My Take Tuesday: Where the Stars Kiss the Mountain

There’s a place hidden high in the Manti-La Sal National Forest, nestled quietly between East and Trail Mountains, where time slows and wonder still whispers on the wind. It’s called Flat Canyon.

The first time I stood beneath its sky, I felt the hush of something holy. The stars didn’t simply appear—they arrived. One by one, they lit the firmament like lanterns hung by angels, until the heavens burned in full chorus. In Flat Canyon, the stars don’t just sparkle—they descend. They seem to lean in and kiss the mountain crests, brushing the ridge with celestial breath.

There’s no cell reception here, no glowing streetlamp to compete with ancient starlight. Just mountain air, cool and pure, and the kind of darkness that lets light show its true brilliance. You don’t just observe the stars in Flat Canyon—you become part of the sky.

The canyon floor is silent but for the breeze in the pines, the gentle fluttering of the aspen leaves, the occasional hoot of an owl, and the bugle of a bull elk. It’s the kind of silence that isn’t empty, but full — Brimming with memory, majesty, and meaning.

We spend so much of our lives looking down—at screens, at schedules, at the next step ahead. But in Flat Canyon, surrounded by peaks and pine, you can’t help but look up. And when you do, you remember what awe feels like.

We often search for beauty in faraway places—grander, more exotic destinations. But sometimes, wonder waits right here in Utah, high above the noise, in a quiet canyon where the stars kiss the mountain.

And that is My Take!

N. Isaac Bott, DVM