Cerca country comes into full bloom with bike rides, nature walks, festivals, rodeos and the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival.

A holiday weekend in February presented the perfect opportunity for my family to set out on an Arizona adventure.

ST. GEORGE, Utah — A visit to this desert city on the Utah-Arizona border for a weekend — it’s less than a two-hour drive from Las Vegas on Interstate 15 north –– is remarkably full of the unanticipated, a place with a strong Mormon influence that deserves far more than just the stop for gas along the freeway that it often receives from Southern Nevadans on their way to Zion National Park.

Where were you during January’s record-breaking, pipe-bursting cold snap? Cuddled up in front of a fire with the heat jacked up? Not me. That’s the weekend I chose to set out on a journey to Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks.

If you are looking for an outdoor destination that offers plenty of diversity, Mojave National Preserve in California won’t disappoint. Established in 1994, it’s less than two hours from Las Vegas and covers 1.6 million acres — handy, big enough to be uncrowded and not too cold for winter comfort.

Cerca country celebrates winter with skis, snowshoes and marching bands. Monday through Saturday, Elko: 29th Annual National Cowboy Gathering. A celebration of Western life featuring traditional and contemporary arts, including poetry, music, film,...