There’s gold in them thar hills! Not the nuggets of gold that prospectors work hard to find but a carpet of golden Mule’s Ears covering some of the hills in Soapstone Basin, Utah.

Mule's Ears -Soapstone Basin, UtahMule’s Ears -Soapstone Basin, Utah – Nikon D300, handheld, f14, 1/80, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18 mm, natural light

There were other wildflowers blooming in the mountains yesterday but in the Soapstone Basin in the Uinta National Forest it was the Mule’s Ears that stole the show.

In the heat of summer Utahns and visitors to the state can escape the heat by heading to the mountains which is where I wandered yesterday. The Soapstone Basin is named after Soapstone Creek which flows through the basin and Soapstone Creek got its name for the soapy-feeling talc that occurs along the creek bed.

It felt marvelous to be in the mountains yesterday and to see that Bald Mountain and a few other mountains in the area still have some snow up high even in the middle of July especially because temperatures in the Salt Lake valley climbed to over 100° F.  It was a scorcher yesterday in northern Utah and at one point I saw a temperature reading of 105°.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos.