Golden Fields and Mountainsides. Now with mawr elk skull.

At the suggestion of @johannpiber, I am making a proper post of the pastoral vistas from the flanks of Maple Mountain. My last post was kind of schizophrenic; it was mostly about lightning and a distant stormy sunset, then I crammed in a couple photos from the next day's hike and threw an elk skull on top.

The golden fields and mountainsides deserve their own post. Also, more elk skull. The cover image was published previously, the rest of this is fresh content. I hope you are getting outside and enjoying the sunsets, wherever you are :)

A giant lake filled the Utah Valley during the last ice age, and as it receded it left well defined benches on the mountainsides that mark where the shoreline was at different times. These flat benches between the canyons that cut down across them are wonderful for leisurely sunset strolls along the flank of the mountain, with amazing views of the countryside below and the lake in the distance.

Looking northwest up the valley - you can see the bench we are hiking on clearly as it extends up across the lower slopes of Grindstone Ridge, Powerhouse Mountain and Buckley Mountain. Y Mountain / Provo Peak is the darker mountain you can see poking up beyond the last sunlit peak.

Looking south down the valley over Mapleton

Panorama view down the bench toward Maple Mountain, across the valley, and up the bench toward Grindstone Ridge / Hobble Creek Canyon

Occasionally you come across an ancient stream bed filled with interesting rounded river rocks, now high above the canyons carrying water today.

Mawr Elk Skull

Kudos to @thingone for finding the elk skull while bushwacking on his own down a dry creek bed at the base of Maple Canyon before we climbed up onto the bench. He is a little explorer, and was tickled pink to find a skull with antlers attached.