Judging by the titles of three recent blog posts, it seems that tis the season for goodbyes.

Last night I dropped by my Swiss friend Nathalie’s good bye party. I first met Nath 12 years ago when she came to stay with a family friend who happened to live in my neighborhood and we built one of those bonds that will keep us good friends forever. Continue Reading »

Today was my last day as a National Park Ranger at Timpanogos Cave, and it was a good one. I had four good tour groups who seemed to enjoy their tour and appreciate the wonders (a totally busy day means five tours), plus some time to chill with coworkers and chat with kids at the cave entrance.

I saw a few bats (very rare in the cave since we’re so loud, but the cave has been closed all week), took a few good photos on my final nostalgic walk through the cave after that last tour, then locked the cave doors and set the alarm for the last time. The sun was just setting all golden as I started down the trail with Josh and Monica. Continue Reading »

I forgot to post a link to this video I made of my nieces and nephews at Bear Lake this summer. Don’t expect a masterpiece – it was shot pretty quickly because there was too much sailing and eating and talking to do and because the kids’ patience wouldn’t last forever. But the kids love it and it’ll be great as they grow older to look back and laugh at.

When 14 year old cousins James Gough and Frank Johnson discovered Timpanogos Cave in 1913, they didn’t travel along the upper passage where tours go today. That area was very narrow and has been excavated to make it roomy enough for most visitors to get through without too much trouble (if you don’t count the unlucky ones responsible for naming the stalactite “13 Stitches”, formerly known as “12 Stitch”).

Instead, they took the lower passage, now off limits, and protected by such things as light sensors so we know if anyone goes out of bounds. The only chance to get down there is on special projects such as the one going on now where resource rangers are removing as much of the man-made junk as possible. Continue Reading »

For my day off today, I spent six hours riding the trails above the Alpine Loop with Curtis and Olin. It felt so great to spend another perfect late-summer day outside! Being outdoors seems to lubricate the heart and the cooler, dry air feels so much sweeter in my lungs.

We stopped to chat with mountain bikers and cute trail runners and I got to wondering how many moose and cougars we miss as we speed along with our eyes glued to the trail. Then a few minutes later, a giant bull and cow moose ran across the trail about 20′ in front of Curtis. Continue Reading »

is the most wonderful time of the year, no matter what any old holiday music may claim!

It’s warm and cool. The days are still relatively long. There’s SO MUCH to do!

The only problem I’ve ever had with autumn is dreading its eventual end – but this year, happily, I’m not feeling that.

Every month during the summer, the resource rangers at Timp Cave put up their nets along the American Fork River and catch bats as they swoop down for a drink before setting off to hunt for  the night.

<– Cami examines a bat after extracting it from the net.

I went up tonight for some pizza and to check out the action. It was pretty cool! We caught about 20 right around dusk, then one or two later on. They took various measurements, then marked their head with a green marker to make sure we didn’t measure the same bat twice. When releasing them, they’d record their chatter to compare the “dialect” to bats from this or other areas. Maybe you’ve heard of the same thing happening with whales and other mammals. Continue Reading »

A week ago I went to Bear Lake for the annual family reunion and had a fantastic time. Here’s a shot on the back ladder of the Coco Bandera that shows off the amazingly blue water, glowing under my sailboat.

The first night, I took 5 nieces and nephews on the boat as we motored across a flat, calm lake from the marina to the beach near the condos, then we slept on the boat. It was maybe the last night of the Perseids meteor shower, and one nephew, on his birthday, counted 122 falling stars. Many were brilliant and long. Two nieces saw their first ever falling stars. Continue Reading »

involves driving three miles up stunning American Fork Canyon, then hiking a mile and a half and over 1,000 feet to the “office.”

<– climbing carefully below The Great Heart of Timpanogos to retrieve some fallen sunglasses with the snake stick.

The office consists of the tiny “employees only” room and our private lunch bench outside with dazzling canyon views; plus Hansen, Middle and Timpanogos Caves, where I’ll be leading tours until the cave closes for the season in October.

That’s right, I work inside Mount Timpanogos! I’m now officially a National Park Ranger – hat, badge and all. I expect to enjoy it immensely.

Success! –>

Over the July 4th weekend, I headed up to Logan to ride with my dad and brother and hang with the fam.

As I drove into Cache Valley, I again noticed how much I love it. It’s not just a mental thing due to its beautiful mountains and trees, and it’s more than nostalgia. There’s an actual physical sensation that strikes you as you drop out of the canyon, and you can’t help feeling how open and warm the place is. Sometimes it doesn’t strike me till I walk into a store. Sometimes I watch for it and sometimes it takes me by surprise. It’s nice to know that many other people have the exact same reaction. I’m grateful that I moved there when young and did most of my growing up among the awesome friends I was lucky to grow up with. Continue Reading »