15-292

Mile 847.  The good Lord really is quite the artist, one who plays with the lighting along with hues of dirt, rocks, trees, clouds, and anything else He can find.  Let's highlight here this moment, there the next.  Please click below and see for yourself ...

Cheerio!

The clouds are dramatic enough, beyond that it had been a somewhat
dark afternoon that seemed would blend right into night

Same spot, atop a hill, looking different directions

OK, let's add a little touch of light just above the Pine Valley mountains

Now a little more up above Toquerville in the distance

Wow, where did that come from?

For the moment, it's all in what direction you look.

And then a moment later, there is a light show in every direction!

And the finale to the west.  Very nice!

Today's route

It goes without saying that Lou took all these pictures on today's walk, which was 4.26 miles, with a 4.8 tortoise rating earned by climbing 196 feet in the 1.46 mile uphill portion.  Average elevation was 3304.  This walk burned 627 calories.

Weigh-in:  224.9.  This was a 1.2 pound decrease from Lou's last weigh-in on October 13.  He made up about half his gain of the previous week or so, if he does it again, he'll be back to his low point from September 30 and be ready to continue on his slow journey to take sacks of pebbles off his frame and into the jar.  Fredricksen will enjoy that analogy ...

Lou also completed a post from earlier in the year on April 27 in his continuing effort to catch the blog up with his walks.  Please click here to read all about it.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2015

847.88 miles walked which is 84.62% of Lou's 2015 goal.  On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 832.04 miles.

260:04:16 hours walked which is 83.09% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year).

45,029 total feet climbed, compared with 40,369 feet on this day in 2014.

127,124 calories burned.

79.87% of the year has passed.

Lou has walked 138 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11.  Overall he has walked on 241 of the 250 non-Sundays in 2015, a 96.40% consistency rating.  This compares with 237 days walked in the same period in 2014 (a 94.80% consistency rating).

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of both distancce and of 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.  (If you doubt this, compare Tortoise's walking record up until 2013 with 2014 or 2015 ... for him, it is what it takes to be consistent.  He hopes you find what works for you).

And now for today's walking thought ...

"At the commencement of the Savior's earthly ministry in Israel and later among the Nephites, the Savior addressed the issue of happiness both in this life and in eternity.  He stressed ordinances, but He also placed great emphasis on moral behavior.  For example, disciples would be blessed if they would hunger and thirst after righteousness, be merciful, be pure in heart, be peacemakers, and follow other basic moral principles.  Clearly, our Lord Jesus Christ emphasized, as a foundational doctrinal message, both righteous attitudes and conduct in day-to-day living.  His teachings not only replaced and transcended elements of the law of Moses but also were a rejection of the false philosophies of men.

"For many centuries the gospel of Jesus Christ has inspired beliefs and established standards of conduct as to what is righteous, desirable, and moral and results in happiness, felicity, and joy.  However, the principles and basic morality the Savior taught are under serious attack in today's world.  Christianity is under attack.  Many believe that what is moral has basically changed."

-- Quentin L. Cook, Shipshape and Bristol Fashion:  Be Temple Worthy In Good Times and Bad Times", October 2015 LDS General Conference

The tortoise is smiling!