St. Patrick's Day (An Irish Blessing)

Here is a short video I created for St. Patrick's Day.

An Irish Blessing 

May the blessing of light be upon you.
Light on the outside, light on the inside.
With God's sunlight shinning on you, may your heart glow with warmth like a turf fire that welcomes friends and strangers alike.
May the light of the Lord shine from your eyes like a candle in the window welcoming the weary traveler.
May the blessing of God's soft rain be on you. Falling gently on your head refreshing your soul with the sweetness of little flowers newly blooming.
May the strength of the winds of Heaven bless you, carrying the rain to wash your Spirit clean sparkling after in the sunlight.
May the blessing of God's earth be on you. And as you walk the roads, may you always have a kind word for those you meet.
May you understand the strength and power of God in a thunderstorm and winter and the quiet beauty of creation in the calm of a summer sunset.
And may you come to realize that insignificant as you may seem in this great universe, you are an important part of God's plan.
May He watch over you and keep you safe from harm.

 

Troll Canyon, aka Rock Canyon with a twist

Days remembered from my past as a Scout leader over the 11 year old scouts. We spent time hiking and identifying plants and animals and the evidences there of. When we were joined by the cubs, I made a twist on our hike and they had to identify evidence of artifacts left by a previous existing Troll civilization. The following are some of the many things attributed by Trolls we would point out:

I would start by pointing out the remains of a roadway which existed long before there were any indians, trappers or pioneers living in the valley. As you can see they did specialize in road building capabiliies that was valuable to make getting in and out of the canyon easier.

Further evidence, shows thier transportation byway was more of a well contstructed track, rahter than using a flat service.

It's undocumented, but this might have been part of the machinery used during their trips to the valley to haul back the items needed to store during the longer winters than we have now so they could stay underground.

The Trolls made thier existence mostly in underground caverns and caves, so one of the biggest pieces of existing evidences was pointed out in way of some existing entrances to their places underground.

With the evidence presented, some of the still unbelievers started to question our explanations.
As they explored the blocked entrance to the Troll's underground caverns, their imaginations began to run rampid on thier own. Now, they were coming up with new and wild things.

This particular cap seems to represent the Shower rooms of said Trolls. They will enter the room, or cavern, under ground and flood it to clean them selves and is usually done in groups.

 

As you walk along the trail you will see some of the Air hole pipes that lead under ground to the larger caverns. At certain times you may hear movement like the shifting of furniture coming through the pipes. Also the emergency hatches have been kept locked for centuries. These artifacts make good stories as you take time to examen them and ponder why they are there.

This was a recently constructed bridge which leads to other blockd entrances and posiible new opens to thier caverns. Since it can't be crossed at this time, there is no way of knowing.

Provo Temple

Working at the Provo Temple

My wife and I started working at the Provo Temple at the beginning of January of this year as Temple Ordinance Workers. We have enjoyed this call a lot. Our scheduled hours are on Tuesday nights between 5:30 and 10:30. We have found our experiences there to be wonderful so far and love to see old and new friends come in. They don't give us enough time to talk but we do enjoy a worm smile and a wink of an eye.

Coming to Work

When I come to work the first thing I look at is the Salt Lake Temple. It is amazing, all of the different looks it will take on during the year. Most of the pictures were captured upon arriving to work. What a great place to be employed.

May 4, 2011

This was one that was taken this past Spring on my way home. The tulips were in full bloom.

May 19, 2011

December 6, 2010

September 15, 2009

January 21, 2011

July 2010

June 2011

October 2010

June 23, 2011

My Ultimate Cross Country Trail Run

When I began running, after returning from my life in Canada, I found the ultimate running course that I have come to love. It covers a little over 11 miles and fun terrain. One reason. As a young boy growing up in Orem, this course was a favorite for doing trail riding on our motor bike. As I've gotten older, mountain biking took over. Now, running this route has become my favorite outing. I like it so much cause (1) it takes me to the mountain (Timp), where I practically lived as a boy, and (2) I can get away from the city and commune with nature somewhat. I can also run and reminisce about days gone by.

For this course, I have sectioned and labeled different parts to add finesse and prestige to it. All the components of the run have taken on country musician's names for the reasons, (1) I like country music and (2) it is a run in the country as I call it. Need I say more. Here is a map of my course.

The following pictures were taken on the 2nd of July of this year during my run and are samples of the scenery and landscape that you see:

George's Strait

Mount Timpanogas

The first stage begins as I leave my door step and jog to this corner to begin the run. This goes North, straight up 800 East until your just above the Orem City Cemetery and is labeled "George's Strait". It covers a distance of 1 5/8 Miles.

Turning East off of 800 East, the second leg of the run begins and will end at the crest of the service road looking over the Mouth of Provo Canyon. Since it consists of practically all up hill, it is called, "Faith's Hill". Obviously, the hardest part of the run. This covers 1 7/16 miles.

Faith's Hill

 

 

As it is all up hill it can wear you down early. Luckily, it is at the early part of the run and you will have time to readjust in the next sections. Also, I should mention, that near the crest of this hill there is a trail that heads North and will meet up with the Great Western Trail near the base of Baldy. This is marked on the map as an alteration of the course. When I feel I need a little something for the day, I will take this up and take the Great Western Trail back to the Service Road. It adds some extreme trail running and fulfillment. That is another adventure though. Not today however.

Rascall's Flatt

As the service Road levels out at the top, it makes for some smooth and comfortable running. As I am now up above the Canyon, I have a wonderful view of it as I make my way around the rim of the bowl. This portion is known as "Rascall's Flatt". This section is fairly straight with 2 nooks along the way. The second nook I have labeled "Pooh's Corner" for personal reasons of having to use it on occasion. It holds up to it's name as a place of comfort when needed. This covers 15/16 of a mile, 4 miles all together so far.

 

Tracy's Byrd

The next stage of the run is known as "Tracy's Byrd". Called because of an aerial view you actually go around five humps with the biggest one in the middle. At that mid point I have a splendid view of the Canyon and can look back at where I came from and see if anyone is behind me on the road. On occasion I will see a mountain biker, runner or hiker. Occasionally I will find horse back riders as well. Like I mentioned. Most of the time it is just you and the wildlife. This portion of the run is 1 1/16 miles.

 

View from the Crest of Faith's Hill to the middle of Tracy's Byrd

Mallory's Hope

This segment of the Run will cap off what I have been running on, namely the Service Road. I will eventually come to a cement block where I usually take a rest and will snack and drink up. I also prepare myself for the descent down into Provo Canyon. This is also the shortest segment and entails 3/8 of a mile.

Wind Fall

After resting for a bit, or not, I now veer off to the left of the dirt road onto a foot trail and descend down. It is fun yet treacherous to say the least. It is mostly running on shell rock with steep grades at times. It is hard to tell by the pictures. I have tripped on some roots a few times and taken a stumble. I have found it very hard to stop once I get rolling. This is estimated at 1 1/16 miles.

It may be hard to see, but the white arrows in the later pictures of the Windfall section show the intersection where I head towards Nun's Park.

Garth's Brook

The next portion of the course will follow the Water supply pipeline and has been labeled "Garth's Brook". The first picture shows where I come down from the above segment and turn towards the mouth of the Canyon. In recent years the road has been redone and maintained so is nicer than previous times. This portion of the run will cover 1 1/2 miles giving me slightly over 8 miles total. Now, at times I will turn off on another trail just beyond the marker in picture 41 and drop down to the bike path along the Provo River. Generally I will stay to the softer dirt and gravel terrain.

Carrie's Underwood

Picture 48 starts a new segment of the Run known as "Carrie's Underwood". The Shortcut Trail may be hard to spot as it is getting less and less used due to the maintenance of the service road. I will sometimes run around to the left of the Scrub oak clump if needs be. Then I would look for the turn off from the road and follow the fence line at that next picture spot. This trail is also more difficult than it seems. This section covers 3/8 of a mile.

Sometimes the growth of weeds and grass makes it difficult to follow the trail as you can see in picture 52. The Electric Slide in picture 51 and is quite treacherous and I need to be prepared to do a little sketching as they call it to avoid taking a spill.

As I come off this trail, I will come out to the right of the Bike Path  along the Provo River at the drinking fountain just south of the Story Teller park. I will also begin to run along the dirt road to the right of the Bike Path. This section is known as "Shania's Twain" because it follows the Old Train tracks out to the mouth of Provo Canyon. Following the trails will lead me to some additional rough terrain as I make my way out of the canyon. This portion is just under 1 mile.

Picture 67 is the last piece of the Bike Path I will be on unless I add another variation to my run and follow it to Center Street in Orem and take that way home.

Keith's Urban

Now your back in the City and on your way home. This portion of the run I have labeled "Keith's Urban". This runs about 1 3/4 miles. As close as i can measure, the total run is 11 1/4 miles.

Now I'm home and the fun ends.

Shepherd Without a Flock

Today was the first Sunday I have been without a young adult congregation since I began serving as their Bishop last August. I am not quite sure what to do with myself. We attended the home ward and felt out of place sitting in the congregation and no interviews or meetings that took up some time. I was left with only my own thoughts and memories. No ward prayer either to give me solace. I usually take this time to reminisce about the previous members and where they are now. I feel like a shepherd without a flock.

45 of them are now serving throughout the world, changing and making others lives better and stronger. Most have returned home to strengthen their own families and wards. A few stayed behind for an extra semester to fortify other semester's wards that were left. As Bishop I have indeed grown in testimony of the great young adults we have the privilege to serve and become friends with. What a wonderful light and joy they have brought to us. You have made us proud and we love you all!

First day of this blog

This is the first time that I am playing with the Blog site and find it most interesting. What a great place to maintain a short journal and history. Time will tell. Because I am new at this please excuse the ignorant and rough manner. Lack of experience and expertise.

Last evening the Sunset over Timp was dramatic and impressive as it changed every 10 minutes. Love this mountain.