Thursday, September 27, 2012

Finally Made It!

After attempting to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument on two previous trips, we finally are in the area when the monument isn't closed by snow.  At over 10,000 feet, I guess it has a short season.  And we were especially lucky since the road between Cedar City and the monument had been closed earlier in the year because of a landslide.

We checked weather.com for days and decided today was the day.  Even though it was predicted to be partly cloudy, that was better than the previous days.  Our first stop was the southernmost overlook, called Point Supreme.  And supreme it is.

And here's the view looking the other way..

As you can see, so far the clouds were small, but we could see they were building rather quickly.  We hurried to another overlook, where Ron snapped this picture of me.  It was only about 45 degrees.  After this stop, we even put on gloves.

All the colors are amazing.


The aspen trees were pretty much past their prime foliage, but we did see a few nice stands.

By the time we hit our final overlook, the clouds had taken over.  Partly cloudy, my foot!  It was still pretty, but my camera just doesn't like shade.

We both agreed that the very similar Bryce Canyon NP is better because you can climb down and walk in among the colorful formations.  Cedar Breaks only has trails along the rim, but it's a beautiful and amazing place and well worth a visit if you're in the area.


On a side note, we were amazed by the hundreds of sheep we passed on the road up.  I have never seen so many sheep in one place.  This is just a small part of the flock.

The crossing guard was on duty.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for a glimpse of one of the parks we never got around to when we lived in SLC.

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  2. It's so cold up there no wonder they need all those sheep for their wool.

    Sure looks like a great place to visit, you certainly were bundled up. Where was all the Global Warming when you needed it? ;c)

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  3. That crossing guard is an Italian Bred, Mareema Sheepdog and that is his/her role. Guard the sheep. I just spent a month housesitting and the huge Mareema protected the Geese although it is fair to say they did not always get along. I can relate to the cold as I am still wearing layers of clothing including long johns, beanie, gloves and quilted jacket with hood. Roll on summer. PS I live Downunder.

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  4. Our father told me how great your pictures are. Unfortunately, my internet connection is too slow at the moment to look at them. I think the guard dog stays by the road because he's waiting for dinner. That's what the one we saw in Colorado was doing.

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  5. Cedar Breaks is one of my favorite parks. Last time I tried to get there (this past summer - 2012) the road was closed due to a fire. Seems it's one thing or another.

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