The Mountain Top Wedding

The phone rang... "Hi McKenna, what's up?" we began...."Mom, Dad, what are you doing Tuesday night around 6pm?" she said excitedly.  "Looks like we are free, why?".  "Ok, you need to just go to the Provo airport and find this building and wait for us."  

We were filled with questions but could sense the twinkle in her eye through the phone. We hung up, looked at each other and wondered out loud...."What in the world is up?"  We knew it was something very different and something very big!  We couldn't wait.

Fast foward, we arrive and McKenna shows up in her wedding dress and Aaron is in his military dress blues.  His parents show up as well!  Then a thin smartly dressed man in a suit comes out of the building and beckons us in and out onto the tarmac.  He opens the large hangar door and wheels out a 7 passenger helocoper.  We start whooping and hollering.... !  What the heck.....??  He tells us to get in and we put on our headphones.  He asks McKenna to put on her favorite playlist on her iPhone.  The first song is "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel.  My favorite song.....  He talks quickly and quietly through the headphones to ground control, starts the engine and then lifts off.....!  Yes, completely crazy.  

We haven't even finished pinching ourselves before he starts exploring Y mountain and Mt. Timpanogas.  

He played along the mountain ridges and then dove down into the snow capped bowls and then stopped still hovering and then opened the side door!  I was petrified.... I looked over and felt things clench deep down!  It was incredibly scary and exciting at the same time.  

He took enormous pleasure in helping feel a few extra G forces!  This was not your normal 30 min tourist heli ride.  This was a man on a mission to create an amazing experience and part one he nailed!

Can you believe it?  I still don't.

 

After about 20 minutes he found this little outcropping and landed his beautiful machine.  

We got out and looked around at the incredible view of Provo, BYU and Utah Lake.  The sun was setting and it was golden.  The weather was perfect.  

He found a little place and then performed the marriage ceremony.  They said yes and kissed. 

And yes... we cried and were so happy for them.  What a setting!

Is there anything that can compare to this?  We could have spend a lot of money on something else that wouldn't have even come close to this.  All they really wanted was to tie the knot at the county clerk due the big trip they would be making to the middle east for a special project.  They needed to be married first, temple came later.... as planned.

The view was unreal.  We stayed for a few more minutes basking in nature, in beauty, in the splendor of this wonderful union.  Our little girl just got married!  

Was the helicopter ride amazing!  Yes!  Did it still the show...?  Almost! :  )  McKenna and Aaron did win the day.  We felt all the emotions we would have felt in a church or anywhere else. The extra twist of flavor of this experience just makes it incredibly memorable and so fantastic.  

Who was this mysterious pilot?  Can't say, he asked to remain anonymous.  But he is something special and he told us he felt something different and spiritual about McKenna and Aaron to feel so inspired to take time out of his busy schedule, his own expense and resource to provide the most exquisite memory for this beautiful couple.  We will not forget his kindness and the reverance and spirit of the mountains.

We salute you soldiers, we thank you for your servie and for this beautiful union.

Temples

 

10,000 people walked through the temple the day we were there. It was open house season. We were visiting dear friends who wanted to see it.  There is something special about this temple as it is where I took out my endowments so many years ago.  I was 19.  Just before my mission to Portugal.  It looks unreal in person and in picture.  

The feelings run deep. I have tried to share temples with my friends who are not of the same faith, even some of no faith.  They have been open and generous to me in letting me share something so sacred and personal with them.  To be there and not feel inspired is difficult. 

When I learned that there was a temple announced for Brasilia, Brazil my heart lept for joy.  It took about 5 years to build.  In September 2023 I was able to finally share Brazil with Chelta.  She had never been.  We spent a couple of days in Rio first (Seen Rio Post) but then I got to show her Brasilia!  (Another post)  I loved that the architecture matched so much of the unique brutalist architecture of Brasilia.

The main reasons for the trip was to see the temple and to share that with a dear high school friend who was interested in coming and walking through and learning a bit more about my faith.  It is a totally different structure compared to Washington D.C.  but no less special.  In some ways, even more.  Having lived there for 4 years and being part of the local congregations and being active in the missionary work meant we had some skin in the game.  So, having a temple anywhere means that there has been enough growth to support the local members with the ordinances and work that is done there to bind families together forever.  

 A special spirit resides around and in temples.  I have been to several open houses and dedications.  They are unforgettable.  The work done inside is not of this world.

A little of Brazil will always run through my veins....

Dolomites

 

When is the best time to travel to Italy?  During high Covid season.  Wow!  That was the best decision ever.  I had seen videos of this particular place and knew I had to experience it for myself. Seceda - we hiked most of the way up.  It was otherwordly because there were literally only about 9 people on the entire mountain.  

Most of the time we were completely alone.  It made for a very interesting vibe.  Being so small on the immensity of this mountain and the wide expanse of the panorama was humbling..... and super deluxe!

This particular precipice was very special.    It took my breath away wandering around and going up to the top to look over into the deep valley below.

The grass was in full green, and thousands of yellow flowers lay over the mountain side like a colorful blanket. We literally saw it and started running fast to get to it. Looking down from it to the value took my breath away. Small shallow cabin dwellings dotted the landscape.  They were designed to not stand out and disrupt the natural landscape.  We spent hours up there and slowly realized we needed to head back down before night fall.

We ran into some wonderful people that just happened to be staying at one of these cabins and they were so nice.  They gave us water and then offered us some of their own "stilled" alcoholic beverage.  If I ever were going to smidge and take a sip it would have been there and then, but I chickened out and passed.  I probably would have gagged myself silly otherwise.

It was the one of the most beautiful places I have been from a mountain scape point of view.  I will never forget the solace, the peace, the greeness and the view.

I remember thinking that it would be actually not be that surprising if we had run into some hobbits walking down the path.  It had so many of the romance and mystical characteristics of a wonderful fantasy story.

Imagine skiing down these slopes in the winter....!!

I wont forget how spiritual it was and the many miles of mind wandering and wondering there were. 

I couldn't walk the next day, but it was worth it!

Lake Powell

Ahh! Lake Powell....It's our kids favorite place on the planet.  There are no bad photos of Lake Powell.  It is a truly remarkable place.  A thousand pictures still couldn't truly describe the majesty and magnitude it represents.   So, I thought I would post a recent memory from this past Summer.

We have been going there for 18 years.  We have a time share on a houseboat which is so much fun by itself, but our most favorite moments are depicted in this picture here.  Being on and in the water is the best!   We boat all day long.  There is no better water to ski or surf to.  LP is famous for having "glass" which is totally flat water.  There is something trasncendent about surfing behind the right boat, with the right music blaring, on glass, with no other boats in sight and doing it until you can't surf any more or you run out of gas!  The contrast of blue water against red rock canyons and the azure sky is incredible.  The exhilaration of surfing on a persistent wave without a rope following the wake of the boat no matter where it goes is very exciting.  

Yep, so many moments, so many memories that will last for a lifetime.  Thank you Lake Powell.   You are truly special.

Balandro Bay Baja

 

There is a place called Balandro Bay.  It is off the beaten path and I bet most of the many visitors to Cabo never come here.  Takes a minute to get there, which entails a very early morning drive in order to be at the front of the line.  They limit visitors each day.

 What is so cool is that the entire bay is so shallow you can walk across without swimming at all.  It is a totally unique place where you can find a lot of isolation.  It was so cool to walk almost an hour out into the water not really knowing if suddenly there would be some deep spots to surprise and swallow me up.  It was warm and a good workout too!  It was very much like exploring a new kind of unknown.  Never had I waded through that much water so shallow.   I walked all the way to another completely isolated pure white sandy beach and sat in the sand and just took in the view.  I listened to the wind, it was blowing and made interesting ripples on the water. The sun would come out of cloud cover without warning and cast amazing light over the bay uncovering its magical color.  There were no birds, no animal sounds.  Just a very quiet space pierced by wind drifts.   I remember thinking how the Creator must love variety, diversity and all towards the end of being just beauty.  

Beauty is it's own excuse for being... Thanks Dad, I see more clearly now what that means.

My instinct to explore made me wonder what else was out there, past the normal view.  I walked around some rocky outcrops walked across another beach and found myself looking at this amazing balancing rock.  I got up close, but loved this pic better, to see it in a larger context, to give it scale and to honestly honor it from a distance vs super close up.  I love that it feels a bit "out of reach".  The notion that it might be some kind of guardian of this whole bay came to me.  A little lone sentinel looking out for this special place.   I loved this place as it was a different kind of cool. A simple but lasting memory.

If you like a quiet type of beach day, where walking doesn't compete with the anticipation of a surf, and walking in the water instead of just the beach interests you, I highly recommend it.

A Journey of a Thousand Moments: A Series

 

Travel and tell no one,

live a true love story

and tell no one,

live happily

and tell no one,

people ruin

beautiful things

----- Gibran

Another Gibran admirer reminded me of this recently and have had to reflect a lot as a result.  To be called out by Gibran is something I can't take too lighlty. It left a bit of sting....so, I will render an account in my own way, through a series of posts of places I have been and what they have meant to me...

I have traveled SO much over the past few years and I have resisted the urge to post about each trip as I convinced myself that it would be too indulgent, or too "show offy".   I realize so many don't get the chance and am keenly aware of how fortunate I am that I can.  I also see many posts that are touristy and more about photo op memories, which are completely cool, but I find myself wanting to muse more.....see what's underneath, wonder what's around the corner, soak in the vibe or tell a bit of a story if there is one to be told.

The world is so global now that exotic or hidden places are not so hidden any more, they are much more common place.  It doesn't change the experience, it is just an observation that maybe my pictures aren't that different than the 100,000 others who have also been there before me or will come after.  There are so few places that are "unknown" now..... as if the mystery of travel is a bit lost.  No matter, I still find my own discoveries and create my own experiences and memories regardless.

While the photos are so beautiful and can almost tell their own stories, they aren't what is most important to me, so I don't want to have a travel log of a thousand pictures.  I would rather use the fewer photos to support what the place meant, how it made me feel or what I learned from being there.

On the other hand, I have found that I haven't taken enough thought and time to consider the little important stories, lessons and special things about each of them.  Those are what I want to share, but often I am not sure what those little things are in the moment, or even upon return, but long after.... feelings and waves of inspiration hit me at the most unlikely times.

I appreciate the push here....I don't want to hide anymore.  So.....where to begin?   

Anywhere and everywhere!