May trails

 May is the best non-fall month for trails, and after a long winter and other setbacks, I was finally able to get some of my favorite trail moments this week.

On Tuesday, I went on an evening run up Mueller Park, my first time there since October. Because of all the runoff, there was lots of water. There's a small bridge near Elephant Rock, and the water was flowing directly over it. So I had to get my feet wet. I've been going there for eight years, and I've never seen that before.

Cutleaf balsamroot

Then Thursday, I headed to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, which is convenient, but it's not my first choice. However, right now is absolutely the best time of year for that trail because of this little field below the radio towers. There's a field of fragrant Palmer's penstemon. It's amazing! I have taken this picture many times. And I saw on the news this week that someone else had taken a picture of it. I saw it and thought, "I know exactly where that is!"

Then yesterday, after my dad's birthday celebration, I went on a seven-mile evening run up my favorite, North Canyon. Even though it's been seven months, it was still easy, and I was able to go on autopilot, since I've been there so much. It really is a perfect trail: shade, relatively easy but still a little bit of a challenge, not too busy, variety of plants. I just adore it.

heartleaf arnica

This is after Rudy's Flat. I didn't plan on going past Rudy's because I assumed it would have snow, and I was right.

Also this week, I have continued to think about images for my Pioneer Day article. In 1947, there was a group that recreated the 1847 pioneer trek, but WWII prevented the logistical planning for a wagon trek. Instead, they used automobiles with fake wagon covers and fiberglass oxen. The Sons of Utah Pioneers published a book about it in 1948, and I bought a copy of the book from the Book Garden a couple of years ago. (Hooray for local bookstores!) It has this fantastic picture of nuns in Nauvoo posing with one of the "oxen" before the "pioneers" left.

But it's a little grainy in this 1948 book, so I didn't know if I would be able to use it in my article. But luckily, I have a cubicle at the Church History Library. The catalog has a collection of photographs from the "centennial caravan," so I called them up to my desk. And I found the original nun picture! So I made a better scan of it, and I submitted the paperwork to see if I can include it in my article. (It's not necessarily the most relevant picture, but I just love it so much.)

Also this week, I encountered this old picture of me from 2006. I can't decide what's most different about me between then and now: the age, the posture, the weight, the glasses, or *shudders* the bottled water. 😬

I can't help but feel sad for that super weird kid, who had convinced himself that everyone hated him and still hoped that one day he would like girls