Albion Basin

8:25 PM Elizabeth 0 Comments


I will begin by stating that paring my photos from this evening hike down to the 20 or so included in this post was a Herculean task. California's superbloom made headlines this year, with record rainfalls after years of drought. Not to be outdone (ha), Utah had its own superbloom, the result of a heavy snowfall this past winter and lots of spring rain. For comparison, I hiked in Albion Basin last summer (see the second, sixth, and last photos in that post, specifically) and the wildflowers were beautiful, but I was blown away when I went a few weeks ago—it was spectacular, riotous color on all sides, blankets of patchwork color spilling over the mountainsides and in the meadow basin. These photos speak for themselves.



My hiking buddies were dear family childhood friends, Lindsey and Shane, and Lindsey's kids Simon and Esther. I hadn't seen Lindsey in years, and I'd seen Shane only briefly on a few occasions in passing. It was a delight hiking with them, with running commentary from Lindsey's brilliant children. Esther was in love with all of the wildflowers, and Simon would count them at our prompting, starting over once he reached 20 (as high as he can count, at present:). The evening was warm, the mountains alpenglowing (I don't know that a verb form of alpenglow exists, but I'm coining the expression), the sun dazzling on its way down. On our way back, the moon was bright and brilliant; my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could see my own shadow in its light.


Simon said it best when he said "Thanks for having us over!" (talking to mother nature, of course). Utah, I love you.


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