Picto Diary - 11 to 20 July 2021 - LT Breakdown
Above: Chicks (species?) on side of tree at rest stop on I-15 near Cedar City, UT. 11 July 2021.
Above: F350 read out. Ivins, UT. 11 August 2021.
Above: Elk, Guzzi and Bishop. Cedar City, UT. 12 July 2021.
Out and about on the LT.
Breakdown.
Takedown.
You're busted.
Bike locked into 4th gear after riding 40 miles northward from St. George, UT on 1 15. Was able to nurse the bike another ten miles to the first available exit. Called trusty, reliable AAA, the motorist's best investment. $175 annually for RV towing insurance... five tows for up to 150 miles. Who wouldn't buy this coverage?
Guzzi rode on home to Park City and Elk followed me in the tow truck back. fifty miles, to Ivins. Richard, 65, and former Iron County government employee, was the tow truck driver. But for a two year LDS mission in Missouri, he had spent his whole life in Cedar City. We both agreed, for many reasons, that Utah was a good place to live. One of the most important reasons for Richard liking Utah was that Utahns, generally, are not ass holes and are willing to cooperate with one another to solve problems. He's not wrong.
Above: Pine Valley LDS Chapel and Pine Valley Gorge. Pine Valley, UT. 12 July 2021.
Out and about in the (borrowed) F350. Accompanied by Elk.
Oldest functioning LDS church. Built by pioneer settlers in 1873. Elk and docent, Sister Snow, in second floor chapel. Despite Bishop's claim to be fully qualified organist, Sister Snow, did not accept Bishop's offer to play a hymn on the antique pedal organ. Sister Snow married to direct, lineal great-grandson of Erastus Snow, brother to Lorenzo Snow, fifth LDS prophet, from 1898 to 1901. Tree shot is from Pine Valley Gorge. Lumber to build the Pine Valley Chapel came from this gorge, which also provided lumber for the pipe organ in the tabernacle in Salt Lake City on Temple Square. Sister Snow said the organ lumber was hewn in sawmills nearby. "There's plenty of wood in the Wasatch Mountains closer to Salt Lake City," I noted. "Why did they come all the way south to Pine Valley to get wood for the pipe organ framing," I asked? Sister Snow replied that the pines in the gorge (see image) were known to be the straightest trees in the west. Because they grew deep in the gorge, they only had so much sunlight, so they grew straight and tall to seek the light. In the tree/gorge image, zoom on the white spec in the northwest corner... that spec is the Pine Valley Chapel.
Above: Monument. Mountain Meadows Massacre. Mountain Meadows. Iron County, UT. 12 July 2021.
Out and about in the (borrowed) F350).
Note Arkansas state flag flying, over Utah soil, under the US flag. I'm half way through my second reading of Juanita Brooks' highly acclaimed book "Mountain Meadows Massacre." There is no excuse for the evil perpetrated on the Fancher party... but, these days we are prone to make judgements about past behavior based on current norms. There is context to this massacre that needs to be appreciated before passing any kind of judgement on those events in 1857. Just sayin'.
Note: I'll save future commentary for my upcoming book review on Juanita Brooks, "Mountain Meadows Massacre."
Above: Riders on the storm. Ivins, UT. 12 July 2021.
Above: Ivins, UT. 13 July 2021.
Good morning Ivins!
Note: No entries 14 and 15 July.
Above: North 40. Park City, UT. 16 July 2021
Deux Magots walkers. Fountain provides access for both two legged and four legged dogs.
North 40 loop via Rail Trail start and finish at Wasatch Bagel. 4.2 miles.
Note: No entries 17 and 18 July.
Above: LSDM field trip to Twisted Branch Road. Park City, UT. 19 July 2021.
Developer/advocate Mark Fischer wonders why, from the Montage Hotel to the top of Empire Pass, approximately one mile, a narrow (15 feet) road with drop severe, barrier free, drop offs, is used as UT SR 224 in lieu of the parallel Twisted Branch road, which fully conforms to UDOT specs.
Here, Fischer leads an LSDM field trip to Twisted Branch Road in anticipation of his LSDM presentation on topic on 21 July 2021.
Above: Flaming Gorge, UT. 20 July 2021.
LSDM Riders and Drivers
Combustible Chasm Lake. 2021 Ducati Multistrada, 2002 HD, 2016 Ferrari California T, 2016 Jaguar F Type.
— with James Colburn at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.