9/20/12 - Cedar Breaks NM





Cedar Breaks National Monument got its name when some settler referred to nearby junipers as cedars.  Breaks is a term for "badlands", but I couldn't find it in my dictionary.  (I do rather like what the Paiutes called it:  u-map-wich, "the place where the rocks are sliding down all the time."  Wouldn't that be a great park name?)

Cedar Breaks is a big amphitheater, 2,000 feet deep and 3 miles in diameter.  You look across ridges and down into canyons from just four overlooks along the scenic drive.  Unlike Bryce, there are no trails other than on the rim--and no place to put them! 

 

 

The 5-mile drive through the park is definitely in highcountry!   It's already getting cold at night in this part of Utah, and the quaking aspens think it's fall already.

 

There are two trails up on the rim, but after the hike at Bryce the day before, George was not at all interested in even a short hike!

We met a guy from New Zealand who's touring the Grand Circle on a motorcycle. I told him that gas was expensive in Torrey, where he was heading next. He said, "Oh, no! It's cheap!"  Fuel here is 1/2 the price he'd have to pay at home.  Frame of reference, I guess...

We drove 2 scenic highways to and from Cedar Breaks.  To see pictures from there and more of Cedar Breaks NM, follow this link:  Cedar Breaks NM