View from Our Place
Our 4-acre farm in southwestern Utah was the ideal place to nurture an important crop—our children.
A Utah family creates a country kid’s paradise on 4 acres.
Watching my children grow up in the same community where I was raised has been a blessing. Here, on our 4-acre farm in Hurricane, Utah, the kids learned to work hard hauling hay, building fences, caring for animals, and growing and canning fruits and veggies. And they became lifelong best friends in the process.
my husband, Collin, and I bought our land in 1990, we said we were not raising hay, fruit or cattle; we were raising kids. Collin and I turned a nice alfalfa field into a house with a barn, fruit orchard, gardens and pastures where our eight kids (Justin, Shantel, Trinity, Chelsea, Jacob, Summer, Lucas and Heather) could roam. We also welcomed a variety of cows, pigs horses, chickens, dogs and cats. It has been a great place to call home.
Much of what we have made here was inspired by my grandparents’ farm, which I visited often as a kid.
Growing up, my children were in paradise. After doing chores, they could float in a half barrel when we irrigated the field, roast a hot dog in the fire ring or shoot hoops out by the shed. A big tree-lined lawn was their playground.
When they wanted quiet time, they could relax on a “mattress swing” we made by hanging oldWhen
time springs in a tree and topping them with a mattress. In summer, if a kid or two went missing, Collin and I knew they were most likely asleep on the swing. And there were plenty of good things to eat as we picked from the orchard and garden. There’s really nothing as sweet as fresh peach juice dribbling down one’s chin as another box is filled with this golden fruit.
Of course, the children weren’t the only ones who thrived in this place. I love our 40-tree orchard as it blossoms in the spring, bears fruit in the summer (starting with cherries and plums, then apricots and peaches, and finally apples and pears), gives way to autumn colors and rests bare for the winter.
All kinds of birds come to visit the orchard and the almost 100 trees on our land. Our vegetable garden provides as much beauty as it does healthy, fresh produce, and flowers and greenery hug our old house.
Some of the most beautiful land in Utah surrounds our little farm. Pine Valley Mountain is the first thing I see each morning, towering over the valley and nearby towns. In winter it is covered in snow, and in summer the morning sunlight spotlights its tree-covered granite slopes and red-rock foothills.
We live only 30 minutes from Zion National Park, where we love hiking year-round. Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon’s North Rim are about a two-hour drive away—both of which we visit (and recognize we should go to more often!).
Our family cabin on lower Kolob Mountain is where we cool off in summers or tube on snow days in winter. It is nestled in the north boundaries of Zion. Sandstone cliffs rise behind the old-fashioned cabin, and views on the drive in always leave me awestruck. The family ranch near the Arizona border has equally amazing vistas. This working ranch might find us herding cattle on the sagebrushcovered range, fixing fence across a secluded valley, or hiking up Water Canyon, where springs and wild grapes drip from the cliff side.
I have lived in Hurricane since I was 6 years old and have watched it grow. When we built our home, the population was about 3,000, and our home was located “in the fields.” The town was a farming community, but it has sprouted thanks to tourism. Today, farming is a side job for many people and there are about 18,000 folks living here, yet that small-town feel
Heather, Lucas and Jacob (holding baby Laynee) saddle up to go horseback riding. Above: The family cabin on lower Kolob Mountain in Zion National Park was built in 1957.
Some of the most beautiful land in Utah surrounds our little farm.
remains. Community events such as the annual Peach Days, the Fourth of July celebration or the Christmas Festival of Trees instill a feeling of hometown spirit in residents and visitors alike.
If you are a first-timer in town, you can visit the Hurricane Pioneer Museum, hike the Hurricane Canal Trail, cliff jump into Sand Hollow Reservoir or float down the Virgin River. You are close enough to explore a national park, rappel Snow Canyon’s red rocks or catch a few trout in Kolob Reservoir. There are so many things to do, you could spend a lifetime here and never do it all. Sometimes our recreation is just enjoying the work there is to do! You are always welcome to help us haul hay or cut a load of wood.
Even though Hurricane has seen growth, we are lucky to be in an oasis of “country” with acres and acres of fields around us. Our piece of heaven with a panoramic view has remained much the same for almost 30 years.
Our children are grown up now and either off to college or married with college degrees and jobs. Some have begun to move back to Hurricane to settle as they start their own families. The greatest gift we’re received from our little farm is the eight kids now planting crops of their own.
When they come home to visit, I hear the basketball bouncing after eggs are gathered or the mattress swing creaking as its rhythm lulls my grandkids to sleep. Oh, yes, this little farm will produce good crops for many years to come.
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