We started out our day with a hike up Bald Mountain along the Ontario Trail. I researched this trail before leaving home and knew it would be a good one. If you enjoy hiking or trail running, check out the app AllTrails. It lets you search for trails near year or in a specific area. It also has a GPS feature so you can “see” your location on the trail in real-time. The app also gives you information about the trail you want to hike – distance, elevation and difficulty level. Anyways, we hike the trail up the mountain and it was a beautiful alpine hike. It was about 3 miles up the mountain and through several Aspen Groves.

At the start of the trail
A third of the way up – notice the orange lichen

Did you know Aspen Groves are one organism? Yep, they grow by cloning. All the trees shared the same root system and send up shoots to grow new trees. The Pando – The Trembling Giant is a grove of quaking Aspen in south central Utah and considered to be the largest single organism. #sciencefacts

A little over halfway up
The last one before the top

Another fun science thing to see on this hike was the lichens. Lichens on the rocks are a sign of good air quality. When hiking, we liken to see lichen! #sciencejokes

Green Lichens

The other highlight of the hike was the numerous wildflowers! They were everywhere! I took a lot of pictures and was able to use my plant id app “PictureThis” to identify them all. Another great app. You simply snap a picture and look it up later, or if you have the time you can identify the plan immediately. The app then saves the plant to your virtual garden collection. Check out all the flowers we saw! #wildflowergeek

Wild Geranium
Richardson’s Cranesbill Geranium
Silky Lupine
Sticky Geranium with a bee
Pacific Ninebark
Giant Red Indian Paintbrush
Wasatch Beardtongue
Purple Coneflower
Colorado Blue Columbine
Butterweed
Common Pacific Pea
NettleLeaf Giant Hyssop
Sticky Cinquefoil
Twolobe Larkspur
Beach Pea
Woods’ Rose

As we got closer to the top, the weather started to change. Clouds were rolling in and raindrops started falling.

My Love in the Alpine wildflower field

The views from the top were worth every step!

Lots of mountains and lichen on the rocks!
Hiking ❤️
WabiSabiSole at the top of Bald Mountain
Geological marker at the top of Bald Mountain
What a view!

By this point we were chilly and wet from the drizzle. We made a smart decision to take the ski lift down the mountain. Save our knees and enjoy the view!

Going down…
Relaxing and enjoying the view

After our hike we had lunch and relaxed before going into park city for dinner. We started with happy hour at Wasatch Brewery. I enjoyed the Juicy IPA and Dave had the Chasing Tail Pale Ale. Both delicious. I have to admit, we’ve been disappointed with the Brewery swag. Story on the street is that orders aren’t being filled because COVID. Maybe next time…

We enjoyed a sushi dinner at Yuki Yama. It was good. The sashimi appetizer and the Japanese wagyu beef bruschetta were excellent. The rolls were alright.

Sashimi
Japanese Wagyu Beef Bruschetta
The presentation was better than the taste…

We returned back to the room after turn down service. Water, chocolates, tomorrow’s weather forecast and slippers. So, cute.

GooooooD NiiiiiiiiGHTTTTTTTT!

Sunset for our balcony….

I totally get the love of Park City. Until tomorrow-