Scenic drive on Utah 143 from Parowan Gap to Panguitch, Utah.

The day started out with a short drive to the Parowan Gap, a petroglyph site which is still used by native Americans today.

When we arrived someone approached us and told that a lady was giving tours to classes of school kids. She said that it was very informative. We saw the group gathering so we joined and tagged along. We come to find that the petroglyphs are a quiet extensive calendar, using petroglyphs, and lightflall on and through rock formations to indicate the solstices and other celestial events. Smart folks back then.

It was great to see the young kids engaged in history and they asked very interesting questions. “Why aren’t we using the moon calender anymore? It makes more sense.” This question couldn’t be answered. Smart young folks today. And so its time to get the wheels moving again, on to the next site.

Just a few miles down the road is the Dinosaur Track Recreation Site. We climbed the hillside looking for tracks. It took a while to see them because the tracks are protruding up from the rocks like a negative image. We were looking for indentations but as soon as we saw one suddenly we could see many. We could stay here for a while but also here it’s time to move on.

We started up the mountain to Brian Head, a local ski resort and had a little fun with the UDOT (Utah Dept of Transportation) camera. Knowing that they take pictures every 10 minutes, we waited and stood in front of the rig until we saw the camera move and here is the result. It’s hard to see us but we had a good laugh and moved on.

Next stop Cedar Breaks National Monument.

The road had just opened so we ventured a short way and decided to continue on Hwy 143 to Panguitch Lake for a bite to eat. We enjoyed the lake for a while but’s time to head for our spot for the night, but then; Another unexpected stop as we see a sign pointing to the childhood home of Butch Cassidy. We just had to stop and get a few photos here as well. We are wandering around the farm thinking about the young boy that grew up to be a sought after bad guy. This place seemed like such a beautiful place to grow up.