the hills are alive

Last Sunday.  Still with the monsoon season but we decided that if we did a shortish and familiar hike early in the day, that would probably still be safe.  Plus Captain Mike had urged us to get our butts up to Albion Basin before all the wildflowers went past, so off to Alta we went.

Pretty!

It was sunny but cool and pleasant (high 60s) up there, and very busy, because clearly other folks were getting their butts up to Albion Basin to see the wildflowers.  We hiked up the trail across some of the ski trails, through both woods and meadows.  It was a lot drier than when we'd been there last, a month ago, but the flowers were certainly out in full force.  It's nearly indescribable, and our photos don't do the scenery justice, but the meadows and creek beds are just bursting with blossoms of all colors.  We even spied a happy hummingbird zooming around the flowers, happy as a fat man at a buffet.

I would call this a "high grotto" more than "high desert"

In addition to being Wildflower Central, it was also Small Mammal Day.  Up at Cecret Lake (the water level has dropped several feet from a month ago, and all the snow is gone from the lake basin although there is still some up in Devil's Castle), we were treated to the company of a very brave chipmunk - glossy-furred and more than twice as big as the chipmunks we've seen previously - who pounced upon a sunflower seed that spilled from the packet when we opened it. 

Not even a little bit afraid

There were other rodents all over the place, ground squirrels and red squirrels and a tiny grey chipmunk, some other species, I guess. And on our way down, we were lucky enough to spot this sleek little guy: an ermine in his summer outfit.

Isn't he adorable?  His tail had a little black tip