I was recently reading an article about a really small town in Washington when the line “discovering the gems of a place takes more than one or two visits” really struck me. The writer, Leslie Schipper, was talking about how her small town had more to see than a simple ’48 hour travel guide’ could embody. As writers, we are often tasked with the difficult duty of distilling an entire town into a few carefully crafted paragraphs, and this after only one very short and action packed visit. There isn’t much time to stumble upon new things or let the city’s natural charms have their way with you. You need multiple visits, during several seasons to really capture the essence of a place.

Last year in the spring,  we explored two more state parks, the other “quiet” side of Zion National Park, kayaked, hiked and ate our way around the city. The stars shine so bright when you’re in the middle of Snow Canyon, a rare sight for this City of Angels dweller.

Having now visited in every season but Fall, it’s this year’s mission to make the trek back to St. George – this time sleeping under the stars in a yurt, very close to the national park – to finally feel what Leslie Schipper was talking about, I’ll feel as though I truly know the gems.