Water-fall 3: Never Too Much of a Good Thing

We did it again!

It was a slightly different hike yesterday as we went up the North Trail. That's how I first got to know the canyon and trying it again I remembered why I switched to the south side.

The first half mile is a killer up the exposed hills. It has it's advantages of great views and avoids the rock scramble of the canyon mouth on the South. And if you do try it, avoid when the summer sun is shining! We were fortunately up there before the sun cleared the Wasatch.

The Waterfall, sorta Part 2

Vaughan's poem of yesterday had been weighing heavenly on me as I realized that I had to get back up with the Waterfall. My eldest grandson is "quaranteening" with us as he went on our trip to help his uncle move to Kansas for grad school. It might be a little because his parents have found out that he is a "teen." It was good to take him up there to share a place I love and give him some exercise.

It's been a mostly sedentary life for me recently. I was swimming laps before the corona hit. I have my gardening, but aerobic exercise hasn't been high on my list. My feet having given out to peripheral neuropathy that neither my foot doctor nor my neurologist know what to do with. We're testing different dosages of gapapentin to see what works best without making me stone-cold sleepy.

We left about 8 a.m. still early enough before the heat of the day. We drove up the first mile and parked. In my running days, I would think nothing of doing the whole thing right out my door, seven miles round trip. The first mile is solid elevation gain. This time we parked by the trail head.

The sun rises late over the Wasatch. And day-long shadows lie in the canyons. Right at the start is an inviting passage into the greenery. The first steps follow an old irrigation pipe on a level grade except where a landslide has dug into the mountainside. It then climbs we see what a lot of locals stop at for the waterfall in Centerville Canyon. It's more of a cascade to me.

Archaeology and Me

The images of body casts from Pompeii haunted me in grade school. I didn't help that we were in the shadow of sleeping Mount Rainier. It hasn't blown for a few hundred years, but St. Helens did.

Everything Egypt fascinated me and a few of us in about third grade had our own "Egypt Game" that we were going to be archaeologists. Not sure how I even came up with the word that I still have to spell check. Tutankhamun fascinated me and I saw his golden face in 1978.

Seventh Grade Science did me in when I met my first archaeologist, Dr. James Daugherty of Washington State University. We were on a Scout 50-miler hike on the Olympic Coast, Washington. We provided some service hours repairing and mucking out the settling ponds from the hydro-pressure water used in the excavation of a Makah Longhouse at Cape Alava that had been anaerobically preserved in a mudslide for almost 300 years. When pushed forward by my Dad to talk with Dr. Daugherty because I was interested in being an archaeologist, my 13-year-old little mind balked at his advice to study Science.

"Study Science, young man!"

A Parade of States

As it was vacation, I had my own agenda at Philmont. I had to address some work issues when I could get internet and cell coverage. And I had my historical projects to continue.

But I was asked by one of my wife's fellow faculty to prepare "A Parade of States" slide show like the one she had me do about ten years ago for a sample Cub Scout Blue and Gold Dinner. I thought I still had it and it needed some updating. Searching my cloud, I only found the "Answer Key" which gave me a good guide to redo it. I even found some of the original pictures on Google.

It really is a challenge to find a unique and "positive" picture that reflects a state. A few of them present quite a challenge. How do you do something for Mississippi that couldn't apply as well to Alabama, for example?

My biases go to the National Parks and some are just too easy like the Grand Canyon for Arizona. But what do you do for Iowa?

Well, I'm going to share with you now to see if you can identify the 50 States (sorry, DC, I did not include you. Besides, you would have been one of the obvious ones).

Tomorrow, I will post the Answer Key and you can self-grade to see how well you do. I"m sure there are ways to Google the image, or break the embedded codes, whatever, especially if you are Putin's hackers, but try to do it fairly.

1.

2.

Eagle Scout - The End of Childhood

Probably among the top-ten best days of my life was that Eagle Scout Court of Honor and LDS Ward Scout Dinner. That picture is full of joy and pride untainted in myself of the pains of adulthood. Oh, I'd been through some teenage angst, but my family and security were solid. And I was blissfully unprepared for the clouds of Wyoming coal-dust snow and mud-rain summer that were to descend upon us.

Note the Council patch on my dad's shoulder below. He had already been to Rock Springs, Wyoming, as the new Council Executive of the Jim Bridger Council, BSA. It was a great honor to get your own council even if such a small one in membership if not in size stretching for a hundred miles in any direction with few roads and fewer people in between.

A Scout Is Kind, and Friendly

With less reluctance and more patience developed over the years, I accompanied my wife to the Great Salt Lake Council business meeting and dinner. As we entered the familiar yet slightly upgraded Camp Tracy Lodge (I think it's now Layton Lodge for the donors), I suggested that we go sit by the one Scout that we saw because I get tired of adult Scouters when the program is supposed to be about the boys (and girls).

It was not a shocking surprise, just the typical thing one experiences with my wife, that the Eagle Scout who is the youth representative on the Council Board was one of her former Science students. Yeah. That's how our life goes. Either we get more than our share of favorable coincidences, or the universe is simply unfolding as it should.

My wife getting the updates on her former student's ongoing successful life.

My Old Friend with an Even Older Utah Connection

It was great reconnecting with a friend from when we were Scouts, say, 45 years ago! It was one of those where you can pick up a conversation left some forty years back and keep on going. A few circumstances and views have changed. And we still connect.

He's done some family history over the years. Even back before the internet made things so much easier. A picture of his 2nd-Great-Grandpa has a Utah connection:

Do you see what it says there on the back? "Camp Douglas, U.T. [Utah Territory] Jan 24th /66. Received Feb. the 17th."

Camp, now Fort Douglas, was established during the Civil War after the U.S. Troops abandoned Camp Floyd, in Utah County, as the Civil War approached. The principal military leader during Camp Douglas's early days was Colonel Patrick Connor of the 3rd California Volunteers sent to Utah to protect the overland trails and established Camp Douglas, uhm, maybe to keep a watch overlooking Brigham Young and the Mormons in the valley below. He is perhaps most famous, or infamous these days, for the Bear River Massacre against the Shoshone near the now Utah/Idaho border. But there was something about Utah than held him here if only as a thorn in Brigham's side to promote non-Mormon settlement and the mining industry. He also established a newspaper at Camp Douglas called the Union Vedette that was full of military, mining, and Mormon news. The latter, usually on the negative side. But it's still cool as an amazing, early historical source on the scene in Utah.

Old Scouts Never Die, They Just Lose Their Comic Books

This is another photo that needs its own blog post. I wrote last night to my tent buddy from my first Philmont Trek in 1971. We were pen pals for a while in the 70's but we lost contact as adulthood came and other interests took us. My friend stayed true to his gift becoming a writer and publisher of underground comix! I'm still searching for my gift. But my life is good and I love my family.

My friend third from right, back row. And me - kid on the back far right.

Nearly Dying by Lightning, Falling, or Exposure - A Typical Scout Adventure

Lightning would have been the quickest. Falling most painful. And exposure takes a while but you usually fall asleep first which I didn't that night as I kept arranging my heat-reflective space blanket to alternate sweating and freezing. And we somehow survived.

My Facebook Scout Challenge led me to seek out the Scouts from when I was an Assistant Scoutmaster in Bountiful, Utah, Stone Creek District, Great Salt Lake Council in the late 1980s. We worked with our boys on hiking and camping and did a pretty good preparation for a 50-mile hike across the Uintah Mountains, North to South, Wyoming to Utah.

Day 3 of the 50-miler. Two passes and a day of high altitude adventure. "Nephite Altar" circled in red upper right.

A feeling of dread woke with me on Day 3. We were camped above 11,000 feet on the slopes of Mt. Lovenia. I had discovered "the Nephite Altar" as we called it the bright and sunny evening before. You need to see it yourself to understand. That block of rock will not be going anywhere as it hasn't for a few thousand years. But that next morning, the pass above us was fogged in.

The "Nephite Altar" from Camp No. 2 facing East, of course.

The Joys of Scouting

Two Cubs building their Rain Gutter Regatta boats

"Don't it always seem to go, you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?" 

Pictures speak by thousands but Joni Mitchell nailed in just a few.

Early last night I helped my wife in her role as Cub Committee Chair out of sheer joy and love for her, and also for Scouting. We almost lost it. And I've never appreciated it more.

SALT LAKE CITY — 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued the following statement Wednesday from the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles regarding the Church’s relationship with the Boy Scouts of America:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appreciates the positive contributions Scouting has made over the years to thousands of its young men and boys and to thousands of other youth. As leaders of the Church, we want the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to succeed in its historic mission to instill leadership skills and high moral standards in youth of all faiths and circumstances, thereby equipping them for greater success in life and valuable service to their country.

In the resolution adopted on July 27, 2015, and in subsequent verbal assurances to us, BSA has reiterated that it expects those who sponsor Scouting units (such as the Church) to appoint Scout leaders according to their religious and moral values “in word and deed and who will best inculcate the organization’s values through the Scouting program.” At this time, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will go forward as a chartering organization of BSA, and as in the past, will appoint Scout leaders and volunteers who uphold and exemplify Church doctrine, values, and standards.

With equal concern for the substantial number of youth who live outside the United States and Canada, the Church will continue to evaluate and refine program options that better meet its global needs.

Scouting and Bullying - the Gay Policy

As a Scout, I was bullied as a Gay. There were some bullies who called me "fag," "faggot," "little faggot," and "queer." These words out of the mouths of bullies are becoming as socially unacceptable as the "N___" word. And, thank Heavens!

Scouting isn't about bullying. It should be the exact opposite as a place for team-building and citizenship skills in a diverse society which is the ideal of melting-pot USA. And there still is a lot of bullying.

It probably is a natural inclination for groups of boys to ostracize the outcast. I still hear modern Scouts "jokingly" (actually, bullyingly) call each other "Gay" --the targets no more Gay then I was as a teen even if a bit of an outcast or loner. My role as leader has been to nip that in its bud, stop it in its tracks, whatever it takes to kindly yet forcefully teach that such talk and bullying behavior is unacceptable.

And Scouting isn't about sex. Well, at least it's not supposed to be. But I've heard the crudest language and sexual jokes among Scouts and sometimes leaders. On an excursion to Philmont Scout Ranch years ago, there was a Playboy passed around. Sure, I looked. And I played with the cards bought in San Francisco Chinatown with bare-breasted women on them. We kept making jokes about the "stacked deck." OK, not by best moments, but far from the worst as well.

A Cub Scout's Duty to Diversity

The new Cub Scout Handbooks are out!

This is really cool because my wife was on a national task force that re-wrote (simplified) the Cub Scout program. She has gone to BSA headquarters in Arlington, Texas (between Dallas and Ft. Worth) a few times. She's been on webcasts, provided training sessions at Philmont and any where else she gets asked. She explained the new program to a sell-out crowd (actually, no charge) at the old white church in Centerville (built 1879).

The main part my wife had to draft was the Bear requirements for religious participation. (BSA remains a faith-based organization). She worked hard to make sure it dove-tailed with the LDS Faith in God program, one of the more demanding religious awards, along with the awards of every other religion that works with Cub Scouting. While a faith-based organization, the BSA doesn't care what Faith or what God one worships. So, religious diversity is a big part of the training for boys and adults. As part of the diversity aspect of the religious portion of the Bear requirements is a family activity to discuss an important American religious figure.

My wife asked for my help on that one. So, putting on my thinking cap, my diverse knowledge of American History, and checking details with the internet (OK, yeah, a little bit of Wikipedia), I came up with the following in the attempt to simplify language for the understanding of a generic nine-year-old:

Young Boy of the Sea

My Mom and I, Cruising the San Juan Islands, Washington, about 1964

Another strong memory resurfaced going through old photos to scan. They let me sit out there on the bow as long as I had that orange life-preserver. I notice Mom close by but I could look out ahead seeing just water and I stayed the longest time. I can feel the rare warm sun, see the bright flashes on the water, and could be there still if life hadn't intervened.

There were some great opportunities we had with my Dad's work with the Boy Scouts. These were actual Sea Scouts and my little brother and I were treated like royalty, or at least mascots, as guests on their ship (fairly large cabin cruiser). I seem to recall that we were at Friday Harbor for the 4th of July. I'll have to check that with my Dad. And I have the vaguest memory of a campfire while watching a satellite go by overhead when it was still a big deal. 

Family Totems - Christmas Edition

When we were young, our dad would set out in December to design and paint his annual Christmas picture on our front window. This is the earliest one I can remember:

The Day I Needed a Blessing

It was just a couple of years ago. One of those days where I was as close to the edge as I ever didn't want to be. With my dad far away, I asked my father-in-law, a real good guy, if he could give me a blessing of comfort and guidance. We planned to go there that Sunday evening.

My wife, our ward Relief Society President, got a call about a family in our neighborhood. Our friends were out of town and their son's step-daughter, playing with her twin sister, had collapsed in outdoor play, stopped breathing, and turned blue. The twin went running for help, found her step-dad and he, having been a Boy Scout, commenced CPR. The girl was breathing when the paramedics arrived but remained unconscious to the hospital and after while the doctors scrambled to figure what was wrong. My wife suggested that we stop by the hospital on the way to her parents' so she could visit with them.

I hate hospitals. I much prefer funerals. My faith in the afterlife is so solid that I appreciate the sense of earthly finality and closure. Hospitals are full of pain, suffering, anxiety, and uncertainty.

Villa Philmonte - Photographic Tour

The original drive up to Villa Philmonte, Cimarron, New Mexico

So I'm not the best photographer, or architectural or interior-design expert. One hardly needs to be to photograph or comment on the marvelous Villa Philmonte, Waite and Genevieve Phillips's "summer home" outside of Cimarron, New Mexico. Owned by the Boy Scouts thanks to the Phillips's generosity, anyone can visit by signing up for a free tour at the nearby Seton Museum.

The Phillips family was very practical in their generosity. They reserved only the right for family members to come back to visit whenever they wanted. And they provided endowments for less-advantaged youth to come to Philmont and for the upkeep of the Villa so that the BSA would not be stuck with an expensive relic they could not maintain.

Let's start on the outside walkways. There are custom-designed tiles representing the family interspersed throughout the otherwise red tiles - livestock, game animals, Cowboys, Indian, New Mexicans, even the architect got one in for himself. Waite wanted a "W" for his personal brand, but the brand inspector informed that it had already been taken. Being the practical guy he was, he simply chose a "double U" with a bar.

Seton Museum & Seton's Utah

Seton Library, Philmont, Cimarron, New Mexico

Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946)

Perhaps my second favorite place at Philmont, after Rayado, is the Seton Museum. I've certainly spent a lot of hours there. It's a great museum of Philmont and Scouting History, along with Southwestern Art, wonderful books, posters, art, and Southwestern Indian jewelry and pots, etc. Seton was one of the founders of Scouting in America.

The great and somewhat eccentric Seton was most renowned as a Naturalist. In those days, conservation was a little bit different than today as he was an avid hunter and dissector. But Michelangelo couldn't have created his masterpieces without cutting up a few cadavers. Getting the other criticism out of the way, Seton's most famous book "Wild Animals I have Known," was trashed by one reviewer who entitled it "Wild Animals Nobody Knows" because Seton anthropomorphized his subjects ascribing human thought and sentiments. But his actual drawings and studies were incomparable - and the stories are highly entertaining.

The Valhalla of Scouting

The Tooth of Time - an old landmark on the Santa Fe Trail.
The vertical, white rock center is Grizzly Tooth up Urraca Canyon. Trail Peak is to the left,
Black Mountain, and Mt. Phillips just left and past the Tooth of Time. (All places I've hiked)

"The Valhalla of Scouting," That's what one friend called it under some odd circumstances a few years back. And it seems appropriate this year, the 75th Anniversary of Philmont.

Our friend was the Director of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony in which our son participated. He was an Israeli Citizen and far from any family. The Scout Troop in the neighboring LDS Ward had invited him to go on a river rafting trip. The Musician had injured his shin on a rock and his foot then became infected. The Youth Symphony Member in the other Troop had a dad along who was a doctor. Our Symphony Director was treated well, but ended up in the hospital. When released, the doctor's family was leaving out of town and the Scout's mom called my wife to nurse the injured Musician back to health. He spent nights at his own place, but was propped up on pillows on our couch during the day while my wife fed him cookies.

"¡Muerte a los Tejanos!"

My favorite thing about Kit Carson. That was the battle cry of the New Mexican Volunteer Regiment he organized in the Civil War. Let us remember there were Spanish-speaking people in the American Southwest long before there were any African-American or European "Texans." Like 200 years or so. The Tejano guys came by invitation of a new Mexican Republic and then they proceeded to break all the rules, most egregiously, slavery. One of the first things the Republic of Mexico did was free the slaves. The Texans were a bit more difficult to convince.

The Enchanted Walmart

I'm not usually a big fan of Walmart. This not a post for the negatives. This is about the most magical Walmart on the face of the earth! Trinidad, Colorado. Just the name of the otherwise odd, little, red-bricked town is magic - or spiritual. TRIN-uh-dad is how we say it in English. I can't help but go to the Portuguese, much more poetic than Spanish - Treen-ee-DAH-djee. In any language it bounces off the tongue.

Trinidad, Colorado. Where the Rockies break to the Great Plains.