BRIAN HEAD, Utah — Crews at Cedar Breaks National Monument near Brian Head spent a snowy Wednesday winterizing, getting ready for the end of their season, and officially closing up as they normally do at this time of year.
The area, like Utah's "Mighty 5" national parks, has remained open during the government shutdown, which has lasted two weeks.
"We really didn't see any trash or have any issues," said visitor Royal Price. "We were here almost 10 years ago and didn't really notice the difference."
However, a few kids noticed some things, namely numbness in their fingers and toes from the cold temperatures.
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Price was among three Texas families from Austin who stopped by Cedar Breaks after receiving some advice from a local at Zion National Park. Last year, Outdoors Magazine ranked the area in its top 13 of Most Beautiful Places in the World No One Knows About.
Not everyone thought it was smooth sailing like the families from the Lone Star State.
Thea Hassan, Eric Heine and their adopted dog, Fletcher, were visiting from Buffalo and not bothered at all by the snow falling at around 10,000 feet. But they were bothered by getting a permit to hike Angel’s Landing and finding no rangers to check them
Zion and Bryce Canyon national park operations are mostly being funded by the non-profit Forever Zion park advocacy group, with assistance from the state of Utah. The state is picking up most of the tab for other parks and monuments like Cedar Breaks.
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A spokesperson with Zion Forever explained the park's shuttles will run through the end of the month, which is when they have always stopped operating for the winter.
At Cedar Breaks, the visitor stations and restrooms are closed, but rangers added that it is also normal, as final freeze prevention measures are underway before the park begins its normal winter closure, which starts at the end of the week.
Despite the shutdown, some visitors, like Texan Anderson Price, didn’t feel frozen out.
"You can't shut down the natural beauty!"
