We left the campground this morning in Panguitch and headed west on Hwy 143 through the Dixie National Forest towards Panguitch Lake. The lake is smaller at 1250 acres but well known for excellent rainbow trout fishing. Unfortunately, fishing was not on the agenda today as this was just a quick stop. We found a spot nice spot just off the paved road and practiced skipping rocks and Thomas and I had a competition to see who could throw rocks the furthest.
Crossing Mammoth Creek
At 10 years old, he already has me beat. We continued on along and found a gravel (or somewhat gravelly) road named Forest Road 068 road that we had found in the Moons Utah guidebook. It was a short but bumpy 2 mile ride down to Mammoth Creek and Mammoth Spring. The road had some tricky spots but we took it slow and easy. At the bottom, we crossed a small wooden bridge to the creek. Victoria, Thomas and I tried our best to go from rock to rock as we came the 50 yards back toward the bridge through the creek. Lindsay watched us from a dry vantage point. Just as we were leaving, a group of ATV, JEEPS and off road vehicles came from the other direction- apparently the road got much worse after that point. We made our way back to the paved road
a “sheep-jam”
and just before we reached Cedar Breaks National Monument (CBNM), we came across a traffic jam- a more accurate description would be a sheep jam- the ranchers were moving about 200 sheep up the road! CBNM is often called a mini version of Bryce Canyon NP. We headed in and checked out the small visitor center. The views of the Cedar Breaks amphitheater were amazing right from the Visitor Center and nearby Point Supreme Overlook. Beautiful reddish hued rock formations as far as you could see. We decided to head up to the Sunset View Overlook for a quick picnic lunch and to check out the view. We then headed down to the Chessmen Ridge Overlook and parked the car and took the very nice easy Alpine Pond Trail.
At the Sunset View Overlook
The trail was a double loop with views of a forest glade, pond, and portions of the amphitheater. We came upon a mule deer and it just stood and watched us warily. I particularly enjoyed seeing the deer since thus far this trip we have not been able to see much in the way of large wildlife. We came across a large boulder field and Victoria and Thomas enjoyed climbing over and around the rocks nearly to the top.
Never have there been two children who enjoy climbing over rocks more than these two! We finished the trail and made our way to the last few viewpoints of the monument. Lindsay plotted us a different course for the return back that had us go out the southern entrance of the park. We were able to stop at a viewpoint where we could see Zion NP over 50 miles in the distance. As we headed East on Hwy 14 (Cedar Canyon Road) we stopped at Navajo Lake. Navajo Lake was formed when an ancient lava flow dammed the eastern side of the lake valley. Resting on a layer of limestone, the lake soon developed underground drainage through sink holes. As we left the lake, the lava rock was everywhere. We continued on to pass Duck Creek and did a quick drive through of a small area called appropriately Duck Creek Village. Lindsay thought it was cute but the rest of us thought it was a tourist trap. We made our way to Highway 89 and drove the 27 miles back to Panguitch. We had a nice dinner at the Cowboy Smokehouse Cafe of pulled pork, brisket, and steak and all the trimmings. We got back to the campsite with enough time to play in the pool and have a nice relaxing evening.
The massive Cedar Breaks amphitheater from the Point Supreme Overlook