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I thought I could identify the lizard above, but the more guidebooks I checked, the more confused I became. It leads to one of the great questions of the world: Has anyone ever successfully used a nature guidebook?
It's an equal toss, then, whether he's some kind of whiptail or canyon lizard. Whatever. I'll remember him fondly for not only being willing to stay still but to assume several different poses to show his best angles.
More guidebook frustration followed the photo below (with a superwide angle lens).
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From one guidebook, I'd swear the flower is a Crescent Milkvetch (which hardly seems like a flattering name for any type of flower), but according to the book, the Milkvetch isn't found in Utah. Of course, with a name like Milkvetch, the flower has probably gone into hiding.
One of the fun parts of the hike was going through an "anfractuosity," which is geologic chatter for "maze.". The last time I went through it, I wasn't able to capture its twisty-turny nature. This time I had a fisheye lens, capable of viewing 180 degrees.
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The anfractuosity meanders back and forth with several possible wrong turns. The key, at this particular one, was to keep to the right. Of course, anyone overly eager could mistake particularly narrow ways into misdirection. But that's the fun of hiking.