15-273

Mile 793.  Lou went exploring this evening.  Pictured above are the Pathfinder trail (right) and Cottonwood Canyon trail (left).  Tortoise took the right turn on a previous walk at almost exactly this time last year, so this evening he went left.  To see pictures of what he discovered along the way, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-272

Mile 790.  Today's walk took Tortoise in a southwesterly direction from his office to check out some hills he hadn't climbed in awhile.  An especially colorful stroll, as Lou's pictures this day will attest ...

Cheerio!

15-271

Mile 786.  An early evening loop walk up the hill from the office for Tortoise.  Lou captured another brilliant sunset as well ...

Cheerio!

15-269

Mile 783.  Tortoise is not sure what image comes to your mind when you think of Las Vegas, but he is fairly confident that this picture of the bridge joining the Cedar Drainage trail with the Vegas Wash trail is not it.  Lou is glad to be of service in expanding your horizons!  It was a hot afternoon, even for late September, and Tortoise struggled to complete this walk.  He suggests bringing a full liter of water, having rationed a half liter and feeling the effects of it.  Lou did take lots of pictures and is confident you will enjoy them, so here they are ...

Cheerio!

15-268

Mile 778.  Welcome to La Verkin!  Lou thought this was an especially good time of day, and of year, to go get an aerial view of his home town, so he climbed to the observation point ... and then kept going and made it a loop (and it's easier on the knees coming down that way).  There's more pictures where this one came from, so please click below and check them out ...

Cheerio!

15-267

Mile 772.  Lou got to start walking a little earlier today, about 5:15 pm, starting at Sullivan Virgin River Soccer Park.  He followed the Virgin River trail upstream, past the ongoing construction of some of the nicest soccer fields he's seen anywhere, past the boardwalk, a little over a mile to the junction with the Cottonwood Wash trail.  Tortoise continued another mile up the Cottonwood Wash trail before retracing his steps.  Lou got picture happy today, there are pictures of the river, pictures of lava flows, pictures of deer, pictures of the new soccer fields ... there's something for everyone when you click below and continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-266

Mile 767.  Happy 85th birthday to Tortoise's father!  

Lou took a slightly different approach to his traditional Hurricane hill loop, which you can check out on the map a little later in this post, along with another of his pictures, and the day's walking thought from Tad Callister ...

Cheerio!

15-265

Mile 764.  Another exciting array of clouds greeted Tortoise on his walk in La Verkin this evening.  Temperature was at Goldilocks standard as well ... not too hot, not too cold, just right.  For a map, more details, and walking thoughts from the final major address of Richard Scott, who passed from this life this afternoon, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-264

Mile 760.  Perhaps you have become accustomed to seeing Tortoise post pictures of walking paths blending into a brilliant sunset in the distance.  What was special today is that you could point the camera in any direction, not just to the west, and see the brilliant colors.  Check it out for yourself by clicking below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-262

Mile 755.  Tortoise got some beautiful river views as he walked through Confluence Park from the Cactus Cliff trailhead on west Center Street to the south trailhead of the Confluence Trail.  Please click above to watch the panorama, and click below to see Lou's other pictures, map, details, and the day's walking thought by Dallin Oaks ...

Cheerio!

15-261

Mile 751.  It was a near perfect evening for walking.  Last Monday and Tuesday there was steady rain, which cleaned everything up and added moisture to the sandy places.  This was followed by three days of warm, dry weather that eliminated the muddy spots.  Today the skies were a crystal clear blue.  So ... around 6 pm Lou headed out for a 10k loop walk.  Now you runners won't be impressed as he didn't set any speed records, but Tortoise did get some beautiful views along the full length of the Cottonwood Hills trail before returning to his starting trailhead by way of the Spanish Wash and Prospector trails.  There are lots of pictures today, so if you click below to continue reading, there is bound to be something that will catch your eye ...

Cheerio!

15-260

Mile 745.  Tortoise walked a portion of the Virgin River trail east of the Riverside Drive trailhead, and was rewarded with views like the one shown above.  For more pictures, a map, the day's walking thought by Todd Christofferson, and more, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-259

Mile 741.  Good evening to you from Stout Memorial Park, a fun place for you to play, especially with children or animals!  The weather has improved greatly today, so Tortoise enjoyed a most excellent walk through the neighborhood, including a couple nooks and crannies not previously traversed (such as the aforementioned park).  Please join Lou on the other side by clicking below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-258

Mile 737.  In another lifetime, long ago, Tortoise lived in England, where the rain is more like a mist than rain.  Today was a deadline day, we all worked extra.  Whilst doing so, the doors were open to let the pleasant, cool rainy air in.  It was much different than yesterday's violent, windy, lightning filled rain.  Then in a wonderful moment of serendipity, the rain ended, the work was finished, and Lou headed up the hill for a short evening walk.  It was overcast, but he thought he could walk a couple miles and stay dry.  Right around his turnaround point, the light misty rain began, bringing back memories from those days gone by.

To read on about this fine walk, please click below and enjoy ...

Cheerio!

15-257

Mile 735.  Halfway through this evening's walk a very hard pounding, windy rain began, accompanied by intense lightning and shaking thunder.  Tortoise cut his walk short and took shelter in a park restroom for 15 minutes until the storm let up.  It was still a nice walk ... to learn more about it, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-255

Mile 731.  Welcome to Tortoise's 1,000th published walking post!  Lou has gotten some highlight pictures and other tidbits together that he hopes you will enjoy on this lovely occasion, so please click below and join him on the other side ...

Cheerio!

15-254

Mile 727 on a beautiful late summer evening in La Verkin.  So many different directions Lou could take this post.  

It is the 14th anniversary of the day none of us will ever forget, and Tortoise's heartfelt wishes go out to the families who have to deal with the memories every day and especially this day.  We were there atop the World Trade Center as a family just nine weeks earlier.  We still have blazed in our minds the elevator operator, and the lady who sold us postcards.  And in a horrible instant they were gone just like that.  "A day that will live in infamy" surely is just as applicable as it was in Pearl Harbor.

Tortoise's son Doug named him Lou, in honor of the baseball legend Lou Gehrig.  Tortoise strives for consistency, but the idea that he is in any way comparable to the noble Iron Horse leaves him near speechless.  Speaking of baseball, two days ago was the 50th anniversary of arguably the greatest pitching performance ever ... Sandy Koufax's perfect game.  Doug posted a terrific Grantland article filled with wonderful video clips commemorating this, and Lou got to read, watch, and listen this evening.   Truly remarkable.  He hopes you will check it out for yourself.

Speaking of consistency, this is Tortoise's 999th published post and Lou did go for a walk.  If you'd be kind enough to click below, Tortoise would love to tell you about it ...

Cheerio!

15-253

Mile 724.  Tortoise expanded his loop up the hill today.  Pictured above is the view as the hill begins, shortly before dusk.  To see another of Lou's pictures as the hill steepens and East Cinder Knoll comes closer into view, please click below to continue reading.  There's also a map along with the daily stats and walking thought by Neil Andersen ...

Cheerio!

15-252

Mile 720.  Tortoise chose a southern loop from his office this evening.  Pictured above is the view up Gould's Wash about halfway through the walk.  To see another picture, a map, along with today's stats and walking thought by Rafael Pino, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-251

Mile 717.   It was a smoky evening for a walk.  20 or so miles away a fire rages today on the south end of the Pine Valley Mountains, filling the valley air with smoke and making for interesting walking and picture taking conditions.   Please click below and see them as well as the day's walking thought by Kevin Pearson ...

Cheerio!

15-250

Mile 713.  A walk through the west side of the St. George historic district while Tortoise had 30 minutes to wait while something was done.  If you'd like to see more of Lou's pictures of the tree lined neigborhoods lined by red rock cliffs, a map and other tidbits including the day's walking thought by Robert Hales, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-248

Mile 711.  Tortoise walked a night loop in LaVerkin by flashlight.  His path is shown above.  For more on this walk, and the day's walking thought by Dieter Uchtdorf, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-247

Mile 707.  That one's dedicated to the smiling Tortoise's father, he will know why ...

The picture and the day are dedicated to Hannah Beecher and Jaxon Savage, who had a wonderful wedding day!  Lou is blessed to have her as his niece.  For more pictures of their lovely day, along with information on Tortoise's early morning walk, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-246

Mile 704.  One of the many excellent hills available to climb in Lou's habitat can be found by climbing the first mile or so of the Hurricane Rim Trail from the trailhead near highway 59.  Tortoise headed there early this evening and made his doctor happy with a solidly heart pumping walk.  To see a few more of his pictures and a map, followed by details of the walk and the day's walking thought by Gérald Caussé, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-245

Mile 701.  Tortoise did a loop up the hill from his office after work for his 98th consecutive non-Sunday walking, a new personal record for Lou.  To see a couple more pictures along with a map, walk details, and the day's walking thought by José Teixeira, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-244

Mile 698.  Lou had a couple evening appointments in St. George, when those were complete he parked in the Sunset Corners shopping center and started heading up the Highway 18 trail.  Sure, it's near the highway, but as the picture above illustrates, great effort has been taken to make it a nice walking experience, separate from the vehicle traffic.  For more of Tortoise's pictures, a map plus additional details, and the day's walking thought by Rosemary Wixom, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!