16-30

Mile 72.  Here's looking at the still snowy mountains beyond the ball fields near the two mile mark of Tortoise's walk this afternoon.  Same route as yesterday, but sunny and warmer at 61 degrees.  Lou worked up a good sweat even in his shirtsleeves.  He still maintained a brisk pace, but couldn't keep up with what he did yesterday.  Walking thought was by Boyd Packer ...

Cheerio!

16-29

Mile 69.  Tortoise added a little more to today's walk.  When he got to the middle school health clinic, Lou continued down the hill to 300 North before turning to climb the 200 West hill and return to his office.  He managed to do this while taking a minute and change off yesterday's time.  It was Lou's second 5k walk of 2016, and he did this one in his fastest pace yet, 14:35 minutes per mile.  In this way he is increasing his workout, while keeping his time in the 40-49 minute target range he is looking for this year.  The walking thought was by Henry Eyring ...

Cheerio!

16-28

Mile 66.  Lou did pretty much the same walk as yesterday, but started at dusk instead of 8-ish.  That meant he walked in shirt sleeves in the relative warmth of 54 degrees rather than heavily bundled head to toe as he was last night.  He did add a little more of the parking lot near the family medical clinic adjacent to the middle school.  The day's walking thought is by David Bednar ...

Cheerio!

16-27

Mile 63.  Tortoise ventured out into the starry 43 degree night, after a full day verifying the accuracy of W-2 forms for folks most anxious to receive them, and was rewarded with a sense of serenity and stillness along with a view of the twinkling lights of the valley, seen atop his usual hill climb from the office.  Tonight's walking thought was by Edward Dube ...

Cheerio!

16-26

Mile 60.  Tortoise enjoyed the moon this evening over his usual pathway up the hill.  Cooler this evening at 39 degrees, but although the wind was present, it was not the factor it was last night.  Lou bundled up, kept the pace moderate, and got his walk done.  Tonight's walking thought is by Carole Stephens ...

Cheerio!

16-25

Mile 57.  It was a windy night in old H-Town tonight, which made it feel cooler than the 42 degrees it was at walk time.  Tortoise stuck to the well-lit, and calmer, highway rather than climb the hill directly into the wind.  The evening's walking thought was by Ulisses Soares ...

Cheerio!

16-23

Mile 54.  Lou found him some new hills to climb.  His doctor would be very happy, as his heart, lungs, and arteries all feel like superscrubbers went in and cleaned house.  Tortoise even went a little further than he intended ... his usual pattern is to go 20 minutes, maybe one or two more as a bonus, and then do the same the other direction.  Today, he had his phone on power saver mode, which meant he couldn't see the screen well enough to do anything (including to take it off power saver mode).  In his exuberance, he wound up going 25 minutes before turning around.  So the good doctor is even happier.  Today's walking thought is by Robert Hales ...

Cheerio!

16-22

Mile 51.  Tortoise essentially repeated yesterday's walk, but then, no two days are ever the same even if one goes to the same places and does many of the same things.  Just look at that vista!

Lou quickened his pace this evening, for the second time in 2016, he managed to average under 15 minutes per mile.  It was a good walk, accompanied by a thought by Henry Eyring ...

Cheerio!

16-21

Mile 48.  Today's twist on the walk up the hill from Tortoise's office.  Lou went as far as the driveway into the middle school off of 600 North, went down to the access road off of 200 West, then went back up to finish a "middle school loop" before retracing his steps the rest of the way home.  Perhaps it will be clearer when you look at the map later on in this post.  The day's walking thought is by Linda Burton ...

Cheerio!

16-20

Mile 45.  This evening after finishing work in the office and then errands in St. George, Tortoise parked his car near the hospital and climbed up Foremaster hill, down the other side and a little more ... then turned around and climbed the hill the other way.  Lots of heavy breathing on this one.  The walking thought is by Bonnie Oscarson ...

Cheerio!

16-19

Mile 43.  It was a cool, misty afternoon.  Vastly different than the brilliant clouds of the day before.  Tortoise has had weary muscles for perhaps a week now, and the weather seemed as good an excuse as any to slow things down just a touch.  Turned out to be most enjoyable!  Maybe it was the singing part way through Rosemary Wixom's walking thought.  And also the cheery lights and welcoming brook through the rocks along the way, as shown above ...

Cheerio!

16-18

Mile 40.  Tortoise repeated last Thursday's walk.  It took him about an extra minute today, in spite of the fact that the weather is gradually getting nicer ... low 50s and no wind as 6 pm approached.  The shorter walks at a quicker pace and higher average climbs are pushing Lou more than the longer walks did last fall.  It is interesting to see how he deals with the varied physical challenges each day brings.

The day's walking thought is by Todd Christofferson ...

Cheerio!

16-16

Mile 37.  Tortoise did a nice sunset walk up and down the hills along La Verkin's east bench, while listening to the day's walking thought by Marcos Aidukaitis ...

Cheerio!

16-15

Mile 34.  Tortoise took his sweetie's car to Roadrunner to replace its brake pads.  When it was time to pick up the car, he dropped off his car, drove hers home, then walked back to get his.  Of course, he took a meandering path to do this!  This evening's walking thought was by Michael John U. Teh ...

Cheerio!

16-14

Mile 31.  Tortoise repeated his walk of two days ago, then passed a few more houses at the end before turning back the way he came.  He also slowed down just a touch ... some days he gets more oxygen in each breath than others, ha!  Today's walking thought is by Lawrence Corbridge ...

Cheerio!

16-13

Mile 28.  Tortoise had a late afternoon errand to do in Washington today, after which he parked at the trailhead just south of the intersection of Telegraph and Washington Parkway, and walked down, down, down to the Cottonwood Wash trail.  He walked up the length of that trail, about a mile, and then retraced his steps.  This produced a walk with many ups and downs, with grades reaching 9%.  Sounds good to Lou!  The day's walking thought is by L. Tom Perry ...

Cheerio!

16-12

Mile 26.  The snow lingers in the mountains, but what a warm, beautiful afternoon for a walk it was!  OK, it was only the mid 40s, but it felt great to Tortoise!  Lou repeated yesterday's walk, and added a short distance around the corner at the turn around point.  He is starting to move at a nice pace, perhaps his doctor is pleased with his increased heart rate along the way.  Today's walking thought is by William Walker ...

Cheerio!

16-11

Mile 23.  The snow is hanging on in the mountains, making for a fine view of Zion along the path up Tortoise's usual hill today.  Walking thought is by Boyd Packer ...

Cheerio!

16-9

Mile 20.  Lou thinks this isn't a picture you'll see in St. George every day ...

Nor this one in La Verkin:

It's what you get after a week of clouds and moisture, and we are thankful for it!  Made for beautiful walking conditions, so Tortoise found him a nice steep hill to climb and went to work on it.  The day's walking thought is by Thomas Monson ...

Cheerio!

16-8

Mile 17.  Tortoise quiz of the day:  Where is Lou standing to take this picture and what direction is he facing?  Hint:  The Pine Valley Mountains tower 6,500 feet over the hills in the horizon, yet are entirely shrouded by the clouds.

This and other pictures were taken along the way up the hill from Lou's office.  The day's walking thoughts are by David Bednar and Thomas Monson, followed by some moving tunes ...

Cheerio!

16-7

Mile 15.  A snowy day most of the day.  It calmed down a little in time for Tortoise to walk up the hill, accompanied by a walking thought by Gary E. Stevenson ...

Cheerio!

16-6

Mile 12.  Tortoise is continuing to catch up on posts from past days when walks happened but writing didn't.  This one is from January 6, 2016.   This entire valley is thankful for the slow, steady moisture we have been receiving.  Lou happily bundles up and heads up the hill after work.  Today's walking thought is by Jean Stevens ...

Cheerio!

16-5

Mile 10.  Tortoise is continuing to catch up on posts from past days when walks happened but writing didn't.  This one is from January 5, 2016.  Happy birthday, my sweet!  

This walk was a quick night loop up LaVerkin's east hill while Lou's lady was helping with the Young Women.   The walking thought has a charming personal example of the benefits of consistent, persistent, follow-up.  It's worth clicking on the link to give it a listen ...

Cheerio!

16-4

Mile 7.  Tortoise is not quite ready to let go of his favorite relaxing Christmas instrumentals, so he listened to a few, after the day's walking thought by Dieter Uchtdorf, as he took a short spur for just a moment up the East Cinder Knoll trail to get a little more altitude.  This was after walking to the credit union and then up the hill to the phone towers on 600 North and back to the office.  Lou took  a couple pictures too ...

Cheerio!

16-2

Mile 5.  Tortoise did what he suspects will become a regular walk of this year, see how far up the hill he can get from his office in roughly 20 minutes, then retrace his steps.  There may not be pictures every time, but hey, if you blink twice you might miss the latest house to be built along the way ...

Walking thought is by Thomas Monson ...

Cheerio!

16-1

Mile 3.  Tortoise started his walking new year by getting a ride to the office for a half day of work, then walking home in the waning portion of a bright, clear, crisp afternoon.  Lou has some ideas about what he wants to do this year, and there is a walking thought by Henry Eyring ...

Cheerio!