed like the perfect way to begin the trip.
One bright spot was that Wickenburg has a Starbucks, making it a welcome stop before continuing north.
From Wickenburg, we followed US 93 for 122 miles to Interstate 40. Someday, US 93 is supposed to become Interstate 11, but I doubt I'll live long enough to see it. The northern half is a beautiful four-lane divided highway that looks and feels like an Interstate. The southern half, however, alternates between two and four lanes, making for a less consistent drive.
After a short stretch west on Interstate 40 to Kingman, we continued north on US 93 toward Las Vegas. Just before the always slow drive through Boulder City, we picked up the completed section of Interstate 11, which makes getting through Las Vegas much easier. By the time we reached the northwest side of town, it was definitely time for lunch—and that's when the day started to unravel. Barb searched her phone for a place to eat while I concentrated on navigating the traffic. She finally found a Subway that wasn't two exits behind us, but when we pulled into the parking lot, one look was all it took for both of us to decide to keep driving. Our next plan was to find something in Mesquite, Nevada.
After a little more searching, Barb found a restaurant inside a motel. Once we were seated, we realized we were actually sitting in the motel's breakfast room. We were just about to get up and leave when the server came around the corner to take our order. Fortunately, we stayed. The hamburgers were excellent, turning what looked like a questionable choice into one of the pleasant surprises of the day.
A short drive later, we arrived in St. George and checked into our hotel. Dinner that evening was at a Mexican restaurant that won't be making our list of places to revisit.
Despite a few bumps along the way, it was a good first day on the road. Tomorrow we'll begin touring a couple of independent living communities and get our first real look at what St. George has to offer.
