Cedar City Day 2

Cedar Breaks was beautiful!

We got up early this morning and had eggs and bacon with fresh peaches. Then we made the short drive to Cedar Breaks National Monument. None of us had ever been there, so we were excited to check it out. We drove straight to a hike called Alpine Pond, mostly because we thought we might see a few animals. We did see a marmot, a squirrel, and a chipmunk, but there wasn't much else. Still, the hike was nice through the thick trees along the rim of the canyon, though we needed jackets at that elevation.

Mom and Seth are buddy hikers (in the back).

The trail was beautiful.  

The boys really wanted to see a salamander in the pond. 

The pond was pretty small, but still picturesque.

I wonder what Mark is pondering. 

This is the marmot we saw.

After checking a few viewpoints, we took a second hike called Sunset Trail. The boys and Mom walked all the way to the Visitor Center, but Dad went halfway and then headed back for the car. We picked up our Junior Ranger badges and then had lunch in the parking lot.

It was cold and windy!  

Cedar Breaks is pretty high up! 

We loved the views in Cedar Breaks! 

We usually wear Seth out on our adventures.  

One of the reasons Mom loves hiking in the back is because she loves seeing her boys have fun together.  

Mom LOVED the beautiful wildflowers along the trail. 

A family pic by the big Cedar Breaks overlook.

There were a lot of things we wanted to check out in the Duck Creek area of Highway 14. The first were a few small lakes. We walked over to Aspen Mirror Pond, and the boys did some exploring. The managed to spy a small snake and a few leopard frogs in the shallows. Dax wished we were fishing, but we hadn't brought the poles. The second lake was called Duck Creek, and we walked along the shore and watched the ducks and geese dabbling in the shallow water.

Can you see the snake on the rock?

The boys would spend all day exploring around these little ponds.

There was a little deep pool that had a beautiful color.

After a short stop at the Visitor Center for Duck Creek, we drove down a bumpy road to an ice cave. It was like a massive freezer, and it was very cold inside, though there was no ice that we could see. We used the flashlights a little, but since it was one big cavern, we didn't really need the light.

The Ice Cave didn't have any ice, but it was cold!

Mom and Dad got one picture together this day!

Next we drove down to a third hike called Cascade Falls. This one ran along the edge of the canyon, and it had gotten much hotter. We didn't have any shade, and the hike had a lot of up and down. But the boys were great running from ponderosa to ponderosa sniffing the bark. They pushed each other along until we reached the tiny waterfall. They were all smiles on the way back, too. It really made the hike nice.

The waterfall was small, but cool since it came out of a crack in the rock.  

They climbed up to check out a drip. Then they let it drip on their heads!

We had one more stop in the area, and that was another cave called Bower Cave. It is very near Mammoth Cave, which we explored last summer. Bower required a climb down a crooked ladder, but that just added to the adventure. We were surprised how big the caverns were. We walked along underground in two different directions totaling nearly a thousand feet. We definitely needed the flashlights for Bower Cave. It was very muddy, too. We tried to light the floor so we could avoid puddles, but we climbed out pretty dirty.

Going down the ladder made this cave super fun! 

We had a great time exploring Bower Cave.  

We had to pick some serious mud out of our shoes. 

There was a new restaurant that we wanted to try in Cedar City, so we drove back and arrived around five o'clock. The diner was amazing and we enjoyed the good burgers, thick gravy, and all-day breakfast. It was such a nice day with so many unexpected adventures!