Panaca is a small quaint farming town nestled near mining towns and ghost towns. There is one grocery store, one school that holds K-12, a few gas stations, a cafe, and one LDS chapel. From a distance, you can see fields of lavender plants. We set up our tents or trailers at a beautiful campground called Cathedral Gorge State Park.
The scenery is absolutely breathtaking to those who appreciate the beauty of the great western culture. There are clay like canyons that are seen from the campsite about a 1/4 mile away. Near the campsite, one of my children made the mistake of picking a brilliant red cactus flower! The children love to catch lizards, frogs, or non poisonous snakes. The gorgeous canyons have many cliffs that are easy to climb onto as well as many caves to explore in. Being in the dry desert can shock our bodies! It gets really cold at night and very hot during the day.
There are several exciting attractions to do in Panaca over Memorial Day weekend!
1. Hike or bike the beautiful desert scenic trails near the campground.
2. Climb and explore caves at Cathedral Gorge.
3. Play in the sand dunes with four wheelers, SUV's, or bucket/shovels.
Eleven year old with cousins Justin and James jeeping at the sand dunes!
Playing in the sand with cousins Erika and Avery.
4. Swim in Panaca's natural spring among fish and tadpoles.
5. Go Shooting(usually a guy thing but this year 11 year old and I tagged along).
6. Enjoy a campfire eating smores made with Reece's Peanut Butter Cups!
Big Sister with Granny Free getting toasty by the camp fire!
Other things to do in Panaca are seeing the nearby mines, visit ghost towns, and search for trilobites in the mountains. We have made many fun memories in Panaca this year. Our Memorial Day weekend for 2010 included the following activities/ memories:
Friday- We set up our tent. Then my girls went on a jeep ride with their cousins Justin and James to the spring. John and the girls went swimming in the spring while I read a book. While carrying my youngest daughter to the truck, we slipped and fell. I got a nasty abrasion on my knee. Luckily my daughter survived with just a scare. That evening before dinner, my 11 year old and I went with the boys to practice shooting different guns. This was my first time shooting guns. I am not a fan of them but I gave it a try and hubby was proud of me! For dinner, we made foil dinners (meat, onions potatoes, and carrots) which we cooked in the fire coals.
Saturday- We had a rough night sleeping. It was very cold and windy. John woke up shivering in the middle of the night. We went to the spring again this time I went swimming. John and I went jeeping with James and Justin near the dunes and on some crazy cliffs... We went to see a huge cave in the middle of town. It is made with red sand and rock. We ate a dutch oven turkey pot pie for dinner. Then the girls and I took a very cold shower due to the many people who showered way before us! At least we got clean though!
Little sister was grumpy! She was hungry, tired, and ready to go back to camp!
Sunday-We all got up early to get ready for church attended all three meetings. The people in Panaca are very humble and kind. After church, we had free time to take naps or relax at the camp site. Later that day everyone went to the cemetery to place flowers on our ancestors' gravestones. Then we went for an evening hike to the Cathedral Gorge Caves. For our night activity, we met with our extended family members Uncle Duane and Aunt Rhea's families for a devotional around Duane's campfire. We sang some songs, ate smores, and listened to my father in-law and Uncle Duane share memories of growing up in Panaca.
This is everyone that went to the cemetery. John's cousin Vickie, Little sister, and I were at Aunt Rhea's on a bathroom break when this photo got taken.
Monday- I got up around 5:30 AM to go on bike ride with my brother in-law Rich. Then James, Justin, and our family of four went for another hike to the caves again. The boys had fun climbing to the top of the cliffs. We came back cleaned up camp and headed towards home. We stopped at the Dairy Freeze near my in-law's house for dinner and dessert. The girls and I slept most the way home.
Good-bye, Panana! We look forward to more Memorial Day adventures in the future!
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