Blogs by Stumpe: The Glories of Utah (Part III)--Finally with Pics!

And that’s only the back story to my once hidden love affair of all things Utah. Okay, so I may have gotten carried away, for there is still plenty in Utah that I would be happy to see done away with. That, however, is for another day. More importantly, the immense diversity of southern Utah is waiting to have its share of the limelight. What better place to begin than the peculiar Cedar City? I say peculiar due to its strange identity crisis (not nearly as bad, however, as the identity crisis Puerto Rico faces). I suppose that can be blamed by the Institute of Higher Education so conveniently placed in the middle of this mild mannered farm town. Farmers and Shakespeare…Who knew?

A Typical Day in Cedar City

Let me say this as one of the top reasons I love Utah so much: Just about anywhere I live in Utah I can be within a fifteen to thirty minute drive of one or more canyons. Cedar City was no different. In this case it was more like a five minute drive (really it only takes about five minutes to get anywhere in Cedar City). It was not long after arriving in Cedar City that I feel in love with the Dixie National Forest. One of my first experiences with the striking wilderness nearing Cedar City brought me to Cedar Breaks. I happened to be chilling in my dorm when some girls I had not met invited friends and I up the canyon. They were providing pizza. I can never thank pizza enough. In times like these I can be a little antisocial. I silently ate my pizza and stared into the natural amphitheatre as if the hoodoos were putting on a play just for me. The stunning views of Cedar Breaks only left me to wonder what other beauties were to be found in these canyons. Ultimately, I would not be disappointed.

Cedar Canyon, as I call it, probably mistakenly, is extremely glorious in itself. The drive up to Cedar Breaks National Monument made that very apparent to me. Sunday drives there were unbeatable. At any time if I needed to get away a short drive would take me into the canyon. There I had a couple of spots I would climb to-often in the dark and not knowing how I would get down-just to think in solitude. Other occasions called for friends and good times. Camping trips were as good there as anywhere else. Outdoor activities were never out of reach and the canyons were often utilized.

Eventually, a full moon would grace us with its presence. It was time to “goop the loop”. With dates, my friends and I made the late night drive to hike the loop in Bryce Canyon. Apparently, this was a tradition of some sort and how it got its name is still unbeknownst to me. Hiking in southern Utah under the shadow of the moon is an experience not to be missed. The moon shadow accompanied with the noises of the night and the sunless crisp mountain air brought a unique feeling, which neared spooky, as we crossed into shadows of rock formations and wildlife. Maybe it was the unsociable state of mind I fell into at nature’s hand that caused my date to become so bored that she no longer spoke with but rather gabbed with her friend, my friend’s date, for the rest of the night. Either way I was left enjoying what nature intended.

Bryce Canyon National Park is just as magnificent during the day as it is during the night. Unimaginable rock formations litter the canyon. Thousands and thousands of hoodoos have made this red canyon their home. The effects of interactional chaos amongst Captain Planet’s alter egos and time are dramatically displayed for visitors, world over, to gawk at. Ebenezer Bryce wasn’t joking when he said it was a “helluva place to lose a cow”. Anybody up for a game of hide and go seek?

As spring and summer fade to fall and winter the green landscape of Cedar City and its nearby wilderness fade as fall foliage springs to life with vibrant colors for a short time. Mother Nature’s pallet of water color slowly merge as colors are at first exuberant but quickly merge into a monochrome of brown. In effort to start over the pallet is flushed and white again. Dreadful as it is at times winter in Utah can be enjoyed. Fortunately, even in southern Utah. See, just a little northeast of Cedar City lays a little known, little attended ski resort called Brian Head. Enjoying snowboarding but not the costs of it I found Brian Head to be the perfect little resort to hit up at least a couple times a season. Not to mention, Brian Head offers ski bike rentals. Yep, you heard me right, ski bikes. Furthermore, for the young at heart, Brian Head hosts a snowtube adventure like no other with its snow tubing park. Just be careful. Finally, when Mother Nature reorganizes her painter’s pallet with greens and yellows and pinks and purples Brian Head makes for an excellent mountain biking adventure and apparently a terrifically challenging disc golf course. All this at Utah’s surprisingly highest elevation ski resort: in a region of the globe not usually known for its snow, the southwest United States.

Ski Bikes at Brian Head

Mischief & Mayhem

Hidden gems are abundant in southern Utah. Unpopulated hiking trails were plentiful; sometimes even leading to unnamed arches. Biking trails, such as the “C trail”, named after the mountainside C, which appropriately stands for Cedar City. (Which is, by the way, another reason I love Utah: It’s really hard to get lost here. Mountainside letters tell you what city you’re in or near. The streets follow a grid system. North, south, east, and west are easily distinguishable by opposing natural landscape). Bonfires and shooting guns were one of many favorite pastimes in Cedar City with ample spots to reek havoc without burning the forest down or causing too much damage. A few of my favorite hidden gems have to include the Parowan Gap, Kanaraville, and Toquerville Falls. The first of which, the Parowan Gap, was an ideal spot to take a date. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the “scary” story to go along with the destination. Regardless, the Parowan gap is a spectacular site as it is a result of a rare occurrence in nature, a wind gap. Additionally, the Parowan Gap is also known for its significant hieroglyphics contained on the gap’s walls. Kanaraville, as we move one, has become a traditional Labor Day hike for a select group of us. Hiking upstream though a small river and slot canyons leads us to natural water slides and ice cold waterfalls. Never a downer Kanarville will always be full of good memories with nature and friends. Lastly, the hidden gem of Toquerville requires a truck, or a SUV, at least it is suggested. Cars have made attempts, some have succeeded, in the end; however, it can’t be good for the car. Anyway, a descent drive down a rugged dirt road would take us to a dazzling network of small waterfalls that eventually form a swimming hole and then a river. The waterfalls create an excellent place to play, swim, cliff jump, and hike in the summer heat. Hidden gems are best when remain hidden. Now exposed to you, please enjoy responsibly.

Parowan Gap