Ian

My computer was out of commission for a bit so the blogging essentially stopped…but I am now back in business!  The past few weeks have treated me well and have flown by in a scenic blur.  In an effort to escape the heat and see a new place, some fellow Backcountry folk and I went up north of the park, past Kolob Reservoir for a countryside cruise.  We raced away from storm clouds coming from behind us into thick, endless aspen forests which then opened up into huge, plush fields.

Many of which were covered in tiny purple and yellow flowers.  On our way back we got drizzled on just a bit and as we came over a hill, were greeted with a double rainbow…always a good thing.

Work also has been gettin’ me around the park.  From the East Rim:
to the West Rim:

I visited probably one of the most famous logs stuck in a drainage…

and have found loads of critters.

There are really tiny baby lizards around now that are completely adorable and I saw my first scorpion (not in a cage) that was all of an inch and a half long.

Southwestern Utah amazing.  I urge anyone who has not been to this part of the country to get out here and see it for yourself!  With that said, I am missing the mountains, forests, and alpine country of Colorado more each day.  I look forward to being back in Alamosa but until then I plan on soaking up as much Utah (and 110 degree, sun filled days) as possible.

Found these guys the other morning in the back yard when I went to grab my shoes.  Meet your future overlords:

While on the topic of snails, here’s an strange but interesting article from National Geographic I ran into a while ago.