Taking a Cedar Break

With the start of school looming ahead, I decided that I needed one more summer vacation before giving up my fleeting freedom. (Apparently, Europe, Vegas, Steamboat Springs, etc. weren’t enough for me.) Jason and I hadn’t been down to the Utah Shakespearean Festival in years so I thought it would be nice to spend a couple days in Cedar City to catch some culture and nature. Predictably, I was correct.

Between that dot, AKA Jason, and the amphitheater bottom tumbled 2,000 feet of unforgiving rock.
Between that dot, AKA Jason, and the amphitheater bottom tumbled 2,000 feet of unforgiving rock.

We saw two productions during our stay. Cocoanuts, with its frequent sticking and slapping, was quite entertaining but the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s take on Henry V was outstanding. Jason had a bit of difficulty understanding the play’s fancy English, as usual, but he did grasp enough of its plainer parts to not completely drowned in that sea of fine language.

The views at Spectra Point are astounding and a little frightening.
The views at Spectra Point are astounding and a little frightening.
This bristlecone pine is over 1600 years old and has the widest span of any known in Utah.
This bristlecone pine is over 1600 years old and has the widest span of any known in Utah.

Following our play day, we opted to take a detour through Cedar Breaks National Monument on our way home. Although Cedar City was a little hot, Cedar Breaks was not. Instead, a storm threatened to put a swift and electrifying end to our hiking. Thankfully, it grumpily passed us by and singed the ridges to our north.

Bristlecone pines live thousands of years, to which our lifespans are measly blinks.
Bristlecone pines live thousands of years, to which our lifespans are measly blinks.

Thus, we made the four-mile roundtrip trek to Spectra Point and Ramparts Overlook without becoming rim fries. This trail, a section of which we hiked years ago, was full of dizzying panoramas along the perimeter of Cedar Break’s half-mile-deep amphitheater. It’s not a path you’d take a young child on unless you have a few of those to spare.

At Spectra Point, color plummets in every direction.
At Spectra Point, color plummets in every direction.

Afterwards, we had time for a casual romp over the Alpine Pond Nature Trail, a two-mile loop. Although the wildflowers that grace this route during parts of the summer had already died and the outlooks were blocked by trees, it was a pleasant wander.

The trail connecting Spectra Point to Ramparts Overlook takes a surprising dip through a quiet forest full of wildlife.
The trail connecting Spectra Point to Ramparts Overlook takes a surprising dip through a quiet forest full of wildlife.

Traveling to Cedar City was a great idea; I have lots of those. Even though we were down there and back again in less than 48 hours, we still succeeded in witnessing some of man’s and nature’s best material. Good thing I’m needy and demanded one more pre-school break.

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