I woke up this morning feeling ill from a cold that I likely picked up from traveling this past week and thought to myself, ‘what are my plans for the day?’ For those who really know me, know that I’m not the most patient ‘sick’ person as I tend to get bored easily when I’m in bed recovering from illnesses. I tend to look out the window a lot just like a kid on a rainy day… what to do with myself; I can’t go outside and play; I’m not feeling well enough to work; I can’t do this… I can’t do that. Wo is me.

For whatever reason, I had an impression this morning that since I can’t do this and I can’t do that, I would pull an old journal and read on what I have written. My thoughts turned to pulling this journal that I bought myself a few years back. Fall of 2017 was a dark time in my life. I was going thru a deep depression and I knew that I needed to do things in my life in order to get better. For the first time in my life I met with a talk therapist that led me to meeting with my primary care physician to get on depression medicine, which let me to meeting with a psychiatrist who finally was able to help me and diagnosed me with having Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). Prior to going thru this trial in my life, I personally thought ‘shrinks’ or ‘talk therapists’ were a waste of time and I was the type of person who believed that ‘depression’ was all in your head; that you could ‘think’ yourself out of being down and not depressed. Yes, I was ‘one of those type of people’ who would criticize those who said they were depressed and were on meds, meeting with talk therapists, etc. etc.

It was a long time before I really felt I was actually getting better from being deeply depressed. I would say it was 2 plus years of counseling, doctor visits, and such. I’m much better now. Still on medicine, still following up with medical professionals, and still working on things daily, weekly and monthly to keep myself sane and mentally healthy. So, why am I even sharing this on my blog? Well, I felt impressed to share with the world of what led me to this little journal book that I found at World Market in 2017 and started reading and writing in it since then. I have loved the quotes and the reminders of things that are out there for us to combat the mental challenges that we will face if we don’t manage the digital distractions in our lives.

This morning, reading some of the content in the little journal, made me ask myself ‘What am I to do today to digitally detox?’ which led me to think. Why not a weekly challenge. And why not include eliminating ‘sugar’ from my life for a week! You see… I have a couple of issues (which many can relate to) I see screens when I close my eyes… I sometimes freak out when I don’t have cellphone reception… When I’m on Facebook or Instagram, I sometimes keep hitting refresh! Also, I LOVE eating Ice cream and candy! What do digital distractions have to do with sugar? Well, you see, one is a mental craving and the other is a physical craving.

I believe in ‘detoxes’ and my challenge and goal for this week is just that. To detox from certain digital and physical cravings. So, here’s what I’m going to go without this week:

• No Social Media, Not too hard for me, as I’ve had notifications turned off for years now
• No Digital News, turning Apple News and Stocks is going to be a challenge
• No TV or Movies, this is going to be tough as my wife and I love watching a movie almost every night!
• No Video Games including my favorite phone game ‘Fishdom’
• No Candy, including mints and swedish fish (I used to tell myself that this was ‘fish‘ and not candy!)
• No Chocolates, including sugar free dark chocolate
• No Candied Nuts, I’m including this as I can see myself saying, it’s a nut, not sugar!
• No Ice Cream, man alive, this one is going to be most difficult as I mentioned before I LOVE ice cream!

For those who read this and follow, please comment and wish me luck as it’s going to be a challenging week! And, if you feel impressed to join me, please do as it’s always easier to complete goals with those beside you working toward the same. : )

I’ve been thinking of traveling to the Pacific Northwest for a few weeks now and even mapped out a plan of where I wanted to go and decided this last weekend that I would change my initial plan to travel the entire northwest to just a weekend getaway to Jackson Hole. Unbeknownst to me, Jackson Hole was sold out for the weekend! I didn’t realize this until I had already booked my AirBnB in Victor, ID which is just 20 minutes from the resort. What was I to do? Well, on Friday night, as I was contemplating where to go, I decided I would get up super early and drive the 3 hours from where I was in Idaho to Big Sky, MT! And from there I would decide where and what to do next. Needless to say, at the moment I’m writing early Monday morning from Sandpoint, ID which is just 30 minutes from Schweitzer Mountain which is where I plan to ski today. From here… who knows where I’ll go… I’m only about 6 hours from The Summit at Snoqualmie and then from there a couple hours to Crystal Mountain. I might as well at least get a couple more resorts checked off my bucket list! As it stands, I’m just taking it day by day… little did my lovely wife know I wasn’t kidding when I said to her before I left… ‘I’ll be back in as little as 3 days, and as long as 10!’ Ha ha! She’s such a good sport to support her husband who likes to go on a ‘walk about’ every now and then.

I had a fun time in Bozeman, Saturday afternoon thru the evening. Ate some southern fried chicken at Roost then walked down main street after checking in at Jason’s Place to check out the arts and culture of Bozeman. I had to grab a slice at Tarantinos Pizza then had my vacation ice-cream at Sweet Peaks! Added to my ‘bucket list’ to come back and stay at the historic ‘The Bozeman’ hotel and catch a show at the famous ‘Rialto’ theatre. And a special ‘Thank You’ to the late Sage Lindsay (not sure who you are) for reminding me that ‘It’s a good day for a good day!’

I grew up just north of Salt Lake City in a city called Bountiful and winter always brought to our city quite a bit of snow, especially to the ‘benches’ where we lived. We called this extra fluffy white stuff, ‘lake-effect snow‘ which came to us thanks to the Great Salt Lake! Growing up, I remember coming home from school and spending the afternoon into the evening being outside playing in the snow and doing everything from building forts along the street from the piled up snow from the snow plows; snow ball fights with my big brother and neighbor friends; sledding the big steep hills of Mueller Park Junior High; and even throwing snow during the night at cars slowly driving up our steep road. Such fun and fond memories!

One of the best winter kid memories I have was when my brother and I convinced our parents to take us ‘night-skiing’ at one of the local ski resorts. We grew up in a neighborhood of wealthy kids who skied quite often, yet we didn’t have the means to spend the money that it cost to ski back in the ’80’s (yes, skiing has always been an expensive sport!). From what I remember, Brighton was one of the first of a few Utah ski resorts to offer skiing at night and the cost was usually half of what it cost for a day lift ticket.

Off my brother and I went to ski Utah! How excited we were as we drove up Big Cottonwood canyon, thinking to ourselves that we would be just like the skiers from the most recent winter games in Lake Placid, New York! We figured that since we ruled the winter hills of Bountiful, we would be able to rule the hills of Brighton. I don’t remember much other than watching how cool the skiers below us lit up by the lights of the hill looked while we rode the chairlift up. I believe we made it down the hill one time (no ski lessons for us as we felt we could learn everything on our own back then) and we full on loved it! I don’t believe we ever went back skiing as kids as again, too expensive for us, yet as I and my brother got older and into High School/College/Military, we would go at least once a year (almost always night skiing) with our friends to make the ‘wedge turns’ and then every now and then we would ‘straight ski’ and we felt we had mastered the sport!

Fast forward to the 2011/2012 season, about 30 years since my first ski experience, and I find myself talking to a friend that moved from New Jersey to Park City who just like many migrants to Utah moved her for the love of the skiing sport. He invited me, ok maybe I invited myself, to go ski with him one day and he asked ‘you do know how to ski, right?’ My response… ‘of course I do, I grew up in Utah!’. Little did he know that I had never taken a ski lesson; skied maybe only a couple dozen times in my life; and worst of all, I was a Beginner Wedge Skier! We maybe skied one run together as he immediately took off from the top of the hill down a blue run and when we met up at the bottom of the hill he asks ‘what was that?!’ and I responded, ‘I’m skiing! Isn’t this so much fun and amazing!?’. His response, after watching me slowly wedge turn my way down the hill in my old ‘lady skis’ and ‘rear-entry boots’, was ‘That’s not skiing, I’ll meet up with you at the end of the day, have ‘fun’!’ and he took off. I can’t blame him as it likely was a powder day and friends don’t wait for friends on a pow day!

Over the last decade, I have fallen more and more in love with the sport of skiing and, thanks to many ski lessons and clinics, I have learned to turn my wedge turns into parallel turns. I continue to ‘let the mountain lead’ and teach me as I’ve learned and continue to learn about this wonderful winter sport! I love this quote that I found earlier on this season:

“Feel the mountain and let it show you how you’re going to ski it. Relax and cruise. This isn’t a fight, it’s a dance, and the mountain always leads.” – Jim Bowden

Just like a dance, it takes time and practice to get better and better and by ‘letting the mountain lead’, you will enjoy the dance on the slopes!’

My sister and I just returned from a 7 night cruise aboard the Majestic Princess to celebrate her 40th birthday! We visited 3 cities along the Mexican Riviera which included Cabo; Mazatlán; and Puerto Vallarta.

We had a fun day out in the Cabo Sun.    Had a short boat ride to El Arco just outside of the harbor on a catamaran.   Highlight of this short ride out was seeing a humpback whale breach.  It was so cool to see and witness.  Even though it was in the distance, it was still a cool site.   We went chasing them to see if we could get closer and saw two of them come up with their back fins coming out and back into the water.  

In Mazatlán we were lucky to walk into the ‘Blue Line’ route that the local tourism authority put together.  This ‘Blue Line’ was a dedicated walking path thru the best parts of the city and took us thru some cool side streets, plazas, schools, churches, restaurants, shops, etc.   We also found a shortcut to the beach area and walked on the boardwalk and hung out at the beach for some time.   It was fun in the sun as well as good eats, fun shops, and good little local gems we found and bought to bring back home.    

Our last port, Puerto Vallarta!   The day was spent with my Tia Carmen, my dad’s sister, my cousins, niece, and nephews.  It was fun day catching up with everyone and spending some time breaking bread and just enjoying each other’s company.   Thalia, my cousin, invited us to her house for a late afternoon dinner.   We smiled, laughed, and just had a good time with everyone.  Good energies all around!

This trip was during Thanksgiving week, so I was able to UnPlug for a good portion of the time out at sea where I enjoyed morning scripture study and pondering of how grateful I am for everything in my life from the temporal blessings; familial blessings; to most importantly spiritual blessings.   I read a good Liahona article, Addressing Mental Health, that reminded me of how much our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gave us all so we can conquer physical, mental, and spiritual death.   He loves us just as our Heavenly Father loves us.   As I went about the ship on Thanksgiving morning, I took pictures of everything from ornate rooms that were created for our enjoyment to the deep ocean blue and setting sun, and was reminded of how we are put on this earth to fully have joy.   His blessings are abundant, all we must do is open our eyes and see, open our ears and hear, and use our other senses to smell, touch and feel the greatness that He has provided us.  

I spent some time this past week in the high mountain range of Fish Lake National Forest with my Dad that lives down in Southern Utah. It was a fun father/son trip and we’re glad for the cool weather and memories made!

We rented a little 16 foot aluminum fishing boat for one of the days out on the water and found a good fishing hole where my Dad was bringing in nice trout and I was bringing in the fun little perch! We had three wicked micro bursts come on us, the first one we weathered while we motored across the lake; drenched us to the bones! The second one we made it to the shoreline just in time and the final one came on us just after we made it to the dock and got out of the water. You never know what kind of weather you’ll get while on the water.

Lesson from this trip… always listen to your Dad… especially when he says, ‘I think we should go back in to the marina’ 30 minutes before a microburst comes on!

It’s been a little over 5 years since I visited the island of Kauai, Hawaii, where I have gone to learn how to ‘Live Aloha’! In the Hawaiian language, “Aloha“ may mean love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness or grace. Living Aloha is the bringing together of mind and heart within yourself. I feel when you ‘Live Aloha’ you think and express good feelings to others.

And that’s what I feel I did most recently as I visited the Hawaiian islands this past month. I lived Aloha! I felt the good feelings of others and in return expressed good feelings to others around me. A visit to the Hawaiian islands can be either fast paced, explore… adventure… sight see; or it can be slow paced, relax, unwind, rejuvenate. It has so much to offer and if you’ve never been, I recommend to for sure put it on your bucket list to visit someday! A great place to learn more is by visiting the official Hawaiian Tourism Authority site https://www.gohawaii.com/.

As for me, this last visit was a combination of slow… fast… then slow paced! My lovely wife and I took the time to ‘slow pace’ our time when it was just the two of us, and once my sister-in-law came out to visit us as a last minute trip, we ramped it up to ‘fast paced’! The minute she arrived, we literally went from 0-60! 🙂 It was her first time as an adult to Kauai and she was ready to ‘see it all’. We had so much fun having her bring new energy of excitement and fun, yet I’m not going to lie, she ran so fast, my wife and I had to recover the week after she left to recoup our energies!

As I reflect on my adventure and visit to the islands, I am reminded of a journal entry from June of 2014. It was one of the highlights of my life and I was blessed to go on this adventure again this past month. ‘One of the best highlights of our trip was on captain Andy’s Chartered Sail Excursion off the Na Pali Coast. Incredible, amazing, breathtaking, most spiritual moments ever. Words can’t express how I felt during this adventure. We disembarked from Port Allen on the Akialoa vessel, found some spinner dolphins, snorkeled amongst a sea of native fish and even swam alongside a green sea turtle to shore off the Na Pali coast. We saw picturesque waterfalls, sea caves, isolated golden beaches, and towering majestic cliffs. As the sails were up and we were heading back, being powered solely by wind, the spirit hit me and testified to me yet again of the truthfulness of a living God that loves and cares for His children here on this earth. All of us being of one purpose, individually learning what we need to learn to return to his presence. I’m so grateful to be able to have this experience and hope to remember it for the eternities!’

I feel so blessed to have been able to visit and experience what the islands of Hawaii have to offer and I can’t wait until my next visit! Aloha ‘Oe and A Hui Hou Kākou : Until we meet again Hawaii!!

It’s Easter weekend and my thoughts turn from Cadbury eggs, of which I couldn’t find anywhere this season, to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My sister-in-law asked in a family post to share our favorite pictures of Christ, of which I have many, and it reminded me of how important this past ‘Holy Week’ really is. A time to reflect on our blessings and ponder on what life is.

From what I have learned from reading and listening to ancient and living prophets, it all began before coming to this earth. We were born as spirit children of a loving Heavenly Mother and Father of whom we were given our individual personalities and gifts.

I am a child of these celestial beings who created me and were the architects of this world which my temporal body resides. And what a beautiful world this is! I feel a sense of gratitude for the mountains, hills, waters, landscapes, and living creatures to enjoy life and all that it has to offer.

I am a personal witness of how we are all part of an eternal family. From the power of having two children of my own with my eternal soul mate to being connected to extended family, friends and neighbors. This mortal life didn’t come from nothing. It came by design, and man and woman were created in Gods image. We are here on this earth to be tried and tested. We, just as our earthly first parents Adam and Eve, will experience physical and spiritual death. It is in this that we may experience joy. Because without knowing pain and suffering, how can we know love and happiness?

It is in this ‘fall of man’ that the plan was put in place. Our loving Father in Heaven sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to come down to earth to be a Savior to all mankind. Thru the power of the atonement and resurrection, we will overcome the bands of spiritual and physical death.

I know without a doubt that Christ came. He lived. He ministered. He suffered, and He died. And on the third day He arose, and He lives! I know that my Redeemer lives! And there will be a time in the future where I will not only meet my maker to recount my life here on earth, but I will also be reunited with all who have passed before me. Including my brother and Savior, Jesus Christ! What a glorious day it will be! I look forward to that day! In the interim I live… I live here with the knowledge I have. I live to embrace the trials and challenges life has ahead of me, and I live to remember Him in all that I do. In His Holy Name, Amen.

For those who do not know, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and have the honor of having in my possession a temple recommend issued to me by my local ecclesiastical leaders to enter what our organization calls “The House of The Lord’ which means, The House of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, also known as ‘Temples’. To learn more click here Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ

Last weekend, the 29th of August, Tracie and I had the privilege of attending the Ogden Temple to witness the sealing of our niece, Madison, to her husband, Jesse.

It was a bright, sun shinny day! The temple was open by appointment only as it is still in the re-opening phases due to the Covid 19 Pandemic and we were a small group participating in a Temple Endowment Session and the Temple Sealing of my niece and her husband. When entering the temple, we are asked to turn off our cell phones to not be distracted and be able to ‘be present‘. We are asked not to be on our phones or take any pictures while in the temple in order to keep the reverence and peace that is found while in the temple.

Being ‘UnPlugged’ while in the temple is my favorite part of being in the Lord’s House. It allows me to ponder, pray, and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and I was super grateful for (after almost 6 months of not being able to be UnPlugged in the Lord’s House due to Covid-19 restrictions) the time that I spent in the Ogden Temple.

This last Wednesday, the 2nd of September, I yet again had the privilege to enter one of our Lord’s Temples. This time I was asked to go and serve as an ordinance worker in the Provo Temple which is our local temple closest to where we live.

What a tender mercy it was this past week to be able to UnPlug from the distractions of the world and PlugIn to being present to ponder, pray, and be in the Ogden and Provo Temple of our Lord and Savior. My recent experiences I had both as a patron and while serving, re-affirmed and strengthened my testimony that ‘He Lives and Loves us all!’. May God continue to Bless us as we navigate thru this year and the year to come!

UnPlugged in the South Central Utah Desert

Tracie and I decided that after weeks of being home sick with Pneumonia and dealing with the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic, that it was time for the two of us to ‘UnPlug’ and head out to the desert of central Utah for some outdoor ‘Social Distancing’ and time away from home and work.

After leaving Heber Valley, UT around 9ish in the AM we arrived (after a few pit-stops along the way) at our pre-determined campsite around 3ish in the afternoon where we were welcomed with the craziest wind gusts I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime.   To me it felt like I was setting up camp in an enclosed sand blasting room where we were sand blasted in every direction we stood.    The gusts were so strong that it lifted our jumping jack trailer from off the ground and moved it a couple of feet from where we set it up.    We ended up having to strap it to the FJ for the remainder of the day as the gusts kept coming at us throughout the rest of the day and into the night.

LITTLE WILD HORSE CANYON

This Place is AMAZING!!!

The next day, we spent the day hiking thru Little Wild Horse Canyon where we enjoyed a calm breeze (thank Heaven the gusts died down); blue skies; and perfect temperature to hike this amazing canyon.   I had never hiked thru a ‘slot canyon’ before and felt like a little kid going up and down the rock formations throughout the hike.   I even at times pretended to be a little wild horse running thru the canyon with a kid riding me and telling me which way to go!  🙂

Goblin aka ‘Hoblin’ Valley

The next morning was spent in Goblin Valley State Park  where we walked thru the ‘First Valley’ which is so cool to walk thru and totally doesn’t look the same from the overlook area looking down into the valley.    As I walked thru the flat expanse containing several dozen clusters of the twisted, stunted hoodoos locally called “goblins” I (in my mind) thought of another story where aliens who I called ‘Hoblin’s’ from outer space must have come to our earth and ‘pooped’ on this valley!

Scene from the First Valley of Goblins

It was a successful week camping in the desert and I’m glad that the wind calmed down enough for us to enjoy the scenery and great outdoors!   We for sure will be back someday to explore and enjoy more of what this amazing area has to offer.   

Colorado, UTAH!

After a 3 course in-room meal (Oranges and Popcorn as our appetizer; PB&J as our main course; and Fudge as our dessert) and a restful night’s sleep at the Blue Lake Ranch, we woke up this beautiful Sabbath morning to enjoy a nice home cooked meal before traveling the last 6-8 hours back home to Heber City, UT!

Breakfast was delicious!  It was the first home cooked meal I had had in over 30 plus days… and I hate to admit it… yet this 45 year old grown man had something come over him that made him get teary eyed while he was eating the food.   It was the first real cooked eggs (carton eggs gets old); real bacon; homemade apple and peach upside down French toast; etc meal I had had in over 30 plus days!   The best breakfast I’ve had in quite some time!

The drive back seemed to go pretty quick and short… Tracie driving most of it…and I just contemplating what I had just accomplished and enjoying the scenery of beautiful red rock as we drove thru Moab; Arches National Park; and the Wasatch mountain ranges back home.

I thought it would be fun to list a few stats that I collected along the way, after all, my profession deals with numbers, so here you go:

14,989 Miles Driven

356 Gallons of gas (based on avg. 42 miles/gallon)

56 Total Days to complete the Ultimate Road Trip

48 Plus Ultimate Cross Country Sites visited and explored

45 Plus Gas Stations visited

34 Total Days driving in Leo, 2017 Fiat

14 Close Call Car Accidents (I consider myself lucky!)

2 Jiffy Lube Oil Changes

1 Stay-cation in Utah after first leg of road trip

1 Vacation in Florida before last leg of road trip

0 Speeding Tickets (top speed was 103, Leo can go!)

0 Rock Chips

0 Flat Tires

0 Fender Benders (the week after I get home, my son backs up into Leo, putting a dent in its bumper!)  : – )

It has been said that “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  And in my case “A journey of thousand(s) of miles begins with a tank of gas!”   I am again so grateful to all who supported me on this journey that I accomplished.   It is something I will always remember and never forget.   I had some amazing ‘UnPlugged’ moments during my journey… During this time of introspection, I learned about myself… I learned about my God and my country… yet most of all, I learned that we all can accomplish hard things… begin with the end in mind, work hard, don’t give up, and no matter the outcome, don’t have any regrets.   Life is a journey of a thousand miles… and Life begins with one single step… so step forward and while traveling thru your own journey, don’t forget to live; love; and laugh along the way, it’s worth it!