Cedar City, Utah: Landlocked Lighthouse

I felt a deep and spartan kinship with this lighthouse. I lay my hands against the peeling paint on a few of the weathered stones that comprise her, and felt a tear well up in the corner of my eye. I brushed the drop away with a finger and wiped it ceremoniously against the stones. I could not provide the ocean, save for that which comes from within; a small, salty solace from the corner of my eye.

The lighthouse was erected for Providence Shopping Center in Cedar City. The paint is starting to chip and fade in places, but it's still there. Its developers claimed that this was the tallest inland lighthouse in the United States -- 88 feet high -- when it was built in 2000.

Very easy to view, especially when southbound on I-15. We literally just drove by and snapped photos as we were getting on the interstate. Although the light house is not functional, all the smoke in the air from a nearby fire made me wonder if it might have come in handy on day like this.

A sizable lighthouse is right off the freeway. We stopped here after having a great meal at Lupita's Mexican Restaurant, which is right across the street.

The lighthouse at Exit 57 went up for sale a few months back, and was bought. Originally, it advertised a church called Providence. The company that bought the land left the lighthouse and is building between that and the Zion's Bank.

You are unable to go inside, but will see inside occasionally if someone is working on the lights. There's nothing but storage and the staircase inside.