Big Springs Traipse

I need to explain why I'm using the word traipse so often recently. During November while riding in the car together, Mark, Shannon and Whitney where introduced to a new word, traipse.
Even Mark had never heard of it and didn't know what it meant. I can't imagine, but I'm getting on in years. Now, whenever I went for a walk or hiking Mark would say, "Going out for a traipse, eeeh?" He's a funny dude.

I was feeling low Sunday afternoon, after Christmas, after Mark went into the MTC, after getting to talk to Brad on Skype a few days earlier and Bob suggest we go up to Big Springs. He was sick with bronchitis but was willing to walk up a bit. He eventually made it up to the meadow. I was so happy that the sun was still hitting the east side of Cascade Mountain. Light is everything when it comes to photos.

Snowy Walk

Once it begins snowing here in northern Utah then the mountain biking slows down. I begin to traipse on "snowy walks" on the single track up to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. I love the built-in playground just outside my door. When there's enough snow in the "dirt hill" area I can go cross country skiing. I love when someone will join me.

Golfing Buddies

Golf is great for taking one's mind off of set backs and rejection. There's nothing like a little white ball to keep you humble and distracted from discouragement on preparation day. The golf ball is magical. It can either invigorate you when it rolls on the green towards the hole or deflate you as it flies in reverse over your head during that chip shot.

Great Britain is the mother of golf and Australia must be its offspring. Here Bradley is golfing with the ward mission leader in a photo posted January 2013. This mission leader provided amazing and energetic support.

Here is a photo of my father's mission companions golfing in Rockhampton QLD, Australia circa 1958. 

Jim Hillyard took the photo. I've discovered that my father was a good hobby photographer. He has some excellent photos from his mission and later purchased a Super8 film camera when it was the newest technology. It follows that as an IBM salesman later he was one of the first to bring home a personal PC. This personal computer I took to Brigham Young University my freshman year, 1983. Even fifty years later my dad has an iPhone 5, iPad and Dell laptop computer. He's 78 years old and no one needs to teach this old dog to create folder and capture screen--even if he did his son, Paul, and son-in-law, Bob Smith, would be on hand to assist with technical difficulties.