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Mile 965.  Tortoise had a post-birthday lunch with his brother Steve, then walked a new section of the Virgin River Trail with him.  Learned that if the daily special at Mt. St. Helen's doesn't excite you that the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich is always a solid choice there.  That was a nice surprise in Washington County.

Please click below for more pictures, a map,  and today's walking thought by Aileen Clyde that includes:  "Love is not just good, it is essential to life." 

Cheerio!

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We walked to the end of the trail, confirmed it ends on a connection to the
road connecting Washington Dam Road to the county landfill, and then
started taking pictures on the return walk.

Here's what the trailhead looks like, just off Telegraph Rd. and Washington
Parkway.  There's plenty of parking.  This is an easy access between the freeway
and the northern end of the Virgin River Trail for anyone interested in, say, a
bicycle ride of the full trail through Washington and St. George.

The trail is well maintained dirt through the first turn from the trailhead

Just past the second turn (less than a quarter mile), the transition to a paved
trail comes in to view.

Today's walk was 3.28 miles, with 151 feet climbed in 58:04 minutes, giving it a 4.8 tortoise rating.  481 calories were burned.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2014:

965.62 miles walked, which is 96.47% of my 2014 goal.

304:21:36 hours walked, which is 97.24% of my 2014 goal

47,195 total feet climbed 

152,945 calories burned
93.61% of the year has passed

I've walked 67 consecutive non-Sundays since my last missed day on September 20, and overall have walked on 280 of the 293 non-Sundays thus far in 2014, a 95.56% consistency rating.

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of distance and time walked than of the year. This tells Tortoise that he is on track. Yes, this is more numbers than you are likely interested in, all Tortoise can say is he's really good at setting high goals and having them slip away because he doesn't do them every, every day.

And now for today's walking thought, originally presented in September 1993:

"Charone was assigned to a dystrophy hospital, where eighty children from infancy to two or three years of age were treated for nutritional deficiencies and other severe problems. Because the hospital served a wide radius, mothers and fathers could seldom visit. Some children were abandoned there because of the poverty and desperate circumstances of their parents. When Charone arrived, the tiny patients were apathetic and unresponsive. Most were swaddled so that they lay in their beds listlessly. She observed that the doctors and nurses were professional and did well to keep the children fed and clean, but that was all done on a strict schedule. Demonstrativeness and individual caring were completely lacking. Charone was assigned to the care of ten children. She began singing and talking to them as she worked. At first they didn’t even look at her. She held them during their feedings instead of propping their bottles, and she commented to them about each other. Within two weeks, they were looking at her and following her gestures with their eyes. After six weeks, the changes could be seen by anyone. The children had begun to smile, they gained weight, and their personalities began to emerge. Charone exercised their limbs and gave them practice sitting up. Her charges progressed so well that the doctors modified her schedule so that she and others could nurture all eighty children. Although the little patients still faced difficulties, by the time Charone left, all were thriving as individuals. Love is not just good, it is essential to life."

To watch, listen to, or read this message in full, please visit https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1993/10/relief-society-charity-the-guiding-principle?lang=eng #ShareGoodness

The tortoise is smiling!