Just 1.3 miles away

Neff's Canyon is just 1.3 miles from our house...walking distance, really, if it wasn't for the fact that it is practically 45 degree incline to get there. It is always beautiful, and a popular place to go with your pooch, if you happen to have one, which of course we don't.

I jokingly call the area the"Pooch Play, Pee and Poop Park"!

Thankfully the dog owners are very good about cleaning up after the dogs and the dogs are always so HAPPY to be hiking up the hills that I will own that I kind of enjoy seeing them all chasing about with big doggie grins and wagging tail.

Why do we go to Neff's Canyon? Well, just look at the pictures...you'll see why soon enough! (And to make it easier to see the pictures full screen you may click HERE and then click on slideshow to see them all without comment.)

From the parking lot the trail heads up the canyon at a pretty steep angle. Everyone hiking on only two feet huffs a bit unless they dawdle along taking pictures like I do.

My favorite shot of the day: small nest dangling amidst the fall colors.

As is so often the case around my part of the world, the seasonal colors often frame fascinating geological features.

See what I mean about the hiking path being steep?

This double ridge is on the other side of the canyon; someday I need to hike this hike in the morning so I can photograph it in sunlight. And someday I want to hike up to it too...someday....

More interesting features.

Then of course there is the view back to the valley floor and the city.

If you look closely when this picture is enlarged, you can see the state capitol building tucked in between the pine tree branches at the tip of the distance mountainside.

There is a lot of cooper around our area, and so a lot of rocks have greenish tinges.

The Great Salt Lake can be seen behind the downtown buildings.

Yes I do like orange, and especially during hunting season. No one should be hunting around here...but I'm not taking any chances.

It was great to duck beneath the branches that formed a colorful canopy overhead.

Here comes two more pooches...

Another favorite shot that clearly shows the Salt Lake in the distance.

Back to the parking area...

It is getting close to sunset; the rising moon seems to be getting bigger every moment.

Bernie patiently waits for me to finish taking pictures; while he waited a professional photographer arrived to photograph a family with several beautiful children.

See the big house nestled against the hill?

Quite a manse, complete with a private road with magnificent gates and its own water tower.

(Yes, we have multi-million dollar houses in our neighborhood. 1.3 miles down the road, we live in the cheap seats of Olympus Cove!)

I have to admit, it really is neat to be so close to such a great hiking area, even though most times I just go to meander about taking pictures.