CEDAR BREAKS (Day 17 - part 4)

My bench

Suddenly a small head popped up! A marmot! It stared at me for a moment then scampered off as other tourists approached. But where could it possibly go? This was on the edge of a cliff! I immediately jumped up and ran over to where it had been. Nothing. It had just completely vanished with nowhere obvious it could have gone!

Now you see me...

... now you don't! This is the view mere seconds after he scampered off in this direction.

The light began to change as the day started to come to a close. I watched for a bit as the rocks started to glow then walked back to the campground. It was definitely much colder!

A lovely Field Crescent butterfly

When I returned to the campground, the host stopped by to make sure I had settled in ok. She was a wonderful woman and we ended up chatting for quite a while. She and her husband had sold their homes, bought a camper, and now live this lifestyle permanently... moving from national park to national park, working as campground hosts. Very inspirational!

I told her about the huge windstorm in Zion the other day. She said they got it here too... but much worse, for along with the winds they also got extreme cold and even frost. It hit a low of 28 degrees!

A pair of Crane flies (one of many types of critters also known as Daddy Longlegs) decide to mate on my shirt. The female is the one on the right (as identified by her pointy ovipositor).

I left the parents screaming relentlessly at their kin and hurried back to the Sunset View Overlook. It wasn't anymore peaceful there, with a family singing some pop song as loud as they possibly could, but it was still stunningly beautiful.

The setting sun is working its magic!

Even after the sun had set, it continued to bedazzle its spectators by lighting up the numerous airplane trails. Streaks of fire crisscrossed the sky. Suddenly three jets appeared and did a series of maneuvers. Incredible!

I returned to my campsite. I put on every scrap of clothing I had brought with me but it still wasn't enough to brave the outdoors to take star pictures. I hunkered down in my sleeping bag. I would like to say I slept but the party was now raging at both neighboring campsites The volume was ridiculous... horrible singing, constant yelling... I didn't even know humans could get that loud!

Then suddenly, at some time after 11 pm, they all got in their cars and drove away. It seems they had just come up here to party.... probably with that much noise, someone would have called the cops on them at home!

In general, I am highly disappointed by the attitudes of people who use the parks. There seems to be zero respect for the land or nature. And definitely no love for it.

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