Mt. Wire

Today Jon and I wanted to attempt Mt. Wire again, since we didn't make it far in the winter, and now it's not winter!  We stopped and took a picture from the same tree we turned back at last time.

While we were heading up the trail, Jon's eagle eyes spotted this little cutie.  It's a Greater Short Horned Lizard.  They have this funny flat little body with a huge tummy section.  And on his sides he has little spikes all down.

Their little profiles are hilarious.  They look so alert and quizzical.

Once at the top, there's a tower that used to be fenced off...Jon was up it like a shot.

I was less eager, and figured I would remain firmly on the ground.

This is Jon goading and teasing me for not wanting to come up.  The views are amazing, he said.

Soooo, I climbed up, and was really uncomfortable.  It was just a rickety ladder and a meshy sort of floor on the top.  The guard rails were hardly guarding anyone falling.  I pretty much gripped it hard the whole time I was standing up there!  He was right, though.  The views both into the valley,

and into the canyon beyond were amazing.

This feat of mine was also documented as I came back down.  Talk about a white knuckle grip!!

He was sure to leave our mark on the metal door underneath the tower.

Whew!  Now for the climb down!

The hike aims you back down facing the valley as you come down near Red Butte.

Much of the trail goes along this ridge down.  I am a bit out of shape for this sort of thing and was a little slow moving.

As we hit the last of the grassy hill down, the wind picked up and it was blowing through the grasses, rippling them out in green and gold.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but the blurry parts are the grasses moving in the breeze.

Another smallish hike on the books in preparation for larger ones this summer!!