Golden gifts from nature

I love the colors of autumn.  Because they are fleeting, they are all the more precious.

It took about 30 tries to catch the leaves falling in the wind with my camera.

A small stand of water is all that's left in the creek this time of year.

"Nothing gold can stay," said Robert Frost.  Sometimes I wish it could.

A momentary diversion from Alaska

On the morning of the 4th of July I headed to the Flume trail.  It's only five minutes away from my house.  The water, melted snow,  is running off the mountains.  It will disappear in the Dry Fork sinks soon and reappear next year.

Brogan came with me and whined every time I stopped too long to take a picture.  That's what he does.

Although this is the bark of a fallen tree, it looks like a beautiful piece of art.  

This could well be the biggest lupine bush I have ever seen.

Here's a close up of the flowers.

The Indian paintbrush is blooming as well.

Scarlet gilia trumpets, "Summer has finally arrived!"

The sun was shining in the morning, but a cold wind blew in a rainstorm later in the day and the temperatures really dropped for awhile.

The trail winds along the bottom of some magnificent rock formations.

There are lots of rocks on the trail too.  My walking buddy tripped last week and injured her foot.  It can be a little treacherous for us "old folks" but we hike the trail as often as we can for exercise and talk therapy.

Wouldn't you?

And that's My World in Utah.

Signs of fall on the Flume Trail

Skipper and I took a short walk on the Flume Trail.

These leaves are signs of cooler temperatures to come.  I am so not ready for that yet.

We taught our Girl Scout troop all about this sign.

Apparently someone didn't get the same lesson.

I never get tired of this trail.

Sun and shadow

Still Friday on the Flume Trail.  The light shifts and changes a lot because of the high rock formations.

There are a lot of interesting effects on sandstone from weathering.

The sun is shining through a break in the canyon here.

You can't hear him, but Brogan was whining to get going.  He thinks I take too many pictures.

The new aspen leaves are glowing in the sun.

I love this walk and never tire of it.  Sometimes I do get tired from the walking though!

Friday on the Flume Trail

Imagine my delight this morning when I heard the snow melt running in the creek!  Dry Fork Canyon doesn't have water all year long, only in the spring.  Later in the year the water disappears into the "sinks" and then shows up in Ashley Creek further downstream.  It's such a lovely sound and makes the hike even more pleasant.

Skipper enjoys being able to get a drink now and then too.

There are two bridges in the first 1.5 mile stretch of the trail.  This is the first one.

This is the second one.

And this is the end of our walk for today.  

Sunday Stroll on the Flume Trail

How lucky can I be to live so close to such a beautiful trail?  

The landscape is spectacular. Every day, every season, it looks different.  Today was a late fall/early winter day.  The snow on the trail was like a soft cushion.  The temperature was in the low 40's which was quite pleasant for a day in December.  The sky was partly cloudy, sometimes a dull gray, sometimes a brilliant blue.  

Dogs are hikers too

The sun shines from the west in the afternoon on to the eastern rock formations.  Usually I walk this trail earlier in the day, then it's the reverse.

Snowflakes or dried flowers?

It was a little over three miles round trip

A bridge to somewhere

The grass dried like this, it's not the wind blowing it

Silhouette against the sky

Happy dog at the end of the hike