I'm an explorer, my wife and kids are not. Once or twice a year I'll go on an adventure either by myself or with a friend to weird or interesting destinations in Utah. There are a lot here.

We go to St George frequently and I like to take my family on very short detours to different spots off of I-15. It can be anything, but ranges from Kanarraville Falls hike to to the Mona rope swings.

For things not I-15 related I've taken my kids to Topaz Mountain, the Geode Beds and Wonderstone pits. Old ghost mining towns and other like stuff. Or cool hikes outside Smith Morehouse, etc. We've watched herds of wild horses running alongside the road while a lightning storm has rolled across the salt flats. We've also driven off-course for an hour looking for an open mica deposit in southern Utah while my kids wondered what sort of idiot they had for a father.

There are so many cool things in Utah to see and do and so many of those things aren't really high on tourist lists, which is ideal.

I'm curious if you guys have any favorite lesser-known spots that you've been to, particularly ones that are within 15-20 minutes of I-15. I ask that because that is what I'll be doing in the next few weeks, but I also love any other ideas for the upcoming summer. We are thinking about seeing the Meadow Lava Tubes.

I should mention my kids range from 13-6 and so they have a little tolerance for historical type destinations, but not a ton (I for one love those though).