"The Blog Almost Too Boring To Be The Most Boring Blog in America ... for Over 5 Years!"

until it got too many red cards from Wounded Duck and the Boredom Enforcement Committee ... now the tortoise's goal is to get to 10 red cards so he can get Big Dog to drive down and take a good long walk with the tortoise

P. S. This blog listens to its readers. We have the Benjamin Category Override for 5+ mile walks and now, it humbles Tortoise to say he has been named "Lou", by Doug Jr, in memory of Mr. Consistency himself, Lou Gehrig. Tortoise can hardly type the words to think he is in any way comparable to the noble Iron Horse. Thank you!


Saturday, August 30, 2014

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It's Peach Days in the Hurricane Valley this weekend, and one of the activities Tortoise chose was to join the 32 people you see above on the "Moderate" Hurricane Canal Trail walk.  We starting at 6:30 this morning.  The moderate walk started and ended at the trailhead about a half mile up state highway 59 adjacent to the telephone and radio towers.  The strenuous walk was a couple miles farther, started at the trailhead near the Virgin Dam, and ended at the same trailhead we used.  Tortoise had appointments at work and so needed to be done walking by 9 am.  He chose the moderate walk, but with 623 feet of climbing in steep conditions with loose rocks, some might consider this route strenuous as well.  Tortoise found the views to be well worth it, when you check out the pictures below, he hopes you will agree.

Total distance walked was 3.58 miles.  Yes that is 3 days in a row with exactly the same distance on completely different paths.  Between walking carefully with his famous "gaheep poles" and frequent photography stops, this walk took 2:01:30 hours.  Tortoise rating was 2.7; calories burned were 691.  In addition to the aforementioned pictures, by clicking below to continue reading there is also a map, video, and a thought from those who so kindly toiled to build this canal so we could have water today and live in this valley.  Tortoise thanks each of you who did this hard labor again and again!

Cheerio!

Friday, August 29, 2014

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Today's walk took Tortoise north into Zion View Estates, this view was taken near the halfway point at 6;42 am.  Total distance walked was 3.58 miles, with 117 feet climbed, in 58:39 minutes.  Tortoise rating was 5.4; calories burned were 585.  For a map, more pictures, and a thought by Jayne B. Malan heard while walking, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Thursday, August 28, 2014

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Here's Tortoise's view halfway through today's 3.58 mile walk at 6:36 am.  He went up and back down 76 feet along the way in 58:36 minutes.  Tortoise rating was 5.7; calories burned were 587.  For a map, a parting thought from Victor L. Brown at the conclusion of 28 years of service as a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Doug Jr., the biggest Alta Loma fan I know, will be pleased to recall an Alta Loma connection for Bishop Brown.  As for me, this good Bishop was one of the people I looked up to all while I was growing up.  More on that below as well.

Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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There's less variety walking early in the morning, as Tortoise tends to stick to well-lit paths.  The payoff is increased consistency ... for instance, had he waited to walk yesterday until after work, he wouldn't have because it rained hard and the lightning was striking harder, and in every direction.  This morning was cool, 61 degrees, damp from a night of rain, but now clear so that the temperature continued to drop somewhat as the walk continued.  It made for a delightful 3.33 mile walk, with 67 feet climbed, in 57:05 minutes.  The tortoise rating was 5.7; calories burned were 517.

For a map, a thought from Dean L. Larsen, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

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It's school time again, and even before 7 am the children gather at bus stops along Tortoise's path to excitedly chatter as the prepare for another day ... Tortoise was in a bit of a hurry today, lots to do and not enough time to do it.  Doesn't sound very tortoise like but as long as he can maintain a steady pace he is pleased.  Walk was 3.25 miles with 74 feet climbed in 54:01 minutes.  Tortoise rating was 5.6; calories burned were 523.  For a map, a thought from Gordon B. Hinckley, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 25, 2014

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This morning's 3.65 mile walk took Tortoise through LaVerkin's confluence overlook neighborhood.  He climbed 83 feet along the way in 1:05:22 hours.  Tortoise rating was 5.6 and calories burned were 569.  For a map, a thought from a young looking Thomas S. Monson, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Saturday, August 23, 2014

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Tortoise greets you with a beautiful vista featuring soft pre-sunrise lighting from the Confluence Trail junction with Tortoise Track, part of today's 4.01 mile walk with 280 feet climbed in 1:15:12 hours.  Tortoise rating was 4.8; calories burned were 628.  For a map, pictures, a thought from Marvin J. Ashton, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Friday, August 22, 2014

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Tortoise sends his greetings and this beautiful 6:10 vista as he started today's 4.67 mile walk, which he completed with 183 feet climbed in 1:25:02 hours.  Tortoise rating was 5.4; calories burned were 729.  For a map, more pictures, a thought from W. Eugene Hansen, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Thursday, August 21, 2014

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Tortoise witnessed another beautiful La Verkin sunrise while listening to Henry B. Eyring and other speakers at the opening session of the October 1989 LDS General Conference.  Amazing what technology can bring to your earbuds.  The walk covered 3.71 miles, with 100 feet climbed in 1:06:02 hours.  Tortoise rating was 5.6; calories burned were 578.  For a map, more pictures, a thought Tortoise liked from Bishop Eyring, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

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Tortoise passed this pocket park on Dale Lane (700 North) in LaVerkin's Zion View neighborhood this morning on his 4.15 mile walk.  He climbed 127 feet and burned 651 calories in 1:20:05 hours while following this 5.5 tortoise rated path.  For more pictures, a map, and a Joy F. Evans quote he heard and enjoyed while walking, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

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Didn't walk this morning with the steady rain, accompanied with some lightning, all morning and most of the afternoon.   Things opened up just before 6 pm and Tortoise headed off for a 2.16 mile walk up the hill from his office, near the wet practice field shown above, with the hope he could do more later.  After a busy evening, around 9 pm he did a second 1.39 mile walk in a loop around Toquerville.  Total of both walks was 3.55 miles with 190 feet climbed in 1:08:44 hours.  Tortoise rating was 5.0; calories burned were 556.  For maps and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 18, 2014

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Good morning, LaVerkin!  Happy Tortoise greetings from the beginning of his walk at 6:25 am, which took him on a loop through most of our fair city in 3.55 miles with 94 feet climbed in 1:06:30 hours.  Tortoise rating was 5.6; calories burned were 556.  For a map and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

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Tortoise had a busy Saturday.  Said goodbye to Logan, Braden, and their well mannered scout group who returned home this morning.  Headed to Enoch with Willyne to visit Jared, Amie, and their family in their new home.  It holds the promise of clean living for sure!  Tortoise managed to steal the bases and make it home in a kickball game with Sam while there ... and fully expects Sam will figure out how to get those bases back in a future game.  Helped set up the family room for the concluding meeting of Daughter of God week tonight and figured out how to download video clips from lds.org, convert them from .mp4 to .wmv format so they can be recorded as playable DVDs for that meeting.  Had fun with Josh, Megan, Ethan, Kate, and Riley when they visited this afternoon.  Ethan will be a strong competitor with his Fire FC futbol team this season, he may have 6 points on opening day, but he has all but 2 of his players yet to play in games through Monday.  He will do great!  In the midst of all this, Tortoise also got in the phone calls he needed to follow up on church assignments tomorrow and work at the office using the computer at home.

He then concluded his day by walking out to the sunset shown above.  2.60 miles with 235 feet climbed in 57:40 minutes.  Tortoise rating was 3.9; calories burned were 430.  For a map and some more pictures, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Friday, August 15, 2014

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Here's a bright sunny morning view, after a few days of welcome rain, as Tortoise finishes his walk following a stop at the dentist just past mile 3.  Total today was 3.62 miles walked, with 84 feet climbed, in 1:07:30 hours.  Tortoise rating was 5.6 while calories burned were 566.  For a map and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

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Sunrise came as Tortoise began the last mile of this morning's Tour De La Verkin walk, which totalled 3.72 miles with 91 feet climbed in 1:08:08 hours.  Tortoise rating was 5.6; calories burned were 582.  For a map, another picture, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

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Here's the tortoise's view as he passes all the good folks playing basketball at the church in the 6 to 7 am hour three days a week.  Clouds are gathering for a little more rain, yay!  Walk was cut a little short when the wind and rain picked up, but he made it 3.11 miles with 64 feet climbed in 1:00:09 hours.  Tortoise rating:  5.7; calories burned:  488.  For a map and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

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Tortoise needed to drop something off at the FedEx dropbox not quite a mile from his office, and decided it might be his best chance at a walk on this off and on rainy day.  (Nice and gradual, mostly.  Aren't those the best kind of rainy days?  We've sure been praying for this!)  He made it to the dropbox OK, then about the time he passed the high school the rain started coming down pretty hard ... just in time for him to find shelter under the overhang of the school building.  He took the picture above while waiting for the rain to slow down enough to continue walking.

The rain got Tortoise pretty wet, but he didn't seem to mind ... well at least not too much.  He did cut his walk back somewhat when it became clear the rain was going to continue a good while.  He wound up walking 2.07 miles with 36 feet climbed in 38:47 minutes.  Tortoise rating:  5.8; calories burned:  325.  For a map and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 11, 2014

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No walk today, the 12th non-Sunday Tortoise has missed in 2014, and ends a 60 consecutive day walk run since his last missed day on May 31.  He takes full responsibility for missing the day, waiting to do a late night walk.  Then we were blessed with a wonderful soft steady rain that Tortoise opted not to walk in. This leaves him at 179 days walked out of 191 total non-Sundays, for a 93.72% consistency rating, and the plan to start a new streak tomorrow.  The tortoise is smiling!

Cheerio!

Saturday, August 9, 2014

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After visiting a friend a few miles up the road in Virgin, Utah, Tortoise headed over to the town's BMX bike track as a starting point for today's walk on the search for the other end of the Flying Monkey Trail.  Just the name is exciting!  Tortoise got a good walk in, and although he didn't find what he was looking for, he thinks you'll enjoy the pictures.  There are no signs to help out, but with the help of Google Earth, Tortoise believes he has found the path and will go back sometime soon to confirm this.

The walk itself was 3.55 miles with 303 feet climbed in 1:30:43 hours.  Tortoise rating:  4.3: calories burned:  616; temperature was in the 95-100 range throughout this walk.  Tortoise wore his wide brim hat and was glad for his water bottle!  For a map, additional pictures, and some other fun, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Friday, August 8, 2014

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The Tortoise wishes you all a good morning and shares his view as he heads down the street to start his walk to work, which was 3.24 miles with 216 feet climbed in 1:04:31 hours.  Tortoise rating:  4.8; calories burned:  510; temperature range:  72-77.  For a map, weigh-in, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Thursday, August 7, 2014

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Tortoise walked home from work starting a little before 9 this evening.  This is a view looking down the walking/cycling path along the side of Hurricane's 600 North street taken after walking the first mile.  He took a route with more sidewalks which got him to his daily goal at 3.24 miles walked with 212 feet climbed in 58:00 minutes.  Tortoise rating:  4.8; calories burned:  505; temperature:  88.  For a map and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

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Say Hi! to Doug Jr who joined me for a walk along part of the Mayor's Loop in St. George this afternoon, starting at the Vermillion Avenue trailhead in Bloomington Hills and continuing 1.11 miles with 96 feet climbed in 25:06 minutes.  Thankfully it was only 93 degrees at 3 pm when we did it.  Always nice to walk with Doug Jr, thank you for coming!

I did a second walk around 10:30 pm when I finished working, this one up the hill to the road leading into Hurricane Middle School from 600 North.  This one was 2.49 miles with 179 feet climbed in 45:46 minutes.  The tortoise ratings of the two walks were very similar at 4.6 and 4.7, and 575 total calories were burned between them.  For maps of both walks and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

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Tortoise tried something new today, a video with him describing his walk while walking.  Not impressive. The video doesn't do justice to what Tortoise saw in person, and he isn't fond of how much emphasis there seems to be on the breathing.  Experimentation will continue, improvement will come.

As for the after work walk, well it was terrific.  3.52 miles roundtrip on the Grapevine Trail in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve just off exit 13 in Washington on Interstate 15.  The turnaround point was the junction with another trail called Bracken's Loop, a climb of 376 feet in 1:08:27 hours.  Tortoise believes he got to the desired 125 heart rate consistently on this path rated 4.0 on the uphill half.  Calories burned:  553.

For a map, another 19 seconds of shaky video, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 4, 2014

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Glen's funeral was nice. I think we all felt like we got to know Glen better by listening to each other's experiences with him than any of us ever got to know him in all the years we have known him.  Rather than be sad about that, I'm just glad we got this opportunity today.  Beats never knowing.  Steve had a good big brother that protected him as a child.  So did Tom.  He was a good worker.  There is a couple in Texas who met him in Alaska, who thank him for changing their lives, and also think that if a guy as shy as him can make a difference there is hope for us all.  That is a good thought!

After everyone left and the 4 grandchildren we have tonight for a sleepover were all tucked in and peep inspection complete, I headed out for a walk to the near side of the church and back.  2.16 miles with 61 feet climbed in 0:39:58 minutes.  Tortoise rating:  5.5; calories burned:  337.  If you enjoy the yearly stats like I do, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Saturday, August 2, 2014

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I got my kicks on Route 66 last night after finishing my appointments for the day and doing initiatories at the temple.  You didn't know the Los Angeles Temple was originally on Route 66 before it was renumbered as the famous (in our family) California highway 2?  Amazing what you useless but fun trivia you will learn on the terreeeblay blog.  I did a loop. (starting past the junior high that I walked to, as an 8th grader to attend summer school, because I wanted to.  OK tell me I'm crazy, I can handle it ...) Then followed the path I used to walk to get there for roughly half way, then returned back past my high school and along Santa Monica Blvd ("Route 66")., that road Sheryl Crow made famous.  5.02 miles with 234 feet climbed in 1:42:14 hours.  Tortoise rating would be 6.0 because of the low elevation, but it earned its Benjamin category override to 5 based on the five mile distance and the fact I pulled a muscle halfway through and had no choice but to finish.  (I'm going to be fine).

There's plenty of pictures with the map if you click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Friday, August 1, 2014

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There were pretty clouds this morning over the black lava hills behind our house, followed by a long day mostly getting ready for Glen's graveside service Monday, and concluded with a quick evening walk just over my personal minimum at 2.11 miles with 136 feet climbed in 37:28 minutes.  Tortoise rating:  4.9; calories burned:  328.  In addition to the map today, I have some fun Dodgers-Giants memories with Doug for you to read if you click below ...

Cheerio!