Today I went to lunch with my friend Brent (formerly of SAR and still an occasional motorcycle buddy) and we got talking about winter and ski season. I decided to get a season pass at Sundance this year – only $209 for weekdays.

Sundance isn’t steep enough to get me very excited about skiing there all the time, but it’s only a few minutes up the canyon and having a season pass will be great motivation to get outside and catch some daylight on a regular basis. I’ll bring my telemark skis and master that this year. Continue Reading »

I promised to take the neighborhood kids I teach in Sunday school sailing and I realized that one benefit of making commitments and scheduling things is that it pulls me away from working too long.

The boys had homework deadlines and other activities and couldn’t make it, so the girls rounded up their friends in the neighborhood and six of us pulled the boat down to the Marina around 4:30 this afternoon.

There wasn’t any wind, but we enjoyed the warm weather and spent a while diving off the boat and swimming. The water was comfortable with alternating warm and cool pockets. It felt great to be in the water, and enough time had passed that I forgot to miss Bear Lake’s clear, pristine waters. Continue Reading »

I can only work so many 12-14 hour days in a row without a significant drop in productivity, so when my motorcycle riding brothers planned a trip up Hobble Creek canyon yesterday afternoon, I thought I’d best join them. We ended up riding 72 miles round trip and I’m so glad I made the right choice.

After all, autumn is here and it won’t last forever. The best seasons – spring and fall – are far too short in Utah, and with autumn just begun, time is already running out to enjoy it, to get outside and find that perfect spot among the blaze-red and yellow leaves. That perfect view edged by magnificent mountains or a peacefully-still private meadow. The place where a crystal creek spills endlessly over rocks and roots and makes you forget to be in such a rush all the time. Where you remember to stop living in the future or past and land smack-dab in the ongoing present moment, at least until you climb back in your car and drive home again. Continue Reading »

I went riding last Thursday afternoon with friends up Hobble Creek Canyon. We first rode Kirkman up a steep, rocky, curvy trail that causes all kinds of problems if you don’t stay forward on your pegs and steer between the bumps that would love nothing better than to throw your front tire into the air and make you work to get it back down before going off the trail or making you stop and try again.

That’s my second favorite trail in Utah County.

Next we took Pumphouse Ridge for miles along the scenic ridgeline until we dropped down our favorite variation into Packard Canyon, an indy-like smooth trail full of fast, gentle corners. Continue Reading »

Here are a pair of videos shot by a Channel 2 cameraman following a “rescue” of a weather balloon that “crashed” on Baldy, not far from my home on August 14.

Someone saw the long silver thing and mistook it for a crashed glider. We opted to bring the thing down anyway to avoid more 911 phone calls reporting it.

I was just happy to have a chance to ride the excellent trails that are usually closed to motor vehicles. I enjoy them on my mountain bike, but the motorcycle is even more fun.

First, here’s a photo of of the blimp following me through the trees where CJ met up with me on his bike:
Continue Reading »

Tonight I rode my motorcycle up to Sagebrush Flats – it’s along the northwest flank of Mount Timpanogos and it’s a LOT more green and beautiful than the name makes it sound! We had a little rescue and Life Flight landed to carry our victim out, but the gusty wind triggered some sensor and the helicopter wouldn’t start back up.

Anyway, while we were sticking around just in case they needed anything from us (another Life Flight helicopter came up to try to fix the first one), I went for a drive to the far end of the road and explored the little spurs leading to more gorgeous meadow campsites, most of which had a car or two parked in them.

While driving past one such meadow, a doe and its fawn ran through the meadow, then continued hopping along just inside the aspens bordering the clearing. I slowed down to stay just behind the deer, whose golden fur shone in the dusk light.

It was one of those experiences that sticks in your mind and plays again and again. It was one of those moments where you want to be completely present – no thoughts of anything or anywhere else playing and distracting you.

Later, after loading the bike on its trailer, as I drove over the Alpine Loop on the way home, I rolled down the windows and opened the sunroof. I drove slowly and watched the tall, white aspen trunks flash by and fade into shadow and darkness. I focused on how I felt to be completely present, noticing my arms as I steered, the breeze across my face, and the crackling of gravel and twigs that crunched in my ears.

I need to practice that more. I think far too much. I’m always monitoring so many ideas. Suddenly it all seems like a waste, like a recipe for letting days slip by without even noticing them.

Maybe that’s why time seems to slip by so much faster as we grow up.

Here’s a helpful tip for anyone looking for something to do in Utah Valley – check out provo.1ktodo.com (or click the image below). They’ve got a handful of authors (like me) giving you the scoop on all the local hot spots, cool spots, etc.

Now you just need to find someone to do it all with!

I was just looking through some photos of last year’s great sailing adventure and was taken by how beautiful and wonderful life can be.

This first shot is day two or three, Mike Bergin and I on deck, sailing with four sails up 600 nautical miles full of nothing but dolphins and horizons from Aruba to Panama.

We often dragged a fishing line in the water behind us, pulling tuna and mahi mahi from the ocean and tossing it straight onto the BBQ. Continue Reading »

Here are all the photos that may appear in the top left corner of this page along with information about where they were taken.

Shaun wakes up on a port-a-ledge hundreds of feet above the canyon floor in Zion National Park.

The route is C2 Prodigal Son which climbs the side of Angel’s Landing.

Continue Reading »