… Salt Lake City behind us, we drove up
Little Cottonwood Canyon yesterday,
until we got to the end of the road, Alta.
We parked, then hiked the closed extension
of the road. Footing was okay, though some
mud, and snow patches, remained. Also a
few abandoned snowmobiles.
Water powered down the mountain from
loud alleys. In quieter trailside creeks, it
curled over stones.
While Mr UD went further up
the slope, I did two things: I stood
next to the biggest, loudest brook and
sang If Music Be the Food of Love.
Tripping and sunny like the buck himself!
Wanted to compete with the sound of the water.
Then I turned to the quieter rivulets along the
road, knelt down, and examined the stones.
If you go way back with UD,
you know she likes stones. She found a
smooth white one, like her beach stones,
but most were dark and sharp, and even
if they looked promising under the water,
the moment you took them out in the sun
they dulled.
June 22nd, 2010 at 6:59AM
Margaret,
The Alta stock (the name of the granitic intrusion near Alta) is a very interesting place to see igneous and metamorphic products in the field.
This web site has some more info.
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/petrology/teaching_examples/5109.html
Email me if you want more info.
-Pete
June 22nd, 2010 at 7:14AM
Pete: Thank you! We’re probably going back to Alta this afternoon. I’ll check out the web site before we do.