More Travels 4--Winter!!

Western Winter Weather

The state of Utah opens Kolob Canyon,
a part of Zion National Park.
 

The government officials still aren’t talking. “I think the extension on the National Debt runs out on Thursday, and today is the deadline to get anything done,” said Andy. The extent of the shutdown was confirmed as we drove east. All the pull-offs in the Virgin River Gorge, maintained by the Bureau of Land Management, were cordoned off. “They’ve had time now to close off everything,” commented Andy, when we parked at the top of an exit ramp to take pictures.

Views in Kolob Canyon are breathtaking.

We stopped in Mesquite and St. George for visitor information, but it was more for a break from driving. “No snow on these mountains,” said Andy, as we left St. George. The car thermometer read 70 degrees.

Trees change in the mid-October cold.

But by the time we reached Kolob Canyon, it was cold—51 degrees to be exact. Utah had opened the national parks in the hopes the federal government would reimburse the state, so this part of Zion National Park welcomed visitors.

Yellow flowers add color to the
already colorful canyon.

The five-mile drive along the canyon was bathed in color—red sandstone, yellow scrub oak, green Utah juniper and cedar, grey sagebrush, and yellow, red and white wild flowers.

The deeper in we drive, the higher
the stone walls rise up.

We have a 360-degree view
near the end of Overlook Trail.

If Kolob is the rainbow, the Overlook Trail at the end of the drive is the pot of gold. A half-mile, one-way trail led out to a point with a 360-degree view. Accented with sandstone slabs and boulders, the well-maintained path climbed up along the ridge top about 150 feet.

Clouds hug the tops of the sandstone peaks.

But the views were worth the effort it took at nearly 7,000 feet above sea level. Everyone we met thought so. I took pictures in every direction.

Andy waits patiently while I adjust camera
settings for bright light and high altitude.

“It’s two-and-a-half hours to our motel in Richfield, Utah,” said Andy, getting back into the car after our last photo stop, “but the Ranger said Cedar Breaks is open. October is a huge vacation month for the parks in Utah, so the Utah State Legislature is funding the parks for ten days.”
I hopped in and buckled up. “So we stop in Cedar Breaks for another hike?” I asked.

Utah opens Cedar Breaks National Monument
 in spite of last week's snowfall. 

Near the 10,000-foot elevation, snow
covers the landscape.

“Yup, but only for the pull-offs. We won’t have time to hike,” he said, and we were off.
From the road into Cedar Breaks, we could see snow on the mountains in the distance. “And that’s not just a little on the peak,” said Andy.
On the top of Webster Flat the ground was covered. Here winter had set in already. The aspen quivering with brilliant color down below stood as naked sticks at the higher elevations. It was 41 degrees, and we were dressed in shorts.


At Point Supreme even the hot sun doesn't melt the snow.

“You’ll really get snow now,” said Andy, turning left toward Cedar Breaks. We continued to climb, and the temperature dropped to 36 degrees. My camera lens fogged up at Spectra Point, 10,285 feet, because of the cold.
Near the Visitor Center at Point Supreme, 10,365 feet, the Park Rangers recorded 25 degrees this morning when Las Vegas was 71. “Today would have been their last day of the season,” said Andy, “if this had been a regular season. Since it’s extended now, they are open until Sunday.”

Sunset View from the Visitor Center Overlook lives
up to its name in the late afternoon.

Sunset View from the Visitor Center Overlook offered absolutely perfect shadows at 4:30 p.m.
Chessman Ridge Overlook, at 10,467 feet, was 36 degrees. Andy said, “I’m not cold, but I can really feel the elevation.”
My legs were numb. Snow blanketed the ground around the Douglas fir trees. Winter had already come to the high country of Utah.
North View, at 10,435 feet, had ice coating the path in spite of the blinding sun going down. “It’s even more beautiful in the winter,” said Andy. “The snow on that red sandstone. WOW!”

We freeze at the rugged crest of Chessman Ridge Overlook.

We didn’t try the dirt road to Brian Head. It was icy and muddy, but the main road was open all the way down.

From North View we see the snow and
ice covering on the landscape.

Clouds hang over the lower elevations
as we head down from the
mountains toward Richfield, Utah.

We followed I-#15 to Richfield, Utah, through spectacular rural countryside between the mountains. Three major mountain peaks rose on our right: Mount Belknap, 12,119-feet; Delano Peak, 12,169; and Mount Hawley, 11,999 feet. We also passed Signal Peak, 11,223 feet, which looked red in the fading daylight.
Andy stopped for photos, but I leaned out the car window to take more. The speed limit was 80 m.p.h. We made it to Richfield before total darkness.