Thru Panguitch

Wednesday July 6, 2011
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Point Supreme Campground Site 9

 

Bye Bye Bryce
We have LOVED spending 9 days with you.
And will DEFINITELY be back
and we’ll bring our friends Bill & Nancy
and who knows who else too.

With that sentiment and a BIG KISS
we left the North Campground at 9:55
on our way to Cedar Breaks National Monument
at TEN THOUSAND FEET.
Now that should keep the heat away for sure.

Cedar Breaks is only 60 miles from Bryce
and at the halfway point is Panguitch Utah
where we stopped to resupply.

Panguitch
which I have NO idea how to correctly pronounce
is a town with one blinking red 4 way stop light
at the intersections of Main and Center.
Sorry you can’t see the lights blinking in
this picture but check out the tractor
getting ready to turn.

 

It has one grocery which we patronized.
Joe’s Main Street Market
”Your Hometown Store”
Don’t you love the name.
Joe’s. 
This town seems to like naming
its businesses after the owner.
You’ll see what I mean.
I think Joe was the guy behind
the meat counter.  There was a real live
on site butcher.  Ah those good old days.

Ruby is pretty heavy laden waiting for us outside

Panguitch has One ABC store with the sign
Heather’s Liquors in the window
which David patronized and in spite
of my asking him 3X to take a picture
of Heather’s sign, you’ll just have to imagine it.

It’s two stores down from
The Old Firehouse
which is a second hand store with a little
lunch counter thing in the back
and tables up front. 
I’ve never eaten lunch in a junk store before.
But decided to pass and
dragged the shopper out.

The Old Firehouse has a greeter just like
Mallwart does.

Panguitch has one Bronco Bobbi’s
on the other side of Main Street

where I found this fancy little number
and made it mine.
I’ve been wanting a real live cowgirl
hat to go with my wayyyy cool boots
and found one I liked at Zion BUT
the price, unlike this one, was out
of my budget’s range.  So I’ve
had my eye out ever since.
Thanks Bronco Bobbi

 

I’ve been watching the weather predictions
for rain for the past two days and the next 10.
So our hikes have been planned around that and
so was our trip today.   I was hoping to get
to Cedar Breaks before the clouds burst.
BUT tooooo much dawdling on the part
of the one who likes to shop
(that would not be me)
caused us to end up in a heavy
thunderstorm climbing up those
10,0000 feet and at one point
hail and ice on the road.
No pictures of any of that.
We were both too busy driving.

Call it a premonition but
when David wanted to go to the
trouble of putting the car on the dolly
and then taking it off again to drive
60 miles I said No Thanks.
And am I glad
I was driving Ruby behind Winnona
and couldn’t be having a heart attack
in the passenger’s seat.

We did make it to
Point Supreme Campground
and managed
after two tries
to find a campsite big enough for her.
(remember she’s only 34’ not sure anything
bigger than 36’ would manage here)
It wasn’t my first choice of Site.
#15 which has a great view
and the awning and steps
would be facing the view
was the one I really wanted.

aside:
that’s a problem in one
way campground loops.
If the loop goes counter clockwise
every site on the right has the awning on
the road and the ones on the left have
the awning to the view.  Beware!

Anyway we tried to make Site 15
with the great view work but
it was just too narrow to enable both
slides to go out without hitting trees
or bushes and we aren’t bruisers.
TOO BAD

SOO we moved to a site with fewer trees
and a wider drive.
These are the best shots I could get of it
and they leave out how close the bath house
with its lights and the bath house path are.
BUT for $7.00 a night with one shower for
28 sites with up to 8 people per site,
who’s complaining??

Duckie’s view
well, one of them.

 

We got set up quickly since
all we had to do was level up and
put the slides out.
No hook ups here either.
We really need that solar solution
if any of you already have it.

 

We checked out the bath house,
went down to put the check in the box
and the sky opened up again.
Never trust those blue skies in Utah.
5 seconds later and you are
dashing for a dry spot.
Pay attention to that rumble of thunder.
It isn’t kidding.

The views as we rushed inside.

 

About 20 minutes later,
more puffy WHITE clouds but
we’d learned our lesson.
We had intended to take the path
from the campground to the Visitors Center
but instead we did something we seldom do
inside a park if we can help it,
we DROVE to the Visitors Center.

 

It’s another CCC Building
and as cute as it can be.

 

We learned lots of things inside.
Here come your lessons Kiddie’s
Listen UP!

We are at 10, 350 feet above sea level.
That’s nearly TWO MILES.
One sign reminded me
”You may find yourself short of breath
if you engage in strenuous activity”.
OK THEN…….great reason to give up running
for another few days.  :->

The “breaks” under the rim top Cedar trees
drop 2,500 feet from the rim to the park boundary.
It would take a stack of 16 Statues of Liberty
to reach from the bottom to the rim.
The amphitheater is 3 miles across.

Over FIFTEEN FEET of snow falls during the
AVERAGE winter here.
Winter is described as
“a wonderful experience for those prepared
for extreme conditions – subzero temperatures
biting winds and 10 to 20 foot snowdrifts.
Winter also offers peaceful serenity and
beautiful vistas of the red rock amphitheater
bathed in white”
No wonder the park didn’t open until the middle of May
and closes in October.
The campground opens the middle of June
and closes the middle of September.

They have a “winter volunteer manned
’visitors center’ in a yurt where they
dispense hot chocolate.  But
call first to find out the hours if you
are wanting that subzero serenity.

This Friday July 8 begins their 2 week
Wildflower Festival when they
celebrate the 150 species of Highcountry
wildflowers.  They had to delay the festival
two full weeks and still  only a few of the flowers are
blooming now.  They don’t expect full bloom
until near the end of the festival
Wish we could have delayed our arrival
here until mid festival but getting
one of the few of 28 campsites in which
Winnona will fit would have
been much more difficult.

We found bluebells all around although
looking a bit wet from the rains…

Enough FACTS, on to the pictures.

 

At the back of the nature center are two
spotlessly clean huge plate glass windows.
(how do they keep them SO clean)

These are the views.

 

 

We went outside to get a first hand look
from

where this very helpful park volunteer
gave us a private look through the scope
he’d brought out from the inside window.

Those folks should have turned around
and joined us for a look

 

He showed us the fire tower across the canyon
build by…….who else
the CCC.

Here’s what you could see without a scope
More amazing beauty.

 

 

Yes that is snow in the bottom

We bid helpful Royce adieu

and went to do the overlook drive.
Unlike Bryce which has multiple amphitheaters
and numerous overlooks,
Cedar Breaks has one Amphitheater and
3 overlooks.

First overlook

According to the weather forecast,
there is rain for the next 9 days so
chances of a sunset sans clouds is slim.

The amphitheater from Sunset Point

pile of snow still trying to melt in early July

Skies looking ominous

 

On to

 

 

 

And finally

 

 

Where we first saw this pine
against the blue and encroaching dark skies

Close up of those great cones to be

 

 

The colors were just wonderful from this direction

 

 

 

 

 

As we returned to the car we
saw this pretty clear full timing set up.
Looks like he’s got every base covered,
surf boards, sail and mast, wave runner
solar panels…….

But it was getting darker and colder and windier
and we were getting hungrier so we
didn’t wait to make his acquaintance.

 

 

 

If he’s at the campground, he’ll be easy to spot.
If he’s not, I’ll wish I’d waited to ask him about
driving down the road with two solar panels up in the air
and all the other stuff up there.