Cedar Breaks NM, Natural Bridges NM, and Lake Powell Road Trip

Our four days off didn't have the best weather report. So we decided to ditch another tent camping trip and check out a few more of our national sites.  Our last evening to "work", we didn't get a drop of rain in the campground.  But we were witness to one of the most awesome events ever. It had rained upstream on Sulfur Creek, which in turn created a flash flood. So all of a sudden, you start hearing all kinds of noises coming from up the creek. It was a wall of water pushing trees and sticks and boulders and rocks. Amazing!

See the big boulder being tumbled downriver?

The force of water is amazing.

The next morning the weather was once again iffy, predicting flash flooding all around. But the morning seemed calm and beautiful, so we decided our ultimate goal was grocery shopping and the nearest WalMart is about 2 hours away in Richfield. We took the long way and decided to make a loop south and take in Cedar Breaks National Monument.  Beautiful scenery along the way and even found a state park, Otter Creek Reservoir, that was pretty awesome. Plan on heading here on our next days off.  Great fishing. Can pitch a tent and launch the canoe!

Cedar Breaks National Monument is beautiful, and was pretty chilly too at an average of 10,000'.  The highlight of this park is a steep, bowl-shaped cliff face eroded into the side of the Markagunt Plateau. It bears a lot of similarities to Bryce Canyon with the colorful rock and strange shapes.  The park is located near Cedar City.  We just missed their wildflower festival and I'm sure it was just beautiful as there were still many wildflowers blooming.  The campground is small, so don't think we'd be interested in camping here (or hosting) as (1) the road into the park is not recommended for RVs and (2) we can't breathe too good at this altitude.  Got that little altitude headache again.  But still, come out and visit the park if you're in the area.

Resembles Bryce Canyon

The next day we decided to take a drive down to Lake Powell. The route we chose took us through Hanksville and by the Henry Mountains - a very beautiful mountain range. A few hours later we stop at a pull off and see the beginning of Lake Powell. The water level is really low. You can see the Colorado River and also the mouth of the Dirty Devil River. Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963 and that is when Lake Powell was born.

Colorado River in the background.

Looks like the beginning. This is the Dirty Devil River

Colorado River

Pretty scenery at the beginning of Lake Powell

We continued on our drive and decided to visit Natural Bridges National Monument which wasn't too far away.  One of my favorite presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, designated this as Utah's first national monument in 1908.  It sits on a tree covered mesa cut by deep sandstone canyons.  There are 3 natural bridges here, along with some arches. Bridges are formed by the erosive action of moving water while arches are formed by other forces.

Sipapu Bridge is 220' height with a span of 268'.

Time out for lunch!

Views from our hike to Horse Collar Ruins Overlook

Owachomo Bridge

Horse Collar Ruins, inhabited by the Anasaszi between AD 1050 and AD 1300.

We also took time out for a couple more small hikes around Capitol Reef - The Goosenecks and Sunset Point, and the Grand Wash from Hwy. 24.  Just can't get enough views of this place.  Colors always change with the sun's position and whether or not there are clouds.

Look who I found just hanging out......

Looks like Ron is holding up the rock!

Looking down at the goosenecks. This is Sulfur Creek running through here. Would have loved to have seenta ht 3' wall of water coming down!

On the Grand Wash trail

Another view of the goosenecks.

Let me end with this:  The peaches are now being harvested at the campground.  And yes, I had to scrounge up enough containers so I could make some peach jam!

We keep having these strong bursts of wind. See how it blew this guy's awning over? Waiting on law enforcement so we can get a release so nobody gets sued for helping someone.

 Until next time, happy trails!