Cedar Breaks National Monument

We decided to go to Southern Utah for Fall Break.  We were excited to see Caitlyn and check out some of the National Parks.  Jonah wasn't sure on the football schedule and was hoping to hunt so we dragged our feet for a while and I finally just decided to book it. He had football practice that he couldn't miss because they are preparing for playoffs so he didn't come.  We were disappointed, but I think he was fine with it and excited to have the house to himself.  He had fun with his friends and Maddox came and stayed overnight while we were gone. 

We got up early Saturday morning and drove to Cedar City.  We picked up Caitlyn and then went to Jack in the Box for breakfast. 

After that we drove to Kolob Canyon to one of the entrances to Zions National Park.  It is the closest entrance to Cedar City. When we got there we found out that the road had a big sink hole so we couldn't go there like were planning.  We decided to head over to Cedar Breaks National Monument. The drive was beautiful.

I had read online about Cedar Breaks, but wasn't totally sure what to expect.  I knew the main overlook was closed so we weren't sure what else would be available.  We parked and hiked up a short steep trail to this overlook.  It was so pretty.

Keith couldn't really enjoy it because of the drop off.  It made him too nervous and he hated to watch us get near the edge.  The overlook that was closed has bars around it and would have been much more enjoyable for Keith. 

It was a really cool view.

Poor Keith was a nervous wreck while we took some pictures.

I asked him to take one of me and Caitlyn and you can see how far back he is standing.

It was so pretty. We didn't stay her long since Keith was not enjoying it. 

We saw a trail down the road that we decided to check out. 

The sunset trail was a paved trail that went through a forest area. It was really pretty.

We stopped a few times for water and snacks.  I loved seeing the kids had fun together.  Wyatt bites his hand when he is excited. 

I sure love these kids! We missed Jonah.

The day wasn't going quite as planned with all of the closers and we all got a little grumpy at times.  I was disappointed that things weren't working out the way I wanted them to.  The kids were so nice and tired to cheer my up by just having fun and being funny.

It worked and they cheered me up!

The kids laughed at me because I kept wanting to take pictures of us standing on tree stumps.  When did I become an old mom that her kids make fun of?!?

The trail ended at this beautiful overlook.

We laughed when we realized that we could have driven to the overlook.  We parked at the visitors center, that was closed, and walked down the canyon road to get to this trail and then walked up the trail to the overlook and saw a parking lot at the overlook.  We were all tired and it went from cold to hot, but in the end I think we were glad we took the trail, at least I was.  It was pretty and it was nice to get some exercise. 

Keith loved this overlook because there was a fence around it.

Pictures can never capture the beauty as well as the eye, but it was sure beautiful.

We enjoyed relaxing here for a while and just enjoying the view.

After that everyone was ready to be done so we went back to Cedar City.  We went to Walmart to get some groceries before we could check into our place.  Caitlyn was excited that we bought her some groceries and some of her and Amarie's favorite treats. After that we dropped Caitlyn off and we went to our place.  We had a town home about ten minutes away from Caitlyn's place.  It was really  nice and we were all happy with it. Caitlyn came over later and did laundry and we got pizza for dinner. 

The kids played Mario Party together and then we just relaxed and hung out together.  Hallee was happy to walk on Caitlyn's back. Caitlyn went home after her laundry was done.  Hallee and Wyatt were not happy with us, but we all went to bed early so we could be ready to hit Zions National park early the next day.