Even if it’s not on paper, we all have a list of our favorite places. The Overlook makes my list. This is a cool climbing/camping area near Cedar City, Utah. It sits at just over 10,000 feet, and it is far enough from civilization that there is very little ambient light. An additional perk is that we have had the place to ourselves each and every time we have been there.

If we find ourselves in southwest Utah needing a place to camp, we make the trek up the long dirt and gravel road to the Overlook. The rock is a strange pink basalt that will rip your fingers to shreds, but the views are amazing. In the Memories section of the main page, you will see a picture of Chris with her tree. The sunsets are breathtaking. The picture above comes from a 2016 trip out west.

Depending on your demeanor, one of the coolest things about camping in this area is what happens every night. This is a quiet place far from the sounds of city life. For some, it may be too quiet, that is until around midnight.

I’ll try to describe a typical night for you: The conversations are over, and you are sleeping pretty well when off in the distance, you hear a faint, “Baa.” A few minutes later you hear, “Baa,” “Baa.” Before long, your tent is surrounded by these, “Baas.” Our first night camping there, I had trouble understanding what I was hearing. I unzipped the tent in a stupor to find a sheep standing a few feet away. As I looked around the clearing, with the help of the moonlight, there were dozens and dozens of dark silhouettes slowly moving around. We were in the middle of a herd of sheep.

Apparently, they move from a lower grazing area to an upper one each night. I’ve been around my share of animals, but being surrounded by hundreds of sheep is a pretty cool experience, even if I have to lose sleep to experience it. I mean, really, how many opportunities do you have to crawl out of your tent into a herd of sheep?

If you don’t know me, I’m not this corny. This comment is for Marty and Chad (both, by the way, are this corny): It should be easy to get back to sleep; you have plenty of sheep to count.

If you are in the area, I highly recommend spending a night at the Overlook. The climbing is good, the views are great, but the overall experience is fantastic.

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

I praise the Lord this morning for laying His life down for a black sheep like me!

Because He Calls, Old Climbing Dad