We’ve been at the Saint George Elks Lodge for 4 nights now.  I took a break from the blog yesterday because there wasn’t much going on to write about unless you want to hear about me waxing the Coach and running around town to find parts.

I’m trying to get my break-away switch installed on the SIlverado.  A break-away switch is the last line of defense to activate the brakes on the truck if the tow bar, safety cables, and the mounting plate safety cables all broke while towing.  This is of course highly unlikely – but it is required by law in many states.  I bought a (used) brake-buddy classic from a gentleman on the Escapees (For Sale) website three or four years ago.  I got a pretty good deal but it didn’t come with the break-away switch, so I ordered a switch online and have been carrying it around with us all this time.  Now I just have to mount it on the front of the Silverado somewhere; extend the electrical wires to feed through the firewall into the cab somehow; and put appropriate ‘bullet’ connectors on the ends that fit into the brake-buddy that sits on the drivers-side floorboard when we’re towing it.  Click HERE for a picture.  Check back later to see if I get all this accomplished 🙂

On Wednesday, we took a little hike and then enjoyed steak night at the lodge before turning in for the evening.

We started off at this parking lot (below) just around the corner from the Elks Lodge next to Utah-18 and N Snow Canyon Pkwy.

Bicyclists on the ridge (below).

The scenery turned from red sandstone to lava rock at some points.

Little Coach poses for a pic.

We didn’t keep track of how far we hiked and simply turned around and headed back once we got tired.

After our little hike, we drove along the Red Hills Pkwy which skirts downtown on the north side.  Here’s some scenic pull-out views of downtown Saint George, UT:

In the evening, we went into the lodge for steak night.  The food was OK, but the experience was a little frustrating because we were first-timers and didn’t know the routine.  First, we weren’t sure if we were supposed to sit down in the dining room or wait to be seated because there were a few people standing at the entrance to the dining area and there were slips of paper with the menu items listed at the counter.  Finally, someone told us that you’re supposed to find a seat, reserve it by putting a jacket, hat or something at it and then come back to stand in line to give the girl your order.  You can fill out the paper menu or give your order verbally.  After a long wait in line, we ordered and paid for the ‘surf-n-turf’ which was salmon and a steak.  We also ordered an extra salad bar.  Then we sat down at our table which had a number on it and waited until someone came by and gave us a ticket.  We were told to take the ticket outside to a covered patio where they had several grills fired up.  We presented our ticket and got our food.  And, oh by-the-way, we finally got an extra plate for the salad bar.  The salad bar was rather disappointing… sure they had salad and baked potatoes with a few different dressings, but that was it.  No croutons, bacon-bits, cheese, chives or anything other than butter and sour cream.  Hardly made a baked potato worth it.  At least we had salt & pepper at the table 🙂  Oh well, the surf-n-turf was only $13 and the salad bar $6 or so.

Anyway, enough of that… we’ll head on down to Las Vegas later today (Thursday) and wait for our son William and his girlfriend Jasmine to arrive in their rental car from Colorado Springs.  I’ll keep you posted 🙂