CHAPTER 3 of the new book DIVINE VISIONS of NATURE from THE FOOTHILLS OF MOUNT TIMPANOGOS.

CLICK TO:  RETURN TO HOME PAGE 

CLICK for:  CHAPTER 1

CLICK for:  CHAPTER 2

INTRODUCTION:  

From the Foothills of Mount Timpanogos I send to all my friends CHAPTER 3 of my new book.  

The pictures I'm using here to introduce it are first from the mid-summer 

INDEPENDANCE DAY CELEBRATION 

in Grove Canyon. 

 When we return from Battle Creek Canyon, more will be shown and critically said about the world-wide explosion heard around the world on July 4, 1776.  In this chaper I will also use some Autumn photographs taken when actually putting together this chapter even though it will deal with my hiking activities built around my most difficult climb to the 

VALLEY VIEW SPOT

 on May 16th.

Then followed with a treasure trove of VISIONS that began in early summer.....with my discovery of each and then followed through to BLOSSOMING, and then to REPRODUCTION.

 The previously used photograph for the title page was a beautiful wildflower introduced in Chapter 2 as

UTAH SWEETVETCH

The detailed report, including its edibility and medicinal uses,  is located towards the end of Chapter 2

My Chapter 1 was built around my first hike to the 

VALLEY VIEW SPOT 

going up Grove Canyon and then following the 

trail switchbacking up to the SPOT.  

Chapter 2 featured my second hike to the SPOT pictured here as the

"LONGEST BUT SAFEST" 

with two long switchbacks to the SPOT.

This Chapter 3 will feature my 

attempt to go straight up the ridge we see in the picture above

 to the SPOT....

...THE SHORTEST, BUT MOST DIFFICULT & DANGEROUS...

 for a "recovering cripple" who 3 years ago couldn't even walk, had lost all my balance, and my leg muscles disappeared.  I had to learn all over again like a baby does and build muscle from the bone up, that story told with pictures in Chapter 1.

 The actual hillside was very steep leading to the ridge, and frankly the ridge 

seemed to me much steeper than it looks in this picture. 

But, to end Chapter 2  I promised 

we would first fly south to give you a little tour of 

BATTLE CREEK CANYON, 

and tell the critical history that in pioneer times was given that name.

So, here is my ride that I would take to the canyon just south of Grove Canyon.......

......and below I can see that I wouldn't be alone, 

but taken on the flight by a very talented and experienced pilot.....

.....we'd best zoom in on him and find out who is doing me the favor.

Sure enough my good friend MIKE PACKARD didn't fail me again, and so off we go swooping past the "G" on the hill for PLEASANT GROVE....seen 5 o 6 pictures back in the panoramic shot of Mount Timpanogos and its foothills.  We swoop around past Mount Baldy and down into 

Battle Creek Canyon....

By the way you've all got to meet Mike and his wonderful father, Ted, one of my original HIGH UINTA TRAIL BUDDIES, who  grateful is still my friend & brother..........they are seen below with me on our last backpack together into the GRANDADDIES!  

Oh, how I appreciate & love both of them.

NOW BACK TO

BATTLE CREEK CANYON

.......and we glide in for a landing at the mouth of the canyon below Pleasant Grove's water tank, where we find an INTRODUCTION to BATTLE CREEK CANYON.

As we proceed with the tour I will begin inserting in between pictures  what greets you 

on arrival at the parking lot, first an article on the subject of 

Battle Creek Canyon, then my summary of this important 

chapter in the history of the Utah Territory, 

Utah Valley, and the Foothills of Timpanogos.  

BATTLE CREEK CANYON MASSACRE

By Kade Dallin, Brigham Young University & Bryce Revelli, Brigham Young   

Historical information regarding a skirmish between Utes and Mormon militia.

This site highlights the fraught relationship that often existed between white 

settlers and Native Americans in Utah Territory. The Battle Creek Marker is in 

what is now known as Pleasant Grove, Utah. 

Here, on the morning of March 5, 1849, the relationship between Mormon settlers 

and a local band of Timpanogos Indians deteriorated into brutal hostility.

On March 1, 1849, a company of men from Salt Lake City were called up 

to find a group of Indians that were accused of stealing horses and cattle from 

Mormon settlers. Their orders  [from Brigham Young] were to find the band of thieves and to

“take such measures as would put a final end to their depredations in the futures.” 

Eventually the leader of the company, Captain John Scott, received messages 

that stated the rogue Timpanogos had not taken any horses, but they had only 

taken cattle.  

However, he and his men were ordered to continue the expedition into 

the Utah Valley. After a meeting with a local tribal leader and help from an Indian 

guide, the armed company, apparently by then comprising from 35 to 50 

Mormon settlers, found the cattle thieves’ camp. They surrounded the camp, 

and attempted to negotiate a peace.  The suspected cattle thieves refused, 

and after the situation escalated, fighting broke out.    

After the fighting ended, the Mormon company had killed 4 Indians, and sustained 

zero casualties themselves. After the battle, the chief of the Indians that the company 

had met with the night before, whose name was Little-Chief, came riding up 

to the site of the battle. After seeing the massacre, Little-Chief was distraught. 

Although he reportedly agreed that the killing of the thieves was justified, 

he understood this would cause a rift to form between white settlers and local tribes.

The effects of this conflict were far reaching, and permanently damaged the

 already delicate relationship between the Native American tribes and the 

Mormon settlers. After this event, the creek and canyon 

became known as Battle Creek.

Untitledhttps://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/waterfalls/american-southwest-battle-creek-falls/Untitledhttps://www.blackhawkproductions.com/fortutah.htmUntitledBattle Creek Markerhttps://utahhistoricalmarkers.org/c/uc/battle-creek/Skip Interactive Map

NOW MY COMMENTS

First a clarification of the authors comments of the previous history.  This matter dealt with "Timpanogos" not "Ute" Native Americans.  The difference: 

The Timpanogos is a centuries-old band of the Snake-Shoshone. They are not members of the Ute Tribe and never were. The Timpanogos today live on the Uinta Basin Reservation in Utah and are distinctly different in origin, ancestral bloodlines, language, and customs.

Now to my summary of the history

On March 10, Brigham Young called for 30 families to leave and settle in  Utah Valley.  Part of them continued on to Provo, others remained  near the site of the March 5^th skirmish and for a number of years the community was called BATTLE CREEK.  Later it was changed to the present name of PLEASANT GROVE.  

The Battle Creek Massacre was the first in a long chain of “massacres” and “wars” between the Mormon pioneers and the Native Americans.  The next in 1850 was the PROVO RIVER MASSACRE that occurred near the site of  Deseret Industries and the Provo River in North Provo. Eventually from 1865 to 1872 ensued the BLACK HAWK WAR in the Central Utah area, much of it seemingly stimulated by the governments effort to establish the Reservation system that ended with the establishment of the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in the Uintah Basin.

In 1863 occurred the The Bear River Massacre....that I should add was a U.S. military matter, not Mormon....north of the Great Salt Lake,   near what's now Preston, Idaho, leaving roughly 350 members of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation dead, with about 100 survivors.  This was the most deadly encounter between Native Americans and the U.S. military, 200 of which were sent from Fort Douglas in Salt Lake, with 23 dead among the soldiers.  This became  the bloodiest — and most deadly — slaying of Native Americans by the U.S. military, according to historians and tribal leaders.

NOW LET'S HIKE UP THE CANYON

Below we begin seeing the first in a number of varieties of trees like the CLIFF ROSE we saw in the last chapter in Grove Canyon....that reproduce with each seed attached to a plume that the wind will carry far and wide.

Immediately we begin seeing wildflowers and beautiful plants ........

......like Oregon Grape we have been introduced to in Grove Canyon,

and this beautiful flower is named 

EASTON  PENSTEMON or FIRECRACKER

Below we see the 

PLATTE RIVER PENSTEMON

We see up above other trees loaded with 

blossoming flowers with plumes.

And, below along the trail  yet another tree with this fascinating system of reproduction and distribution of seeds.

Soon the climb up the canyon becomes a bit steeper and we see off to our right the beginning of waterfalls, culminated by the one called  BATTLE CREEK FALLS.

Now we will begin going down the canyon, seeing wonderful VISIONS of NATURE at every turn.

We meet up with a fascinating flower with it's own unique system of reproduction that we will see in this chapter on returning to Grove Canyon and the foothills there.  

It is the GOLDEN CLEMATIS

And we see below,  GOLDENROD, which I'll have to add to this Chapter 3 back in the Grove Canyon foothills.... where I found an example that  impressed me as one of the  special 

DIVINE VISIONS of NATURE.

Here we find one of the many varieties of PURPLE ASTER 

And, among many, a beautiful example of CRAB APPLE.

Last of all below I found quite a few examples of this beautiful leafed plant with three leaves at the end of each stem......

......you know, the one you'd like to have growing in a pot in your sun room, or in your backyard.  It has tiny whitish fruits like infinately small pumpkins.

You should remember, as in Chapter 1 I dedicated a lot 

of space to this plant named:

POISON IVY!

NOW WE'LL HEAD BACK TO GROVE CANYON, 

and first focus for a moment on the 

UNIQUE INDEPENDANCE DAY 

celebration held there each July 4th.

Thousands come to  hike the canyon and 

CELEBRATE  FREEDOM...... 

........remembering the 56 patriots who were willing to sign the 

DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE

and risk much more than we can imagine!

From Wikipedia (photo of painting enhanced slightly by me, Cordell M. Andersen)

American artist John Trumbull’s oil-on-canvas painting, “Declaration of Independence,” measures 12-by-18-feet. It depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress. Trumbull painted many of the figures in the picture from life, and visited Independence Hall to depict the chamber where the Second Continental Congress met. The oil-on-canvas work was commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819, and placed in the United States Capitol rotunda in 1826.

”Declaration of Independence” by John Trumbull

• Below I quote from an article By KAY JOHNSON johnson@hutchinsonleader.com
 
• Jul 4, 2018 Updated Jun 25, 2019
• 
  

By signing the document, the 56 men risked high treason against the King of England. In essence, they signed their death warrants because that was the penalty. However, death was not simple or quick. It was a process. First, the guilty party was to be hanged until unconscious. Then cut down and revived. Then disembowled and beheaded. Then cut in quarters. Each quarter was to be boiled in oil. The remnants were scattered abroad so the last resting place of the offender would remain forever unnamed, unhonored and unknown.

In addition to death, all of the offender’s earthly goods were confiscated by the state. The family could own no property and this dictate extended to future heirs. In the words of Shakespeare, “For the sins of your fathers, you, though guiltless, must suffer.”

So on this Fourth of July as you celebrate the holiday with hot dogs, hamburgers and fireworks, remember those who 

“pledged to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

Remembering the

BIRTH OF OUR WONDERFUL NATION.

**********

Now we will move on to the 

FOOTHILLS & MY CHALLENGE

You'll see it once we get up...."the mountain".... photos will show the kind of tough test 

this was for a "recovering cripple." 

I repeat again below some of the challenges I faced 

the summer of 2023 

as I worked towards being an 88 year old 

recovering cripple-mountainman.

May 16, 2023 

I decided to try and go straight up the mountain!  

For all of you it's likely just a hill, but for what I've been through 

it was my mountain!

I bowed my head in prayer to the Lord...not for success in meeting my goal, but for wisdom as I headed up the trail on the left leaving the road......until getting to the main trail  a short distance up to a big clump of sagebrush, and I did fine.

Then I looked up at the trail you see continuing up to get to the ridge, but at that time earlier in the season it  was smooth, with no rocky footholds, and after just one attempt I decided it was too dangerous for my condition.  My spine specialist warned me that a fall could kill me because of my misalighned spine.  

NOTE: Later rains gouged out a bit the previous smooth trail which we see here that would have been much more possible for me. This picture shows that gouged out trail at least a month or more after I made my attempt.

So, I decided to hike a bit to the left to find  my way up to a deer/elk trail that would switchback back up towards the ridge hoping to hit it above the steepist part.

As I worked my way back towards the ridge the hillside got pretty darn steep for an old cripple, but luckily I found footholds....which were the deep hoof prints of elk made at a time when it had rained and they saved me....for a while.  I'll insert one of them below.

But I angled into the trail coming straight up the ridge too soon, with a real steep stretch ahead of me going up.  I kept going over towards the actual ridge hoping for a safer pathway, but I all of a sudden got to a spot that was so steep that taking another step I almost lost my balance...... and stopped just in time.  I literally was afraid to go forward, backwards the same, my only option going up....but for me it was pretty steep......and there flashed into my mind that I had prayed for "wisdom," so I just stopped, carefully leaned into the hill and sat down hanging onto a sagebrush!

After a few minutes of rest, all the while surveying my options, I rolled over and in a crawling position got to my feet and took a step around that sagebrush and low and behold, I found some deep elk tracks that I followed  to where you see more level ground below.

I was finally on the ridge shown in the montage below

and could see both ways, 

to the right looking down into Grove Canyon and seeing  snow covered Timpanogos, 

and to the left out acrossed the foothills and Utah Valley.

The picture above, on the left and right, both give a more accurate idea about just how steep the mountain was I was trying to climb.

 Along the way I was real happy to find several examples of a  wildflower I had never seen in the foothills...from Springville, and Provo all the way to the Foothills of Timpanogos. 

It is the beautiful

MOTH MULLEIN

Moth mullein is an import from Eurasia that 

has spread all across the U.S.  

It might be worth while to quote the book 

PLANTS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS,  page 200, about MOTH MULLEIN, 

where it says:

"...it is generally considered non-toxic and safe for consumption in reasonable quantities.  The leaves contain large quantities of mucilage, which is soothing to mucous membranes, and experiments have shown the leaves to be strongly anti-inflamatory.  Leaves and flowers were traditionally used to make medicinal teas for treating chest colds, asthma, bronchitis, coughs and kidney infections.  They were also used in pultices on ulcers, tumors and hemorroids.  Chopped, dried leaves have been smoked for centuries to relieve spassmodic coughing.  The roots are said to stimulate urination and to have an astringent effecrt on the urinary tract, so root tea was taken to tone the bladder, as an aid to perevent bed-wetting and incontinence.

It sounds like this is one we can hope is successful in the reproduction phase to get it growing thick enough so we can use it to help us with a "bed-wetting" problem, as well as "smoking its leaves" to avoid the deadly affects of tobacco, as well as helping relieve coughing from too much mucus--one of my present problems  from my nasal turminates, and relieve all the inflamation causing all my pain, etc., etc.  WOW!

The problem, so far involved almost risking death to find it....climbing what I've shown you 

was a very steep mountain....for me!  I just hope the 

seed distribution system has it growing on lower, safer hillsides!

All went pretty good going up the ridge and soon I saw off to my left the Earthquake 

detection monitor for the University of Utah and went over to check it out.

And, as always using my slow motion stalking pace, got a good couple of pictures of 

a doe and quickly growing fawn.

 I made it to the VALLEY VIEW SPOT and said a word of prayer thanking the Lord for having blessed me with wisdom and the  confidence that I would be alright if I kept calm, and exercised caution. 

You can see in the panorama of Utah Valley and Utah Lake,

 that the scrub oak was just barely beginning to leaf out. 

 I had a nice rest and picnic lunch, and began remembering the special couple of wildflowers I had photographed up here for the first time this season that I'll insert below with one or two new ones of each.

First the UTAH MILK VETCH or LADYFINGER

and...

DWARF CAT'S EYES  

or Cryptantha Utahensis, Scented Cats-Eye

***************

Now we head for lower country....

....THE SAFE WAY....

....switchbacking down into Grove Canyon that you can see clearly is still early in the season (May 16), the Gambels Oak still mostly dormant, but we will soon find other vegetation is coming alive.

Like the wonderful 

DESERT PLUME 

or

GOLDEN PRINCE'S PLUME

This wonderful wildflower was introduced in Chapter 2, 

but I didn't really say much about it....SO WILL NOW.

DESERT PLUME 

first flowered at the end of May, and early June, and continued adorning our foothills for nearly 3 months, with my last pictures in the reproduction phase taken in September.  It would make a wonderful potted plant..A LARGE ONE,  as it can grow to 4 or 5 feet tall, or decoration for your home site, but will not tolerate too much water, but loves full sun.  

I have some seeds, but now in November as I write this, will go back

 TODAY (11/6)  and see if I can find more seed and 

likely add a photo of what I come back with.  

Googling it I get:

A decoction of the root has been used as a tonic to treat general debility after an illness. The pulped root can be placed on the gum or in a tooth cavity in order to relieve toothache. It can also be applied externally as a poultice to relieve earache and rheumatic pain.

Its seeds and leaves are safe for human consumption.  The seeds can be ground and used in soups or other dishes.  Pioneers and American Indians  cooked and ate the stems and leaves.

It is deer resistant, and cattle avoid it as it is toxic to them, but the critter below was gorging on its leaves!

 

Winter is on it's way as I made it to the foothills today to get GOLDEN PRI NCE'S PLUME seeds  from the 4" long, narrow seed pods I'll insert a picture of first below and then the tiny seeds.

I also acquired seeds for the YELLOW STAR THISTLE flower 

and added a few pictures to that section in Chapter 1

By the way, as I was returning from getting seeds and a few photos, I was quickly aware off close to my right a snake whose color first had me be very cautious....with some coloration similar to a rattlesnake, but this one was a safe 

GREAT BASIN GOPHER SNAKE

No rattles on its tail....

....the head narrow, rather than triangle shaped.

This pretty snake is Utah's largest snake, capable of getting to almost 6 feet long, and in other places as long as 8 feet, with a life span of around 15 years. Mine was about half of that. 

It is not poisonous but when threatened it will attack with a closed mouth to frighten off predators.  However, they can powerfully bite which can cause acute pain.  Another of its defense mechanisms is to make the loudest hiss of any other snake in Utah.  

Gopher snakes are considered beneficial as they help control small rodent populations.

Now is about time for them to go into hibernation that will last until about May. 

************ 

Now I'll feature the unique wildflower:

GOLDEN CLEMATIS

This wildflower is as you will see below a fine, 

climbing vine that will grow up over sagebrush, or any 

other plant, or fence.

The fruits of Clematis should be avoided as they are toxic.

Googling it I learn:  

Traditionally, Clematis medicine is used orally to treat syphilis, gout, reheumatism, bone disorders, and chronic skin conditions as a diuretic. . In folk medicine, Clematis is used topically for blisters and as a poultice to treat purulent wounds and ulcers.

Fresh clematis is UNSAFE to take by mouth. It can cause colic, diarrhea, and severe irritation to the stomach, intestines, and urinary tract. The fresh plant is also UNSAFE when applied to the skin. With extended skin contact, the fresh plant can cause slow-healing blisters and burns.

SOUNDS LIKE ONE YOU'D BETTER RESEARCH THOROUGHLY BEFORE USING IT FOR ANYTHING.

LET'S NOW JUST ENJOY VISUALLY 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THIS FASCINATING 

VISION of NATURE. 

GOLDEN CLEMATIS 

now coming very soon to the end of its useful life for 2023 with the last of its thousands of seeds soon set adrift with the winds of Winter.

******************************

I'm now heading up the canyon again a bit later in the season,

 and find myself encouraged to continue 

with a hiker's positive invitation 

to follow her and family. 

It was just up around the bend where the trail divides from the road that continues

 to the diversion dam where earlier in the season a new find was made 

when searching for POISON IVY up above the  dam where 

water is 

taken out for the potable needs of Pleasant Grove,  the scene below:

Poison Ivy is the beautiful green plant in the center 

with a climbing variety moving up the cliff..

...I then looked up....

......and saw a lone plant climbing towards the sky.  It is....

WOOLY MULLEIN 

or

MINER'S CANDLE 

due to what it develops into with yellow flowers.

Below I'll insert a couple of my pictures of Wooly mullein 

from the fringes of the High Uintas.

WOOLY MULLEIN has a two year life cycle, the first year is what we see below that I've photographed along the road....and also in my backyard!

The second year will see it developing as we see 

in the initial pictures above reaching for the sky.

********************

Back to the road we see in the picture below the routes dividing, 

to the left the trail heading up the mountain, the road to the dam. 

Up past the "rock & roll area" the trail eventually parallels the creek with a more forested and shady environment with many unique kinds of trees, bushes and wildflowers. 

Then one I also included in our tour of Battle Creek Canyon, the

PURPLE ASTER

I  found this member of the Aster family up past the "Rock & Roll" area.   In Chapter 4 I'll show more of the many varieties of Asters and and we will learn how to distinguish them from a similar variety of wildflower, the FLEABANES. 

 Between the foothills and the High Uinta Mountains there are at least 17 varieties of the Penstemon family, two varieties of which we see  below, with more varieties coming in Chapter 4.

This one is the

SHRUBBY PENSTEMON

.....and below back down where the young mother invited me to persist...

..another of the many varieties of 

PENSTEMONS

that we also found in Battle Creek Canyon

This one appropiately named the 

ROCK PENSTEMON

or

Gairdner's beardtongue

Then we come to the REPRODUCTION phase with enough

seeds to assure us of many more of these beautiful 

wildflowers for the future in Foothills of Timpanogos, 

and also in the future  landscaping my home in American Fork.

Each one of these seed pods are  full of seeds.  I have collected an envelope full of them and will next year have this beautiful wildflower around my newly landscaped home with

 VISIONS of NATURE from the FOOTHILLS of TIMPANOGOS.

****************

In that same area of the rock slides along the road there were quite a few developing plants, but here is one basically with no leaves that has blossomed with many tiny yellow and white flowers.

There are lone plants, but patches of many growing together 

to form a mass of tiny flowers that are atractive to bees and wasps,

 as well as a VISION of NATURE seeker........

.......dedicating myself to get a real good close-up to show

 to the world the real 

grace and loveliness 

that very few have ever seen and appreciated 

as we see below of this flower/plant I haven't identified yet.

As I was getting on my knees, using some foam knee pads I carry in my pocket, and using manual focus with my 400 mm. lense fully extended,  I'm able to get within an inch or two and got a few good shots, the best above.....but I then noticed a whispy, delicate plant with no leaves that almost went unnoticed as it sort of disappeared into the rocky background......at least in normal phtographs like we see below.    

The above photo was taken  recently of the plant when it had no flowers.  

It can just barely be seen, as was pretty much the case when I first saw it, 

photographed it and felt a bit frustrated as it really was almost invisible.  

I had a new challenge to show impressively with photographs a new plant.  

  Eventually I found some very large ones in the sun on the stream side of the trail

 with a shady, dark background....that showed clearly the delicate plant, 

and so here it is.....

....ANOTHER WONDERFUL VISION of NATURE....

....with an even smaller white flower.

I finally was able to multiply its 1/8th inch size to appreciate another 

BEAUTY of NATURE, 

along with its seed pod on the left to share with all of you seeing it, along 

with many others, for the first time.

Eventually the seed pod dries and peels back to release its seeds, 

each with a parachute to distribute it far and wide.

 REPRODUCTION TASK ACCOMPLISHED

The seeds we see below from pods about 3/4 inch long which means the seeds are very tiny.

The pods were collected late in the season after some rainfall that perhaps all contributed to not seeing any parachute.  I'll dry some of the remaining pods and see if a parachute develops.....and add here something if worthwhile.

***********************

Below we see again a plant we saw in Chapter 2 but whose name l have learned is 

PRICKLY LETTUCE....

 ....for understandable reasons  once we see the leaves, but I have found another plant that at first glance seems similar.....so let's see again our Prickley Lettuce, and then compare it to  the new plant below and note it's own characteristics.

So, here we go with a new sprouting of 

Prickly Lettuce 

that soon will grow tall like we see below.  

Potentially to  6 feet tall. 

Not too surprising the Prickly Lettuce has some edible and medicinal values.  It is called by some 

LETTUCE OPIUM

If you break off a leaf a white milky latex-like sap will bleed which  contains "lactucarium" which is used in medicine as a pain reliever, also with digestive, diuretic and even hypnotic and sedative properties, and was used to treat insomnia, anxiety, hyperactivity, and coughs.  It will not cause digestive upset, nor is it addictive. 

 Additionally the sap is sticky and can be used to remove some minor warts by applying it, then later peeling it off, reapply several times and some warts will actually peel off with the sap.

Best to Google "medicinal uses of Prickly Lettuce," to guide you in this new adventure.  You will find videos to guide you in identification, and edibility of the plant.

For food, the flower buds, before blossoming, can be cooked for about 5 minutes and eaten like broccoli.  Young leaves can also be cooked and eaten like done with dandelions and...with younger leaves best as there will be little or no bitterness, while more mature leaves are sometimes too bitter for most people....

..... younger leave they say are quite tasty.

No problem understanding why its name begins with Prickly, but the spines won't likely hurt you...much, as they will bend quite easily.  

There is notable differences in the tiny yellow flowers 

each plant has....that we can see once we zoom in on each that at best are1/4th of an inch wide.  Soon the reproductive period comes as seen below, once again using the parachute, or hang-glider methods. 

Below is a montage with  Prickly lettuce in the upper half, 

then the 2nd, so far unidentifiable 

similar plant in the lower half,  followed 

by enlargements of its characteristics. 

It's prickly too, but somewhat less than Prickly Lettuce.

The spines we see on the 2nd plant are quite different too, 

seen better below with an enlargment of the leaf.  

I first was convinced that the 2nd plant was SOW THISTLE, which is very similar to Prickly thistle, and is also edible, but I'm not sure and have to keep an eye on both next season  

DO YOUR RESEARCH....as will I,  watching more carefully the various types of plants of this type, of which dandelions also belong.

**********************************

It was in this same rocky area along the road 

that I began following the development of 

a very exotic looking plant 

that fascinated me.

  I'll insert my first few photographs of this plant....

Can you imagine what this plant develops into? 

I will show you in Chapter 4, 

to maturity, blossoming, and then reproduction.

************

I finally make it down to the Trailhead for a bit of cold refreshment

 and a ride back to some rest in my tiny home......

 

........but I see nearby another unique plant, I have seen before in the 

foothills of Springville, with about as unique a  flower head as you could ever imagine.  

You  couldn't likely invent this one in your wildest dreams.  It is named 

SMALL or SALAD BURNET

This plant, usually about 2 feet tall is known as a good forage food for deer, elk and livestock, and has edible and medicinal value for humans.  It is a perrenial plant that remains green throughout the summer and into the fall, some plants living as long as 20 years. 

Experts say its seeds are viable for 30 years!

After a forest fire this is one of the plants that sprouts quickly afterwards. 

Googling it: 

I learned that the leaves have a nutty flavour and slight taste of cucumber and as a garnish in salads.   For MEDICINAL PURPOSES:  It is said that,  it is useful for ulcerative colitis, diarrhea, dysentery, and bladder problems, as well as for swollen veins, and varicose veins.   Traditional Chinese Medicine  indicates it moight work as a drying agent to help stop bleeding.

  Once again, I recommend highly you first do your research before using it. 

Below we'll back up to an earlier stage in its development.  

Each of those green buds are full of tiny white flowers, 

each on a red leash as we see  below when they mature 

and begin spilling out into the light.

I wasn't careful enough to keep track of what happens next, 

but I'll remedy that next year, and complete the story of this unique plant.

Below is a series of photos taken a few years ago in the

 Springvill/Provo foothills that seem to show a bit of variation 

in the plant's coloration but it's the same plant. 

Each of the hanging, very tiny white .....seemingly flowers, 

but which is likely also the seed for the propagation of the species.

  The purpose of the red filament thread each hangs on?  

Maybe before being turned lose, each needs to mature some, or dry out, to assure its viability?   I'll hope to learn more next year.

************  

On my next hike, heading from the Trailhead, north up into the foothills,

 I found in the early part of the season.....mid-May, 

YELLOW MEADOW SALSIFY

There is also a Purple Salsify, 

which I have found in the Provo/Springville area, 

but I haven't seen one yet in the Foothills of Timpanogos. 

Yellow meadow Salsify blossomed about mid-May.  The flowers open early in the morning but close in the afternoons.  On cloudy days they may not open at all. 

Salsify's blossoming  only lasting at best one month prior to....

.....the reproduction phase we see below......   

......seeing  again the 

"parachute system of distribution"

 of the seeds.

But, interestingly I found today, November 6th, 

a Salsify plant seen below that is again....months later..

.. attempting to react to the urge to reproduce.  

Visible is the evidence that some months ago it produced seeds, and is now working on more reproduction, seemingly bypassing the blossoming stage.  

It is backdropped by a plant we haven't dealt with yet, but will in Chapter 4, it being the Wild Geranium which plant has taken all summer to finally go through the blossoming and reproduction stages.  

I'll show you in Chapter 4 that it is 

one of the more well known medicinal plants 

I learned about.....guess where? 

 DR. QUINN: MEDICINE WOMAN, 

with lovely Jane Seymour.

NOTE:  I'm wrong in remembering the plant  as the leaf certainly seemed to be like the geranium my mother used to grow around the house, but  right in remembering geranium as the wild plant I learned about from Dr. Michael Quin on  television's wonderful series,

The plant is actually WESTERN RAGWEED, which we will meet in Chapter 4.

While wrong on the plant, I one day was actually daydreaming about the plant and  beautiful Jane Seymour 

when abruptly interrupted by the ROAR of a mud-bike!

......and I was rudely brought back to reality,  and 

 noticed way down below me a wonderful 

HUMAN VISION of NATURE,

and zoomed in to notice she had her baby, led by her "comfort dog!" 

 

Many of them love to come to the Grove Canyon Trailhead and hike daily....

....some not understanding that to gather up their pet's stuff and put it in a 

colorful plastic bag to be left along the trail as we see  below.....

....isn't colorfully adding to our 

VISIONS of NATURE, 

nor is it appreciated by those who love nature.

You are  "LITTERBUGS" which.....

....IS NOT NOBLE as you might ERRONEOUSLY THINK, 

but rather you are violating the 

LAW OF THE WILDERNESS  

to "LEAVE NO TRACE!" 

Nature will actually appreciate you letting your dogs do like the coyotes, bobcats, 

rabbits and squirrels do.....fertilizing our wonderful VISIONS of NATURE for even more inspiring hikes in the hills in the future!

I'm sure she is not one of those "law breakers"  and  also understands it wouldn't be "noble"  nor nice  to leave her baby's disposable dirty diapers along the trail. 

She, and others.....

.....ALL OF US.....

 

ARE BEING WATCHED,

so LET'S ALL DO WHAT IS RIGHT and 

"LEAVE NO TRACE!"

or THUMPER might just come looking for you!

***************

Now back....just up from the Trailhead..... we first begin seeing a beautiful wildflower 

that doesn't do too well in our desert-like environment, 

but it is nice to see anyway.  It is the 

WESTERN BLUE FLAX

It began blossoming in Grove Canyon on May 24th, 

had a good month or two, and then the flowers began mostly 

disappearing.

Blue Flax seems to do better at higher elevations, seen below up near Deer Creek Dam in Provo Canyon.....

......and is a wonderful  VISION of NATURE 

in the Quaking Aspen belt around the High Uinta Mountains, 

as seen below.

By the end of June seed production begins....

....and still today in early November, I still see these tiny little seed pods 

with black seeds inside in November. 

 

The seed pods are about 1/4th of an inch in diameter.  

The tiny black seeds can be seen inside some of the pods. 

The seeds of Western blue flax are edible cooked.

 The seeds contain cyanide, so to be edible they need to be cooked which destroys the cyanide. So they are used for food, and have a pleasant nutty taste and are very nutritious. The seed has a high oil content and can be eaten on its own or used as a flavoring but the seeds are very tiny so it would require a lot of plants and labor to gather enough to be worthwhile. The fibers of this ancient plant have been used to make cloth, rope and paper.

POSSIBLE MEDICINAL USES

A tea can be made from the stems and leaves to treat various medical problems such as eye infections, stomach disorders, and swellings.

What you see behind the Blue Flax flower....

......ARE NOT THE STEMS, rather.....

Russian thistles.

Above I show you one of the better photographs of a 

Western Blue Flax from our foothills, 

and interestingly it was taken on September 30, 2023 

more than 4 months after the first blossoming, so throughout 

the season it seems there were always 

a few hanging around.

So, is the case with new plants sprouting, 

or sprouting from already established plants, 

pictures like the one above taken from mid-September, 

through October and into November.

Blue flax plants live for 3-5 years.

**********************

Now we come to a wonderful flowering plant 

mentioned in the first section on Battle Creek Canyon:

On July 15, 2023 I was coming back down the foothills from a hike much higher up and all of a sudden I saw up to my left a 

DAZZLING FLASH OF  GOLD.

  I was tired, but nothing could have stopped me from hiking 

up a steep hill to investigate. 

I found for the first time

 in the hills near Grove Canyon a marvelous 

DIVINE VISION of NATURE 

that was

GOLDENROD!

Is GOLDENROD good for anything?

I have a bag full of seed and will have some of it growing 

around my home, along with many others of the wonderful 

VISIONS of NATURE 

I have enjoyed the past few years at the foot of 

Mount Timpanogos.  Additionally Google tells us:

Goldenrod is used to reduce pain and swelling (inflammation), as a diuretic to increase urine flow, and to stop muscle spasms. It is also used for gout, joint pain (rheumatism), arthritis, as well as eczema and other skin conditions.

To harvest goldenrod, you want to catch it as the flowers have just started blooming. Select plants that look healthy and free of mildew and disease. Bring along a pair of scissors and snip off the plume of flowers. It's okay to get some leaves.

The above-ground parts of the goldenrod plant are dried and used for medicine.

Her Latin name solidago means “to make whole again” and the golden starburst of this beautiful flower brightens the hilly landscape with a sense of purpose and clarity. The essence helps to strengthens your inner resolve to recover from illness or trauma and to find your wholeness again.

GOOGLE will give you an unending chain of information.  Do your research.

FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO:  

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/goldenrod#intro 

On August 28th, 2023

....and on November 4

STILL DISTRIBUTING ITS SEEDS....and if you look closely above there is still a blossoming flower.

MISSION COMPLETED!

*************

Along the road and trail up the canyon we see the BLAZING STAR  plant in various stages of development.  Most will not make it through its life cycle as October is too late, but some of them were born early and did fulfill  their purpose as we'll see below.

Native Americans used this plant  to treat mumps, measles, smallpox, swellings, skin diseases, stomach aches, and to prevent thurst. 

The Paiutes cooked the seeds to make gravy.

They were a nomadic tribe from Southwestern Utah, roaming the Great Basin for their survival. There is  today the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribes Reservation near Reno, Nevada, but new opportunities are making their presence visible back in the Utah area.

So, we are introduced to the 

DIVINE VISION

 that I used on the cover of this book with which 

we'll end Chapter 3.  It is known as the ....

BLAZING STAR

for which we all have to be very grateful....looking to the heavens with gratitude for 

 THE BLESSINGS of FREEDOM 

and the  marvelous VISIONS of NATURE that warm our hearts 

and inspire us to likewise share with those around us all that is good.    

May we remember the courage and risks taken by the 56 signers of the 

DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE,

 and remember with resolve that 

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE, 

but A  BLESSING for  the BRAVE!

******************************

You might think that with all the marvelous 

VISIONS of NATURE 

already seen, there couldn't be much more from our tiny little section of 

the Foothills of Timpanogos...

....but, I promise you that there is much, much more of the 

WONDER OF THE LORD'S CREATIONS

that will WOW and AMAZE all of us.... 

 ....even from our small corner of creation in upcoming 

CHAPTERS 4 & 5

*******

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