#DailyWalk 558 Dixie State University Nightcap Double Loop

This one started at 9:44 pm, so I picked a well lit place to do a 4.36 mile double loop of the Dixie State University campus.  It included 218 feet of climbing in 1:16:25, for a tortoise rating of 5.3 and a pace of 17:32.  Year-to-date miles are 177.33 (6.05 ahead of goal) and climbing totals 14,496 feet (714 ahead of goal).

The tortoise is smiling!  Cheerio!

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Mile 831.  Tortoise continued walking upstream along the Virgin River from where he left off yesterday, using Washington Dam Road as an alternate route since the trail has a temporary pause until additional sections are built one day.  The Ragozzines are on their way south for Fall break from school.  It was fun conversing with them by phone as I walked -- even though it was because they got stuck in a traffic jam between Fillmore and Beaver.  Thankfully that passed and they made it the rest of the way without too much further delay. We are at consecutive walking day 452.   Today's 4.38 mile walk was done in 1:21:17 hours, for a pace of 18:34 minutes per mile.  Lou climbed 173 feet, today's tortoise rating was 5.5.  More pictures await below ...

Cheerio! 

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Mile 826.  Lou continued his walk along the Virgin River Trail, this time beginning at the Hell Hole trailhead near the intersection of Telegraph and Washington Parkway in Washington, Utah.  He walked down to the river, then upstream to its end near where Country Lane meets Washington Dam Road. We are at consecutive walking day 451.   Today's 4.31 mile walk was done in 1:27:07 hours, for a pace of 20:13 minutes per mile.  Lou climbed 228 feet, today's tortoise rating was 5.2.  Today's weigh-in:  215.8, a 2.3 pound decrease compared with Lou's last weigh-in on October 12.  More pictures await below ...

Cheerio! 

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Mile 822.  Another tax deadline day.  Tortoise got up early and walked to the city office building and back to start his day. We are at consecutive walking day 450.   Today's 2.14 mile walk was done in 39:26 minutes, for a pace of 18:26 minutes per mile.  Lou climbed 79 feet, today's tortoise rating was 5.4.  More pictures await below ...

Cheerio! 

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Mile 815.  Walking home on a late Friday work night before another uberdeadline on Monday.  Sounds like a good time to tease the Boredom Committee, who must be thinking the ultimate boredom is to have no blog posts to monitor at all.  Fear not, Tortoise is still walking!  This will be a quick highlight post, hopefully Lou will come back and add more details to it sometime in November after the next work deadline on the hallowed eve of All Saints Day.  But if you click to keep reading, Tortoise does have a little more for you ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 745.  More creativity from Tortoise this evening as the welcome rains continue.  He was at the west chapel to help with the special needs activity program, after which, in a pause in the rain, he did laps around sidewalks around outside of the building.  Turned out to be a pretty place to walk!  Thought was provided by Elaine Dalton ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 742.  Lou had his semiannual visit with his oncologist today.  He was humorously told the MI-5 would be pleased, as his PSA held steady at 0.07.  Tortoise continues to be amazed that blood tests can be precise enough to detect 0.07 cells per million.  When he started down this road, post-surgery, the best report he could ever get was "less than 0.1" -- the additional digit of accuracy came in later years.

He is simply happy to have the level, whatever it is, stay the same and not increase.  And he feels good!  Now to find out what his heart doctor will have to say on October 10 ...

Wait a minute!  All you wanted to know was what is that dark picture doing here, and where did Tortoise walk today?  Well ... there was quite a rainstorm in tortoiseland today, so the walk was interesting to say the least.  Lou started by doing laps in his house up and down the stairs in the pattern established a year ago May just coming off bronchitis on day 3 of the current walking streak.

He only made it 4 laps before his sweet lady suggested taking the walk outside and under the overhanging roof.  The view you see above is of that.  After more laps of that, the rain paused long enough for Lou to walk to the school and back.  Just as he returned the rain resumed.  Tortoise finished this walk with more tiny laps under the overhang in his back yard.  

Walking thought was by Tad Callister ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 721.  Lou decided to drive the mile from his office to the Crosby Family Confluence Park trailhead after work and walk up the hill across the river on the Virgin River South trail.  He loves this trail and would walk it even more if it had more hills.  This section does!  

The day's walking thought was by Keith McMullin ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 714.  Today's highlight was the La Verkin Family Discovery Day.   A few hundred people came by and enjoyed historical displays and got to play with the computers and enjoy learning about their families.  There are more pictures here of some of that. 

When everything was cleaned up and put away, Lou was a tired tortoise, but he still got in a two mile, relatively flat walk.  Nothing for the 52 Hike Challenge this day, but a quality walk all the same.  Thought was provided by Tom Perry ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 712.  'Twas the night before Family Discovery Day and all through the church house there were people busily setting up their most interesting displays.  Pictures of those tomorrow!  In the meantime, Lou snuck in a walk doing laps around the grounds during a break.  He just might have been one of those people busily setting up before and after the break, ha!  The fresh air felt good!  Todd Christofferson provided the walking thought of the evening ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 697.  Tortoise went exploring new places to walk this evening.  He started just across the highway from his office, walking up 2600 West as far as 600 North, then turning left down the hill to the Peregrine Pointe neighborhood that is a work in process.  From this turnaround point, Lou returned, following slightly different roads.  He was accompanied by the thoughts of Neil Andersen ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 690.  Floryne is in the midst of walking 80 miles between now and her 80th birthday a few months from now.  Her planned adventure today was to purposely park a mile or so away from Peach Days, then walk in to see the exhibits and hug her great-grandchildren.  Tortoise started out from his office a half hour or so ahead of that with the idea of meeting her at her starting point and walking the last stretch with her.  This plan went well until shelter needed to be sought under a tree from a sudden downpour.  Willyne wound up providing a ride from that point.  It was nice while it lasted!  The walking thought along the highway was provided by Dieter Uchtdorf and might have some interest to Darin and other astronomers (or thinkers in general) who happen upon it ...

Cheerio!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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Mile 593.  Clouds were gathering as Tortoise began to walk to Davis Farmer's Market to get some napkins and onions that were forgotten on the trip to the store earlier in the day.  He decided to go the most direct route, up 100 West, across the highway at the Center Street signal, and then along the sidewalk up the highway to the store.  Normally Lou meanders to pick up hills, but there was none of that today.  On the way back, along the same route, he was glad for his choice as it began to rain.  He got a little wet, but the big downpour came soon after his walk was complete.  This evening's thought was by Richard Edgley ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 591.  Such a glorious walk!  Tortoise was joined by seven of his grandchildren, plus Fredericksen, Wounded Duck, and Darin on a walk down La Verkin Creek from the Confluence Trail to the Virgin River.  Just upstream on the Virgin River is a sizable sandbar that Lou's grandchildren think is the greatest island playground around!  

After two lovely hours the happy crew returned home.  That walk was 1.6 miles, so Tortoise did a supplemental walk "around the block" to the nearest ballfield and back so that he would complete at least two miles for the day.  On that one, he was accompanied by thoughts from David Bednar ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 575.  Nothing like a hometown Pioneer Day parade to bring out folks for a pancake breakfast and water games on a warm morning!  Tortoise walked to the parade start, then up the hill and over to Wanlass Park to the activities there, and then back home.  A thought was provided by Robert Hales ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 524.  Tortoise was a little tired this morning after a fun 4th, and limited his morning walk to a round trip trek up Main Street to the point shown above near the city offices.  He enjoyed the beautiful morning and the thoughts of Thomas Monson ...

Cheerio!