Cedar Breaks National Monument
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Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah wasn’t on the itinerary, but when a ranger at Great Basin mentioned an astronomy program happening that weekend we figured, why not. We grabbed a last minute campsite nearby at Cedar Canyon.
Tracking Condors along Hwy 148
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The next morning, on our way toward the park, we pulled off at a viewpoint and saw a woman with a tracking antenna. She explained she was monitoring California condors. I told her about spotting ten of them earlier in April at Navajo Bridge in northern Arizona. She was impressed at sighting so many at once. She said most condors had already migrated back toward the Grand Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs, though a few stragglers might still be around.
We started at the Visitor Center, then stepped out to Point Supreme Overlook where the amphitheater drops away half a mile in reds and oranges. The cliffs are so steep you can only take them in from above. From there we followed the short Spectra Point Trail along the rim, with sweeping canyon views the whole way. It led to a patch of bristlecone pines, some over 1,500 years old. I stopped at one just a little taller than me with a trunk no wider than my hand, and even that scrappy little tree was probably already a few hundred years old. Along the trail we spotted a female Cassin’s finch and mountain bluebirds flashing bright against the cliffs.
That afternoon we joined a ranger talk about how water carved the landscape and shaped the hoodoos. Cedar Breaks is often called a sister park to Bryce Canyon. The rocks come from the same Claron formation with the same red and pink colors. Cedar Breaks is like a mini Bryce without the crowds but with fewer hoodoos.
When the sun set, the cliffs glowed orange and gold until the light drained away. Then we joined the Night Sky Tour. At 10,000 feet in an International Dark Sky Park, the night sky was unforgettable. Through telescopes we saw Albireo split into one gold and one blue star, the Ring Nebula, and the Andromeda Galaxy. The Milky Way stretched across the sky in full sweep. Being from the East Coast with constant light pollution, I had never seen it before. On this trip I’ve had dark skies, but I was asleep by the time the Milky Way came out. This time I stood there and saw it in its full glory.
Cedar Breaks gave us steep cliffs, ancient bristlecones, and a night sky I’ll never forget. And just as we were leaving the area, while driving along the canyon rim, I caught a flash of that distinct white triangle under a massive wing. One of those condor stragglers!
We started at the Visitor Center, then stepped out to Point Supreme Overlook where the amphitheater drops away half a mile in reds and oranges. The cliffs are so steep you can only take them in from above. From there we followed the short Spectra Point Trail along the rim, with sweeping canyon views the whole way. It led to a patch of bristlecone pines, some over 1,500 years old. I stopped at one just a little taller than me with a trunk no wider than my hand, and even that scrappy little tree was probably already a few hundred years old. Along the trail we spotted a female Cassin’s finch and mountain bluebirds flashing bright against the cliffs.
That afternoon we joined a ranger talk about how water carved the landscape and shaped the hoodoos. Cedar Breaks is often called a sister park to Bryce Canyon. The rocks come from the same Claron formation with the same red and pink colors. Cedar Breaks is like a mini Bryce without the crowds but with fewer hoodoos.
When the sun set, the cliffs glowed orange and gold until the light drained away. Then we joined the Night Sky Tour. At 10,000 feet in an International Dark Sky Park, the night sky was unforgettable. Through telescopes we saw Albireo split into one gold and one blue star, the Ring Nebula, and the Andromeda Galaxy. The Milky Way stretched across the sky in full sweep. Being from the East Coast with constant light pollution, I had never seen it before. On this trip I’ve had dark skies, but I was asleep by the time the Milky Way came out. This time I stood there and saw it in its full glory.
Cedar Breaks gave us steep cliffs, ancient bristlecones, and a night sky I’ll never forget. And just as we were leaving the area, while driving along the canyon rim, I caught a flash of that distinct white triangle under a massive wing. One of those condor stragglers!