The Breaks

I think they finally get it: Salt Lake Tribune - Panguitch seeks national park of its own at Cedar Breaks. Cedar Breaks is a great place and I would hate to see it overrun as most National Parks are, but the plan seems solid enough and would do a lot for Iron County. As the western-most park of all the Utah parks it would carry tourists in the big loop that could start or end there and hit places like Zions, Bryce, Capitol Reef, and Arches. One would hope, however, that they don't decide to expand the highway up Cedar Canyon because of this, however, to make a connection to Bryce Canyon. Cedar Canyon is one of the most beautiful canyons in Utah. Its mix of forest and red rock are particularly spectacular and it has a grove of the oldest trees in North America. My mom's family has a deep roots in that area (hell there are a few geographical features named for them), so I get pretty charged up when folks start messing around with it.

(Note on picture: that's my uncle and my mom somewhere in Cedar Canyon in the 50s.)