Gratitude is Happiness Doubled by Wonder

  If you glance casually at this first photo, the summit on the left (the closer one) appears higher and larger than the ones on the right. In reality, Big Baldy is only 8750' in elevation, while the Timpanogos ridge behind reaches exactly 3000' higher! An important difference occurs as we step back and are able to see things from a distance. See the second photo, taken from the car driving up University Avenue towards Provo Canyon. It's much easier to see the relative sizes of Baldy on the left, and Timp on the right. And in fact the third photo is taken from the top of Baldy, the peak that looked so large in the first photo. Granted, there are plenty of clues in the first photo about the true relationship between the peaks. The amount of snow behind, for those familiar with how that works, indicates the foreground is a much lower elevation. Anyone who understands perspective in art and reality would never be fooled. Also, anyone who has climbed the mountains would instan...

The week before Thanksgiving last year, President Nelson shared an invitation to ponder things we were grateful for, and share them on social media during the following week with the hashtag #GiveThanks. I accepted the challenge and started doing it that day. For the next week, my feeds were filled with delightful, positive messages as so many people participated. At the end of the week, I forgot to quit. I was enjoying it so much - and feeling the personal benefits - that I just kept going. Today marks 100 days of sharing a gratitude thought. I still haven't figured out how to stop; not sure how long I'll continue, but it's working for me now! It really is a gift to have a grateful heart. It can change our whole mindset, our approach to life. It changes the way we perceive the world around us, and how we respond to challenges and disappointments. "I have concluded that counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems. No matter our situation, showing ...

My diet in my youth was relatively simple. My four sisters and I were raised by a very busy single mother. We didn't go out to eat very often in those days, and there weren't many exciting options in little Payson anyway. I remember a few times going to a Chinese restaurant in Provo - was it called the "Four Seasons"? I always ordered relatively simple and safe ham-fried rice as my main entree. We did occasionally eat German food, especially when my grandmother came to visit. She was an expert cook and loved to fix recipes from her homeland. That was always a treat, and felt a little exotic. I guess my horizons started to expand during my missionary service in Brazil. I was introduced to many foods that were VERY different from what I was used to, including a variety of South American and Italian fare. Those international interests grew as I traveled throughout Europe a year after my mission. And my mother did, in the end, help to encourage both my love of exploring a...

On a recent early morning hike, I watched the sky light up with fire as the earth slowly turned, allowing the sun to appear over the mountains. There are often just a few minutes when things seem to explode with energy. In the far distance on the left, rays of light strike the summit of Mt. Nebo, the highest point in the Wasatch Range. To the right on the shores of Utah Lake is lonely West Mountain, a stand-alone peak that was the site of my boyhood home. The Bible says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.... "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." I wonder. Did God think, "Hmm. I should make sunlight out of a spectrum of light waves of different lengths, and then when the light has to pass through earth atmosphere at a low angle at the start or end of the day, I'll make it so that the shorter wavelengths of green, blue, and violet lig...

On our recent trip, I became acquainted with the Desert Mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum - shown in the photos). This particular variety of mistletoe bears little resemblance to the plant we're used to seeing in our Christmas decorations (the one that traditionally requires kissing!). But it has some similar botanical characteristics - it's a parasite living on a host plant. It's very visible growing among the branches at this time of year when the deciduous plans are leafless. Most mistletoes attach to some kind of woody plant using structures that function just like roots - they tap into the tree in a way that they can draw water and minerals from the host. But unlike a full parasite, mistletoes perform their own photosynthesis - so they are technically called "hemiparasites" because they do have some productive characteristics. The desert mistletoe is leafless, mostly - it has tiny scale-like structures that function like leaves. The berries are edible and ...

My mother, grandmother, and uncle in Germany. After surviving the bombing and the war, they emigrated to the USA in 1952. February 23 was always my mother's "personal day of mourning" when she was alive. That was the anniversary of the day in 1945 when Pforzheim, her hometown in southern Germany, was obliterated by an allied bombing attack near the end of World War II (Germany was already crippled by this time and would surrender just 11 weeks later). The bombing raid lasted only about 22 minutes. There were 379 aircraft involved, dropping a mixture of explosive bombs meant to destroy on impact, and phosphorus bombs designed to spread fire. The downtown area, with its ancient, dry, timber construction, was totally destroyed - an area of about 2 miles by 1 mile, reduced to rubble. Surrounding residential areas were devastated; an estimated 83% of the town's buildings were gone. In addition to those who died from the explosions, fires, or burning phosphorous, many more ...

I recently came across a clipping from the school newspaper during my senior year of high school. It was one of those silly little writing exercises someone did, projecting people's futures, and having a little fun with some of our classmates. "Most likely to become a millionaire before age 30..." "Most likely to become a used car salesman..." "Most likely to become president of the USA..." "Most likely to become a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader..." "Most likely to become mother of 10 children..." "Most likely to be the father of those 10 children..." The very last item in the list said, "Most likely to become an IBM computer: David Kenison." Yeah, I was known mostly as the nerdy kid in high school. However, at the time, I had no intention of a career in computers. A lot of things interested me more and seemed more practical. Computers in 1974 were huge, very expensive, and used only by big companies and research ins...

Check out me and my buddy. We were born the same year - give or take. (You're never sure with Joshua Trees.) They grow anywhere from a half to three inches per year, but the ranger told me about an inch a year on average. So that makes us the same age. (He would be taller but has part of his feet hidden in the dirt.) And even though we've been around the same number of years so far, this guy will way outlive me and grow into a majestic and impressive structure. I have appreciated learning about these amazing trees this past week. There is so much we can learn about, and from, the world around us! We share this planet with an innumerable variety of other life forms, plant and animal; and we are dependent on them for our ongoing existence. (I'm not sure about where mosquitos fit in though.) One of the great lessons to be learned from this particular life-form is that growth is often delayed and gradual. An inch a year for a tree is pretty slow. Average humans grow as high in ...

I am always fascinated to see a plant growing in a crack in a big rock, such as these examples from Joshua Tree NP. In other places I've seen large, mature trees squeezing from such a setting- widening the crack, forcing heavy stones apart as they grow. It's always amazing to imagine where the roots to such plants might possibly be, and how they manage to get the nourishment they need. I imagine such a small crack in the rock, initially having a little dust blown in by the wind, which gradually accumulates. At some point, the wind brings a small light seed - or a bird makes a "deposit" of something it ate. With a little moisture and warmth, the conditions for germination are achieved and the seed sprouts. Certainly these are not ideal growing conditions. But the seed really doesn't have much choice. It really has only one chance at life, so it makes the best of its situation, and grows as much and as fully as it can. Often it sends roots along the length of the cr...

I had a surreal experience this morning. Bonnie and I left Joshua Tree NP in our pickup, towing the trailer. We were following routing directions on my phone. Skipping lots of details, we somehow strayed onto a US Marine Base still following the phone's route. Suddenly we were surrounded by police cars with sirens blaring and lights flashing. A voice on a bullhorn ordered me to get out of the truck with my hands up. As I did and glanced around, I was stunned to see that there were at least ten officers surrounding the area, crouching, with drawn guns POINTED AT ME!! I quickly went from surprised to terrified. I knew I had nothing to hide, but I also knew mistakes can happen in situations like this. The voice in the bullhorn instructed me to keep my hands on top of my head, walk away from the truck, and eventually to kneel on the pavement. I slowly and carefully followed instructions as accurately as I could. An officer approached me from behind and handcuffed my wrists tightly behi...

  We drove this stretch of road several times during our visit to Joshua Tree. It always made me smile. When they put the road in, they decided to just pave the terrain as it was, instead of smoothing the path and then paving a level surface. When I lived in Virginia, I sometimes drove along a road that started just like this one, as a 2-lane country road that went up and down with the terrain (quite a bit more dramatic than this). As traffic on the road increased over time, they decided to make a parallel road separated by a median, resulting in 2 separate lanes each direction. However, for the second two lanes, they first leveled the roadbed before paving, cutting through the hills. So in one direction, the cars go up and down like a gentle roller coaster, while in the other they travel straight and level. I often wondered about the pros and cons of the two approaches. The older, "hilly" version was less disruptive to the environment, kept the feel of the countryside, and r...

Every time I am privileged to spend time in a National Park, I wonder at the incredible gift they are to us all. Many of them are remarkably unique in all the world, as is this one - Joshua Tree NP. The biological treasure preserved here is so wonderful, nestled in a setting of geographic features that would be fascinating and visit-worthy by themselves. The 5 parks in the southern part of my home state, Utah, are somewhat similar but yet incredibly un-similar. I love each one! Yellowstone was the first national park in the USA, designated in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant. We now have 63 parks in our country, preserving 2.19% of the country's land as a permanent national treasure. Additional area is protected as national monuments and other classifications. The concept of a national park has spread throughout the world. American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wallace Stegner wrote: "National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, t...

Since we are in Joshua Tree National Park, I should share thoughts about the park namesake. The story is that the Joshua tree - Yucca brevifolia - was named in the mid-19th century by Mormon immigrants. The outstretched limbs of the tree reminded them of the biblical prophet pointing the way to the promised land. Another story records how Joshua kept his arms outstretched for a long period when the Israelites were battling Canaan (Joshua 8:18–26). Other names for the tree include yucca palm, tree yucca, and Palmyra cactus. It's a fascinating tree that grows only in the extreme southwest of the USA. It has adapted to the harsh, arid conditions here. For example, a dense network of shallow roots spreads out from the tree to help collect any moisture that might come. One sign we saw in the park today called it "the tree of life" because of its contributions to many animals who live in or around it, or depend on seeds or leaves for food. Native Americans used to weave its fib...

Bonnie and I are approaching the end of our mission. We are not so busy right now, only needing to work a few hours each day. And as long as we have internet access, we can do our assignment from almost anywhere! So this week we are doing it mostly from Joshua Tree, California. And we are "breaking in" our new retirement entertainment package! We have big plans for coming years. We hope that other forms of travel will also become an option as the pandemic is controlled, and we also hope to serve additional missions. But for now, we have lots of plans to spend time exploring the USA and Canada! This has been something we have saved for and planned on for a long time. The nomad life is calling.... I #GiveThanks for miracles of technology that allow us to continue to serve, and for the blessing of saving and preparation that allow us to enjoy the fruits of many years of labor!

It's a blessing to have a sweetheart. I had a good portion of my life when I didn't have one. I #GiveThanks for the privilege of sharing life - family, service, recreation. What a privilege and blessing!

A few years ago, a friend and I tried a new route up a mountain in Salt Lake's Big Cottonwood Canyon (the west side of Mt. Kesler from Mineral Fork). Much of the route was very steep and unrelenting, with no improved trail; in some sections we slipped back a half-step for each one forward. It took a LOT of energy! (There are a couple of easier routes up this particular mountain, but all of them are quite steep.) As we neared the top of this area, we came to the site of the Carbonate mine, which was active here in the late 1800s. There are remains of a stone cabin that was 12' x 16'. Scattered around we found fragments of what appeared to be a cast-iron stove. Later this mine actually had a cable tram that carried buckets of ore down the mountain. Seeing these items near the top of a very challenging mountain was so intriguing. It would have taken incredible effort to get a cast-iron stove up there! Likely mules were used, but even they would have struggled on the very steep...