Picto Diary - 27 to 31 May 2022 - Kessler Family Visit to Ivins

Above: Toe Trail, Snow Canyon State Park, Washington County, UT. 27 May 2022.

Above: Grandpa and Roy. Gunlock State Park, Washington County, UT. 28 May 2022.

Above: Pool Rats. Ivins, UT. 29 May 2022.

Above: Ivins, UT. 29 May 2022.

Climbing the Jerusalem Thorn tree.

Above: Bird of Paradise. Ivins, UT. 29 May 2022.

Ivins sits on the edge of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. At 3100 feet of elevation, the town sits too high to grow indigenously many of the desert succulents, trees and bushes native to the lower parts of the desert. Notwithstanding, much lower desert flora will grow in Ivins' climate if transplanted. The landscaping in our Ivins housing development is prolific with imported desert plants and succulents. As I walk through Ivins I use the "Picture This" app on my smartphone to identify the plants. Learning about desert plants adds a welcome dimension to our second home experience that I hadn't anticipated.

Above: Ivins, UT. Memorial Day. 30 May 2022.

US citizens are in a small minority of all humans to have lived in a period of individual freedom and prosperity. This condition is made possible by many who have sacrificed their lives to preserve the constitutionally based limited government framework that enables liberty. Today we honor those who have sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedom.

The US Constitution is the first form of government in world history designed to protect inalienable rights of humans as opposed to all other forms of government which establish accountability of humans to government. This paradigm of protected individual freedom has underpinned America becoming the greatest country in the history of the world.

Americans' rights are threatened today not so much by external military menace, though that is there, but by an alternative government ideology accepted by a growing number of Americans that foretells planetary doom if the peoples of the world are allowed untrammeled access to the world's resources. Implicit in this new ideology (a veiled form of Socialism) is that more rules enforced by a stronger central authority are required to save the earth from extinction. I feel a sense of responsibility these days to dedicate personal and financial resources to causes that militate against any ideology that seeks to undermine individual freedom. In this way perhaps I can honor, if not match, the ultimate sacrifices of those who gave their lives for the same cause.

Lest we forget.

PS. One of the reasons I could never be a Democrat is their wholesale denial of science across multiple fronts.

Above: Mom's and Dad's resting place. Provo, UT Cemetery. 30 May 2022.

A necessary stop on the way home from Ivins to Park City.

Dad worked for the Office of Price Administration during WWII. He traveled throughout the state of Utah as OPA's rep charged with enforcement of price and rationing regulations. His toes were truncated when they froze while doing milk deliveries for his family dairy farm, so he couldn't serve in the military. But, he did his part for the war effort. I consider him a Veteran.

Above: Provo Peak, Utah County, UT. 31 May 2022.

Late season snow. 18 inches at 11K feet.

Look. I'm not a scientist. I don't know if the earth is cooling or not. But just in case it is, shouldn't we do something?