National Monuments - Utah

Cedar Breaks National Monument

7/29/1994 Drove to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Up at 10,000 feet, temps were a comfortable 60 deg. Beautiful red rock and spires amphitheater, especially in morning sun. Took a really nice 1 mile trail to the Alpine Pond - beautiful setting.

The park sign

Beautiful view

Great colors

A pretty sight (and me)

Natural Bridges National Monument

9/21/1983 Drove to Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah!! After visiting Visitor Center (slide show), had lunch at picnic area (ham sandwiches). Walked down (and I mean down!) trail to Sipapu bridge (overlook and base) about 1 mile round-trip, then drove to Owachomo overlook and hiked to base. Took pictures of giant lizard.

Sipapu Bridge

Owachomo Bridge

Me dwarfed by Owachomo

A view from the overlook

Our lizard friend

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

5/24/1999 Took a medium-sized boat (~65 people) on a beautiful 2 hour cruise up Lake Powell (Glen Canyon NRA). Passed great red rock cliffs, houseboats, etc. Destination – Rainbow Bridge NM. Cruised through a tall, narrow canyon and docked, then walked a short ways to the huge arch. This area can only be accessed by boat or hiking in.

Me and the arch

Walkway to the arch

The arch

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

5/25/2006 Headed south and east to Timpanogos Caves NM (using new Garmin GPS – really works great!). Weather spectacular – sunny, getting to the low 80’s. Already had ticket reserved; picked it up and headed up the mountain with water and jacket. The caves are a 1065 foot vertical ascent over 1.5 miles, ending at around 6700 feet. Fantastic views all the way out into the Utah Valley and mountains beyond. Saw a few other people but I was the only one for the tour so met Ranger Nancy and headed into the caves. Originally three caves, they were connected in the early 20th century. Very enjoyable talking with Nancy about parks and the caves. Excellent fragile formations of soda straw and helictites. Exited the caves and headed back down the mountain ...

The park sign

A view up to my destination ...

... and where I came from

Some cave formations

Me and Ranger Nancy

The view into the Utah valley