Give Me This Mountain

In the October 1979 General Conference, President Kimball gave a stirring talk about the faith of Caleb and his willingness to be faithful and accomplish what he was called on to do. In Joshua 14:12, Caleb said "give me this mountain" meaning the big mission to conquer the promised land. You should read President Kimball's talk.
While not the same caliber as Caleb's mission, Kristen and I had a goal on Saturday (1 September 2012) of hiking to the top of the Wellsville range -- give us that mountain. Although the weather had been almost cloudless for weeks, it was raining when we planned on leaving at 6 AM. It did look like it was going to clear about 7:30 so we then left for Mendon. After finding the correct road above Mendon we drove up the dirt road to the parking area and began our journey about 8:30. After about one mile and 300 feet higher, we reached Cold Water "lake" -- actually more of a pond.

We continued south about 100 yards then the path heads up the mountain. The Wellsvilles are one of (if not the) steepest ranges in the USA. As the crow flies, it is only one mile to the top of the mountain but you have to go up 2643 feet. Believe me, every foot of elevation counts in this climb! The sky was clear as we started and leg muscles were feeling good. As we headed up, the path led to the north side of a ridge where there was thick underbrush along the trail. We were soon soaked from the upper thighs down with rain water from the plants that had been deposited earlier in the day. The trail serpentined up the mountain and provided us with some beautiful views of the valley.

As we climbed, we noticed some clouds starting to curl over the ridge and come into a valley to the north of us. We kept climbing. I do have to admit that at this time while about 75% of the way up, my leg muscles were screaming at me and I had to walk 100 steps, catch my breath and recover, then continue. Swimming muscles do not work on climbing mountains!

We noticed some clouds begin to form to the south of us but we kept going. After about 2.5 hours we rounded a bend and there was the ridge just yards above us. Moments later we stepped on top of Stewart's Pass. We stepped back off of the ridge to had a bite to eat. The wind was tearing from the west over the ridge and it was cold! After considering our soaked condition, my weary legs, and the dark clouds building in the south, we decided that we would not hike to the Wellsville Cone today. We still felt we had reached a goal so we headed down.

We took 1.5 hours to descend. We were able to visit on the way down, as opposed to my gasping on the way up, so it was a valuable daughter-father time. We live on a beautiful world. The ferns by Cold Water were beautiful.

Finally, as we headed east across the valley, we had to pause and capture one more time the beauty of the mountain. As you view the range, Stewart's Pass is about half way between Mendon Peak on the north and the Wellsville Cone on the south. Thanks Kristen, it was a memory I will long remember.

Oregon -- Cool and relaxing

Oh how nice it is to get away from the piles and files and just drive to the quiet Oregon coast! We enjoyed a week seeing new things on a relaxed schedule. Well, mostly relaxed -- the first day we drove to Portland but recorded books made the miles just roll along. The GPS that we received some time ago from the family was put to good use and made life easier. Early Tuesday morning we drove to Astoria and found it a big time tourist town but it was a gateway to other sites. I had to go to the school featured in Schwarzenegger's 1990 Kindergarten Cop  and there is Louise -- the all-time best kindergarten teacher.

 A few months ago I watched a documentary on the Lewis & Clark expedition so I was interested in going to their 1805-06 winter camp at the mouth of the Columbia river. Fort Clatsop, as you can see, was little but so much better than soaking in tents. The Indians treated them well and so it was at least livable. It was remarkable all of the scientific documentation that was accomplished by the Corps of Discovery. The forests of western Oregon are incredible -- dense, many hues of green, and huge Sitka pine trees that rise into the morning mist.

We arrived in Waldport late Tuesday afternoon and settled in to our apartment. It was about two blocks from a huge, vacant beach. The beach is about 150 yards wide and I never saw more than 4-6 people on it at a time. We could have walked for five miles along the water. OK, so the air temperature never got above 64F so it wasn't a swimming beach but it was still enjoyable. Us and the birds -- good company.
Louise looked out of our kitchen window and said "That looks like an LDS church." Sure enough, we walked the two blocks and it belonged to the Waldport Branch.

We wanted some new experiences so we went crabbing on Wednesday. You take a chicken breast or a mink carcass (looked like a skinned cat -- OK, so I have never seen a skinned cat but .. never mind), fasten it to the bottom of the crab trap, and throw it into the water by the wharf. After about 10-15 minutes to give wandering crab time to smell and travel to your trap, you pull it up and there are the guys. Well, there are gals too but you have to throw back females and any under 5.75" wide. Fish chunks are not used because the local harbor seals way find their way to your trap and tear it apart getting to the meat. We did have success in getting two that we took home and ate that afternoon. Very good.

Thursday was another new adventure where we went kayaking. We paddled toward the ocean to see some (approx 500) harbor seals then back into the bay and up a slough to enjoy a rather peaceful little trip. Peaceful that is until at the halfway point where a ten year old said "Hey, we are ahead of the grandma and grandpa!". Punk kid, I'll show him! I did not know it but Louise thought the same thing so before long we were 150 yards ahead of him.

We went south of Waldport on two occasions (Cape Perpetua named by Capt. Cook) at low tide to enjoy the tide pools. There were amazing! There were hundreds of thousands of shells locked on the rocks and in the pools -- well, look for yourself. There were hundreds of "sea stars" (I guess they are no longer starfish) that ranged in color from bright orange to purple. A fun experience.

 Louise had hoped for a whale sighting. A friend from Hyde Park lived in the area for nine years and never saw a whale but Louise selected a nice restaurant (Adobe Resort) next to the ocean and right in front of us for one hour was a whale. You can see it spouting in the center of the photo.
By the way -- restaurants are not a high point of Waldport. The Salty Dog Bar and Grill was a big recommendation by the locals. They can keep it in business. I won't be a repeat customer.

Another "experience" that we had was agate hunting/gathering on the beach (Lost Creek Beach just north of Waldport). After some uncertainty, we learned what an unpolished agate looked like and gathered a few of them. Now we just need to get with someone to polish them.
The Oregon coast is beautiful. I could go again if I want a "chill out" experience. Haystack Rock (next to Cannon Beach) was one of the many beautiful sights along our drive. It can be reached by foot at low tide.

Well before what seemed too short of a time it was time to head home. We drove to Corvallis where my cousin Cathy Leishman (Aunt Joice's youngest) lives with husband Steve. We had a nice visit for a bit over an hour then headed to Boise.

About 30 miles NW of Bend, Oregon along Hwy. 20 is Mount Washington. Unlike several other volcanic peaks in the Cascades, it is a glacial formed peak that is a good landmark on your way to Boise and other points south. We stayed in Boise (a rather tiring drive from Waldport) Friday night then got home shortly after noon on Saturday. It was a good week and an area that I recommend to others.

Venus transit

It might seem weird to some but I had a lot of company on this one. I saw Venus yesterday as it moved across the face of the sun. I had my doubts as the afternoon clouded up and a gentle rain persisted until about 7:30 pm. I had downloaded the transit times for Hyde Park from the US Naval Observatory so I knew that it started at 4:05 and would last for about five hours. The clouds parted so I got out my homemade pinhole box observer and it did not provide a decent resolution of the image. I called a neighbor that likely had a welder's helmet and he was kind enough to go to his shop and within ten minutes I was trying to see the image. It was too small. I grabbed my binoculars, put on the helmet, put the binocs in front of that and wow -- there it was! It was at the four o'clock position and in about 10% in from the edge. Like the bottom middle below. About ten minutes after my viewing the clouds filled the viewing area. Some opportunities don't last long. Fun stuff. Next viewing in 105 years in 2117.

An image from NASA:

Your sky watcher:

Boy and his Camaro

Each birthday anniversary is a gift for completing a year and opportunities for a new year. I appreciate each day but this is one of THOSE years when I can actually celebrate on 29 February. I enjoyed having the family over for a baked halibut and dutch oven dinner. It's a good thing we didn't have the total number of candles or we would have had to call in the fire marshall.

I was at the Stephenson's home on Monday (27 Feb.) when Heidi called and said “Every 16 year old boy needs a Camaro. I have one reserved at the Salt Lake airport so go pick it up.” That evening I had Jeff take me out and I got my own Camaro for a week. As I was driving back to Janae’s in a light snowstorm, I was thinking “Don’t anyone hit me, don’t anyone hit me!” Hey, it actually fits in our garage. May it's a sign.

Not only is it a sleek design, it has widgets galore. I loved the HUD (heads up display on the windshield with speed, radio station, etc.). I had not experienced XM radio before -- talk about distracted driving with 275 stations! When I got tired of the 60's music, I listened to symphonies, elevator music, Fox news and talk, etc.

What a view. This model will become as popular as the 1956 Chev was to my generation.

Yes I am actually in it. It took corners, well, very fast. I took Erik into a church parking lot and cranked hard left. It went in tight circles and did not tip a bit.

I even had a matching sweater on (thanks Kristen). Note the 52nd Comptroller Squadron hat from Spangdahlem, Germany.

I was driving from Wellsville towards Salt Lake and I saw this beautiful woman so I asked her to spice up a photo. Nice view!

Louise and I drove to the Park City area (yes, we stopped at the shopping center afterwards). I thought it would be fun to get a photo by the Utah Olympic Park. Hmm, note the sign just above the windshield -- it states KEEP. Maybe it is a sign of things to come. We enjoyed the experience and then took it back to the airport Saturday evening. Thanks to everyone for a nice birthday anniversary.

New carpets - New Resolutions

Happy New Year to all of you! In reviewing the photos from the carpet project that we finished in late November, I thought it may apply to the new resolutions/goals that many of us make at this time of the year. I hope that the resolutions that you have made will be enriching to you and to those around you.

We go along in life and are likely aware that there are some things that we need to change but then think "maybe it isn't so bad". But we look a bit closer and realize it is time to take some action.

It is uncomfortable to move the everyday clutter out of our lives but when we do we find that we have quite a pile of junk! That's OK, the piles don't need to last forever. Just sort through them, clean a few things up, and life will improve.

Work on foundational things, sweep up the debris, and the tacks and other sharp edged irritations will be removed and the road of life will get smoother.

As we continue, we see that life is improving and some bumps are getting smoother. However, getting on your knees is often necessary to get the help that will help you find answers and keep you on the straight and narrow road.

Progress can sometimes be rather straight forward and roll out like an expanse of carpet.

However, to really finish the job and have the resolution be meaningful, details are necessary. Progress may seem slow but by careful measuring and fitting to our personal circumstances, our life will improve and our ability to serve those around us will expand so that we then can help others improve their lives.

The result of continuously evaluating and improving is a beautiful life that will bring peace and contentment. That is my wish for all of us on this first day of 2012.