Little Cottonwood Canyon and its resorts attract people from many places and for many reasons. The latter tend to be big and full of purpose. Your blogger, no stranger to the fun and satisfaction of a great speed wing line or powder run on a country club day, would agree. Much of the time. But wandering the slopes of Alta and Snowbird in the summer contains a certain kind of magic that can only be found in the tiny and in the moment by pausing. This Independence Day was one of those wanderings. Around mineral basin Canyon Blog repeatedly stopped to smell the flowers (and fungi). Not the flowers appearing in this column from time to time like columbine or bluebell or porcini mushrooms. Rather, those small and often overlooked blooms and petals that are so important to the many varieties of pollinators that also wander the slopes. So, included here, in no particular order, and without scientific taxonomy, are a few of your correspondent’s favorite overlooked flora and fauna. Alright, dandelions deserve mention. Not only are they plentiful and imbued with a brilliant color, but who hasn’t blown a wish on dandelion seeds? They’re also edible. But for Canyon Blog, their special place originates from Ray Bradbury’s wonderful and surreal wanderings of 12-year-old Douglas Spaulding’s summer of 1928 in Dandelion Wine . Enough of that. Rounding out our sampling is a lone ladybug, busy keeping the flowers free of hazards. Followed by a mountain butterfly sunning her wings. Okay, and maybe one shot of Canyon Blog’s 4 th of July ski line in Baldy’s Bowl… Wherever you find yourself this holiday may you enjoy good friends and family. And don’t forget to stop and smell the overlooked flowers in your yard, especially those dandelions.

One of the enjoyable experiences of walking the ridges and exploring the draws of Little Cottonwood Canyon are the small things. For your correspondent that includes the mysteries of those that grow in unlikely corners or those that are easily overlooked. Two of his favorites are variations of fungi that are eye catching but not always readily observable. To find them you have to slow down, look around, and peer at the ground. The first is the tiny fungus caloscypha fulgens but more popularly known by the friendlier snowbank orange peel fungus moniker. It’s clear where the nickname comes from as they often appear as miniature abandoned orange peels. This makes them relatively easy to spot. The best locations are under conifers and so it’s more likely you’ll discover them in the shadows. Canyon blog’s other favorite is a white mycelium that covers various ground detritus, usually fallen tree branches but sometimes exposed roots. Unlike many fungi it extends roots to grow and bring in nutrients. This can give it an unworldly appearance like something from a bad, or even good, sci-fi film. As you can see from this photo of a “captured” pinecone, the ability reach out and connect to a relatively distant food source can be spooky, in a Invasion of the body snatchers sort of way. What’s exceptionally cool, but little studied, about these types of fungi is their ability to transmit an electrical charge. Whether this is a means of communication or information transmission remains an enigma. Previously your blogger shared the fun of hunting porcini mushrooms to add to your culinary adventures (see October 5 th , 2021 Shroomin’ with ACE blog). Today’s blog is certainly not about consumption as neither one of these fungi are for humans or pets. No matter, the joy is in the discovery and observation. The natural world is an amazing place and there is no better spot from which to consider its mysteries than Little Cottonwood. But then, Canyon Blog admits to a biased perspective…

Alta summer Archives - Canyon Services

Small Things
Small Things

Small Things

Little Cottonwood Canyon and its resorts attract people from many places and for many reasons. The latter tend to be big and full of purpose. Your blogger, no stranger to the fun and satisfaction of a great speed wing line or powder run on a country club day, would agree. Much of the time. But wandering the slopes of Alta and Snowbird in the summer contains a certain kind of magic that can only be found in the tiny and in the moment by pausing. This Independence Day was one of those wanderings. Around mineral basin Canyon Blog repeatedly stopped [...]

CanyonBlog2025-07-04T23:53:15+00:00Outdoors, Summer|

Fun with Junior Bounous Part I

Your correspondent recently had the opportunity to fulfill a longtime aspiration when he cornered skiing legend Junior Bounous. If you know who he is there is no need for explanation, but by all means read on because this first installment (of two) is full of fun facts about his life and times here in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Canyon Blog met him on a pleasant July morning at Snowbird’s plaza deck where we’d agreed to take the tram and explore the pika populations around hidden peak and talk about his life. Armed with hiking poles and water and snacks for both [...]

CanyonBlog2024-08-06T01:38:46+00:00Local Flavor, Outdoors|

Fun Fungi

One of the enjoyable experiences of walking the ridges and exploring the draws of Little Cottonwood Canyon are the small things. For your correspondent that includes the mysteries of those that grow in unlikely corners or those that are easily overlooked. Two of his favorites are variations of fungi that are eye catching but not always readily observable. To find them you have to slow down, look around, and peer at the ground. The first is the tiny fungus caloscypha fulgens but more popularly known by the friendlier snowbank orange peel fungus moniker. It’s clear where the nickname comes from [...]

CanyonBlog2024-07-21T17:14:42+00:00Local Flavor, Outdoors|