"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!


Wednesday, August 31, 2016

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Mile 684.  Here's looking at the start of Tortoise's sunset walk, looking west near his office.  He then headed east through the adjoining neighborhood, joining the sidewalk adjacent to State Road 9 from 2000 until 1760 West.  Lou then walked south on 1760 to its junction with the looping and misspelled Rlington Parkway at 400 South.  This evening's loop was completed by climbing the hill along said meandering parkway until reaching 150 South.

Upon Tortoise's return to 2600 West and the impending completion of his walk at almost exactly three miles, he impulsively added a little more by walking the nearby 100 South cul-de-sac before calling it good.  His experience was enhanced this evening by a walking thought by Jose Alonso.  There is also a bonus feature, an attempt at a list of shaded walking places requested by reader @valianne.  Tortoise enjoys responding to reader requests ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

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Mile 681.  It was 101 degrees at quitting time today, warm enough that Tortoise wanted to find a walking place that was a little shaded and mostly flat.  He chose the Virgin River trailhead at the Sullivan Soccer Park on Washington Fields Road as his starting point.  Lou walked round trip from there to the new "Hell Hole" trailhead.  He got his hill in all at once in a 12% grade near that new trailhead.  It actually isn't new, but the sign is.  

It was a nice walk, you'll enjoy the pictures and Thomas Monson's walking thought ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 29, 2016

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Mile 678.  Lou took a late lunch hour after visiting with a client near Hurricane's center point.  He parked his car a short distance from the city park and set out on a loop route  ending near the cool green scene you see above.  Most of the way was not so cool -- 99 degrees.  Tortoise likes the benefits of the free sauna [smiles].  Walking thought today was by Whitney Clayton ...

Cheerio!

Saturday, August 27, 2016

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Mile 674.  Tortoise dedicates today's highlighted picture to Kate.  She will know why.  Lou closed out his walking week by going to the west end of La Verkin's Center Street, then dropping down the Cactus Cliff trail so he could get a hill by climbing back up.  The island in the river has not reappeared yet, but patience!  Tortoise is confident it will.  After the hill, Lou meandered on various streets to make his way home, picking up some nice sunset views along the way.  Walking thought was by Barbara Thompson ...

Cheerio!

Friday, August 26, 2016

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Mile 671.  The sign has been unveiled at the State Road 9 trailhead into Confluence Park.  A good reason for Tortoise to return!  He saw three deer hanging on to the cliff high above the muddy, debris filled Virgin River following this afternoon's thunderstorm.  The deer were doing fine.  Tortoise watched them in amazement at their climbing ability.  After that he listened to a fine thought by Richard Scott and took more pictures ...

Cheerio!

Thursday, August 25, 2016

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Mile 667.  Here's a view on the continuation of the Highland Trail on the Washington Black Ridge past the neighborhood park.  Lou succeeded in completing the walk he cut short on August 10, although there were still interesting looking clouds moving his way that brought rain and lightning a little later.  The trail shown above continues until it reaches the Coral Canyon Trail near the water tank visible on the adjacent Interstate 15.  Tortoise then completed the look by taking the Western Ledge Trail to its end and then following Coral Canyon neighborhood sidewalks back to his waiting car.  He's included a map along with more pictures and the walking thought by Elaine Dalton ...

Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

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Mile 664.  Lou has wanted to walk the Owens Loop trail for probably a year now, since he discovered its existence in the rugged terrain of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, yet within the St. George city limits and the promise of excellent views from its perch 300 or so feet directly above the city.  It did not disappoint!

Pictures and the day's walking thought by Mary Cook await ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

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Mile 661.  Once again Tortoise is thankful that healing rains are blessing his valley.  The rain itself wouldn't deter him, but the lightning is another matter, so he kept his walk to a minimum two miles.  There's still some nice pictures, and a thought by Ann Dibb  ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 22, 2016

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Mile 659 was walked a little past the top of this hill above the office this afternoon.  The 12% slope provided a hearty workout while listening to a thought by Thomas Monson ...

Cheerio!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

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Mile 656.  Tortoise walked back to work today, after getting some bonus exercise clearing weeds from where he is standing up as far as ... where you can see the weeds he didn't complete yet.  Walking thought was by Thomas Monson ...

Cheerio!

Friday, August 19, 2016

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Mile 651 .  It's a beautiful evening!  Let's walk home from work! Up and down the hills of Hurricane's 600 North Street, accompanied by a thought by Neil Andersen and later by some very high quality tunes (at least Tortoise thought they were) ...

Cheerio!

Thursday, August 18, 2016

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Mile 646.  Tortoise completed his circuitous route home late this evening, enjoying a beautiful sunset along the way.  His walk in the La Verkin hills came after the drive was complete   Walking thought was by Paul Pieper ...

Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

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Mile 643.  After the day's work was complete, Tortoise started for home on a longer, alternate route because the Blue Cut fire closed down a major stretch of Interstate 15 yesterday.  The alternate put Lou on Interstate 10, so he made the best of it by getting off at Exit 110 near Cabazon where the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) passes underneath the busy freeway at mile 209.5 of the trail's journey from Mexico to Canada.  Tortoise parked his car on the ample dirt shoulder of the frontage road near the freeway exit, and started walking south on the trail to the secluded village of Snow Creek, where he started his last PCT walk on May 12.  Come enjoy the pictures he took along the way there and back, as well as the walking thought by David Evans ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

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Mile 638.  This afternoon Lou found himself leaving Orange County on his way to Rancho Cucamonga.  Along the way, he stopped and walked miles 22 and 23 of the Santa Ana River trail in both directions.  He has now completed it from the ocean inland as far as where Yorba Linda Blvd. becomes Weir Canyon Rd.  And the river actually has water in it!  The day's walking thought was by Larry Wilson ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 15, 2016

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Mile 635.  Greetings from MacArthur Park at Wilshire and Alvarado in the Westlake district just west of Koreatown in central Los Angeles.  Traffic was agreeable, helping Tortoise arrive for his appointments sufficiently early to enjoy an abbreviated 2 mile and change walk to the park and back before they started.  Walking thought this afternoon was provided by Vincent Haleck ...

Cheerio!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

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Mile 632.  Let's walk back to work in the relative cool of the morning!  Here's a view at the 3 mile mark looking at the remaining walk down Hurricane's 400 South Street and the hill to climb beyond that.  Tortoise enjoyed himself!  Today's thought is by Russell Ballard ...

Cheerio!

Friday, August 12, 2016

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Mile 627.  It was beautiful, clear, and 98 degrees sunny at 7 pm this evening.  Wounded Duck was en route from the land northward for a visit and due to arrive at 8:30.  Tortoise sent him a text and set off for home for the first time from his new Hurricane workplace, to enjoy the beauty and to see if he could make it in time to greet Duck upon his arrival.  The picture above shows the view after the first mile.  Walking thought was by Tom Perry ...

Cheerio!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

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Mile 622.  Let's continue exploring places to walk near Tortoise's new offices!  Today Lou started with the same access to the St. George trail system, by climbing to the top of the hill near his office, then looping around to the trail entrance at the intersection of Bluff Street, Black Ridge Drive, and Main Street.  After walking down the Hilton Drive trail, the new feature of today's walk was to turn right on the Santa Clara River trail instead of left.  He continued on that as far as 600 West, then used city streets to return to his waiting parked car.  You'll like the pictures, and the accompanying thought by Thomas Monson ...

Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

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Mile 618.  After work, Tortoise found himself in Washington City running errands.  There had been a downpour in the afternoon, and looked like there would be more, so Lou found himself high ground to walk on rather than the river trail that was calling his name.  He took the "Mt. Everest/Cardiac Arrest" trail starting on Coral Canyon Dr. just off Telegraph.  The trail quickly climbs to the top of the ridge, after which Tortoise continued on the paved Highland trail which becomes an unpaved trail past the park.  When he had walked a little over a mile, the clouds became more intense and lightning in the distance pronounced.  Lou cut his planned walk short and hastily retraced his steps without getting wet and was thankful for safe passage!  Today's thought was by Todd Christofferson ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

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Mile 615.  Lou finished his work day a little early at 4 pm, when he got his hair cut.  In between that and a 7 pm church meeting, he took advantage of the clear skies and free sauna weather and did a walk up the first mile and three-quarters of the Hurricane Cliffs trail loop towards Gould's Wash.  He had great fun with his camera, mostly pointing it in every direction from the top, and also enjoyed the walking thought by Julie Beck ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 8, 2016

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Mile 612.  This evening's walk took Tortoise up the hill, then looped around to the Hilton Road Trail followed by small pieces of the Santa Clara River and Virgin River Trails, then back, finishing with another hill.  Lots of sweat on this one, as it was still 100 degrees past 7 pm.  Today's thought was by Ronald Rasband ...

Cheerio!

Saturday, August 6, 2016

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Mile 608.   It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning after the various evening thunderstorms this week.  Tortoise has been eyeing the knoll towering over his new Hurricane office for some time, which he has now learned is called Sullivan Knoll.  He decided today would be a good day, not necessarily to climb it, but to go up and down the various residential streets, get in some hills, and see if he could find the trail up.  Most of the streets simply end in a fence.

He did find the access and once he did, found it was reasonably within the length of his typical walks.  You can see it on the map below after all the pictures from the top and along the way.  It is a fine walk, but if you do it, be sure to take good walking sticks.  The grades up reach 22% and down are 24%.  Mix in small loose rocks on the trail, and you'll want those sticks! 

The views from the top are unobstructed in every direction, and worth the effort!  Today Tortoise was accompanied by a walking thought by Russell Nelson ...

Cheerio!

Friday, August 5, 2016

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Mile 605.  Tortoise found some sparkly lights to brighten his late night walk around a couple of La Verkin's hills.  He was accompanied by a Dieter Uchtdorf thought on mercy ...

Cheerio!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

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Mile 602.  Lou is experimenting with a panorama shot, composed from 3 pictures shown later taken at the turnaround point of this evening's walk from Tortoise's new Hurricane office.  (He splits his time between new offices in Hurricane and St. George, and also occasionally visiting clients in their locations.)  The walking thought was by Thomas Monson ...

Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

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Mile 600.  More storm clouds this evening.  Tortoise responded by doing a quick mile loop up the hill from his St. George office.  Then, when the rain hadn't quite started, he did it a second time.  That loop he finished just in time before the deluge began.  Walking thought was provided by Henry Eyring ...

Cheerio!

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

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Mile 598.  Tortoise got some colorful pictures of the sunset enhanced clouds while climbing up the hill after work.  Lou is now dividing his time between an office in Hurricane and one in St. George.  Change is hard after 15 years working in one place, but hey, there will be new places to walk!  

The thought this evening was by Dieter Uchtdorf ...

Cheerio!

Monday, August 1, 2016

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Mile 595.  This evening was the third consecutive with a hard downpour of rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning.  Lou started his walk by going back and forth in the short hallway between rooms A, B, and C in suite 4; his new Hurricane office being in room C.  After 15 minutes, the rain stopped, and Tortoise ventured outside for the rest of his walk, exploring nearby hills, and getting a fun picture with sunset on the right and rain on the left.  All of this, plus the day's walking thought by Adrian Ochoa ...

Cheerio!