Cascade Falls is one of the musts in Dixie. The drive to the trail head is on a very dusty road but we like that. The trail itself is not long and the end of the trail is a guard rail overlooking the falls.

As falls go this was quite small. It probably is more impressive in early spring when the snow melt is big, but it was just a nice little cascade when we saw it. No matter, the trail and views were worth the walk.

Small but fun, this cave is a must. Entering is a bit messy and could be a little tricky but some kind soul put a small rope to hold onto as well as a log to climb down if you prefer.

This is a single chamber lave tube really, but the ice sheet is a year round feature so you can get nice and cool. Even if it is small, it was a lot of fun.

The "big draw" in the area is Mammoth Cave. Yes, it is another lava tube rather than a large limestone formation, but it is a lot bigger than the Ice Cave. The entrance is a large hole surrounded by the parking area. Once you climb down the rocks you are in a small chamber. There is lots of light here, and two smaller chambers are located just off of the upper ledge.

To get to the larger main chamber you have to squeeze through a gate used to block the entrance to humans when bats are roosting and breeding. Since the bats are gone, we did the squeeze and stumbled around with our little flashlights. As usual, I found the mud. My caving style remains in tact.

On our way back from Mammoth Cave we stopped at Bower Cave. This sits back off of the road a bit but it is easy to find and has a dedicated parking area.

The entrance is another small hole in the ground, but this time there was a ladder. There seemed to be only one large chamber - it was hard to tell with just a flashlight - and again I found mud. This was the gooey
sucking kind that clings to your boots. We walked around inside for a while and then climbed back out.

The other neat thing about our trip to the caves was the animals. We saw couple of antelope on the way in, including a mother with twins.

Then there was the spastic Mountain Bluebird that kept beating on our truck. He flew at the windshield before we got out - yes we were parked - and then continued to land all over it and occasionally beat it with his wings. He was beautiful to see, even if a little odd.

To round out our day we drove to Strawberry Point after dinner. Our timing was great because the sun was striking the formations and bringing out all their color. And the dust from the road gave us some great sun beam shots as we drove in.

WARNING! We took at least 10,000 pictures on this trail. The views of the rocks and formations were just amazing - naturally - but it was the wildflowers that overwhelmed us. We just could not get enough of them. And this is not even the height of wildflower season. That is July.

The first mile skirts along the rim and takes you to Spectra Point. If you choose to continue to Rampart Point Overlook, just take a left by the big tree, or follow the sign. This will take you down into the valley filled with trees, colorful bushes, more wildflowers, a little creek, and then up to Rampart Overlook. We really enjoyed the entire 4 miles round-trip and if we go back to Cedar Breaks we will certainly do it again.

After our fun trip along the Spectra Point-Rampart Overlook Trail we figured we would do the Alpine Pond Trail. Again, lots and lots of amazing wildflowers and vegetation.

This trail has an upper and lower loop. You can do one part, or both if you have the time. Naturally we did the Upper & Lower

. The pond is small but pretty and although there are no breath taking views of rocks and formations there are some beautiful flora along the way.

Grafton was first settled in 1859. In January of 1862 the town was completely washed away by a flood. The people rebuilt it a mile further up stream at its present site. By 1864 about 28 families lived here.

There were many log houses, a post office, church, school and community hall. The town was deserted in 1866 due to Indian attacks. The people moved back in 1868.

By 1920 only 3 families still lived here. Small but lovingly restored and maintained best describes Grafton. Location is beautiful - sitting in a valley surrounded by majestic mesas - and not hard to get to at all.

You movie buffs might like to know this was where Etta Place lived - at least the movie studios built a house here for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".

Yes, we watched the movie when we got home since we felt as if we knew the place so well. Amazing what a film crew and set designer can do to make 3 homesteads look like part of a town.