You Think You Are Having A Bad Day?

31 Aug 2010--Everyone who owns an RV says it; "There is always something!" Just think what would happen if you tried to drive your house down the road for a few hundred miles at a time. Because of all the jiggling, something is always working itself lose, breaking, etc. So when Cathy and I got up this morning, we noticed a leak under the bathroom sink. After pulling lots of stuff out of there, we saw a leak that we suspected was due to a worn out seal on the holding tank's bypass valve (anyone who knows me at this point knows that I was only holding the flashlight--haha).

Anyway, after determining this, we decided we had to go into town to get a replacement. Utah is a funny state...they have really done a good job of keeping out your big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, etc. The only place in the whole state that has those stores are Salt Lake City and Cedar City. We finally found an Ace Hardware store locally, but they didn't have what we needed, so we had no choice but to drive the 60 miles to Cedar City to get the washer.

We stopped at a gas station to get directions to Cedar City, and this is when my day brightened considerably. Someone whispered in my ear, "You think you are having a bad day, Paula? Check out the RV at the gas pump!" This poor slob, after trying to leave the station, obviously cut his wheels too sharply, and in the process hooked his end-cap on the pump guard, and the pump guard won!!!! If you were to look in the back of that opening, I am sure you could see what was in his bedroom closet.

Cathy saw the woman watching and said "I hope the husband was driving." haha There are no RV stores in Panguitch, so I think these people probably had to drive to Cedar City for repairs...I hope the gorilla tape held for them. (I can't imagine what this repair is going to cost.)

So now that Cathy and I were feeling better about our own travails, we headed to Cedar City, got the part we needed, and decided to take the scenic route back to Panguitch, which we knew would include a stop in Cedar Breaks National Park.

We were told by the guy who runs the RV Park that we should see all the tourists spots we were going to go to before we go to Bryce Canyon, because if we didn't everything else would be a let down. So this fit in that plan. But at first we actually thought we were going to be disappointed no matter what order this was in. The Park is in the Dixie Nat'l Forest, and for the 1st several miles all we saw was trees...we were growing concerned...80 miles of trees can be mind-numbingly boring!

Then we saw the sign that gave us hope...along with a board that had an explanation of the name. But then we saw the Visitor Center, and hope waned...we weren't seeing anything spectacular as we looked down the road at it.

Another billboard talked about 4 movies that were made here...I especially liked "My Friend Flicka"!!!

And then they told us why this area was called the "Amphitheater".



And then they finally let us see it!!! It is amazing how hidden this area is. Because it is in a valley of the forest, if there were no signs you would drive ride past it and never be the wiser. This area is only about 3 miles wide, so it can't compete with the likes of the Badlands in South Dakota, or certainly not with Arches or the Canyonlands, all of which go for dozens of miles, but it is very pretty nonetheless. These pics were taken from the "Point Supreme" observation deck, which is at 10,350 ft altitude.

These were taken from what they call the "Sunset View" observation deck. Aren't the colors fantastic?!

Here is another stitch pic and a couple videos of the area.

After seeing the Breaks, we were back to seeing a lot of trees on the way home, but we did see a couple deer and whatever this little thing is...do you think it is a ground hog? Anyone know for sure? We hadn't seen any animals at all since we left Yellowstone, so we were happy to see anything.

We passed Panguitch Lake and Campground as we came to the edge of the forest...and what do you know? Another Mormon Chapel! They really make it impossible for you to say "I couldn't make it" on Sunday!

Cathy says we came here to see Bryce Canyon more than anything else, so we might as well go tomorrow. I'm game, I guess...I just hope it is spectacular, and that the rest of the week isn't ruined trying to live up to it!