Bob and Shauna's First Apartment

Married in May 1967, we lived at 462 North 1100 East, Provo, Utah until August 1969, and then moved to Durham, North Carolina. We paid $80 a month. No AC in those days. We bought a window unit. Shauna was teaching at Cascade Elementary in Orem, and Bob was finishing his MA at BYU. Mr. Rasmussen was a delightful landlord. Our unit was on the bottom right side. Green carpet in the living room and purple carpets in the bedroom.

Farmington Trail Creek

The waterfall is down below, hard to see in this picture but spectacular.

Mighty hikers Bob Valentine and James Ford, highly educated aging curmudgeons who talk and talk and talk because no one else will listen to them, hiked up the Farmington Creek Trail past the 40 foot waterfall and beyond, followed by soup and salad at Whole Foods on 4th South back in the civilization of Salt Lake City.

Canyon View Ward Party at Mutual Dell

Two or three times a year, our LDS congregation drives up nearby American Fork Canyon to Mutual Dell for a social. Shauna competes in the cup stacking contest. We have a wonderful "ward" (congregation) full of dear friends and neighbors!

Mormon Battalion Historic Site Visitors Center

This is a must-see tourist attraction in "Old San Diego" that commemorates the longest military march in U.S. history from Council Bluffs Iowa to San Diego by the U.S. Army sponsored Mormon Battalion during with war with Mexico in 1846.

Maroon5 Concert in San Diego

We arrived in San Diego in time for the sound check and other pre-concert activities. The concert was amazing and the band is better than ever and makes me think of chapter one of the best-seller "Outliers." These men have put in over 10,000 hours and have reached near perfection.

Kolob Canyon near Cedar City, Utah

On our way back from LA, we took a hike!

BYU Homecoming 2010!

Shauna was involved in BYU Alumni Association Board of Directors events all week, and Bob got to tag along! The parade, as always, was lots of fun and we handed out salt-water toffee to the crowds, which included some grandkids. BYU beat San Diego State in a great football game. Check out the mountains behind the BYU campus!

Mormon Pioneer Trail - Friday, October 8, 2010

As the Mormon Pioneers began their epic 1,300 mile trek from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Salt Lake Valley, they didn't know that the steepest and longest sustained ascent - and the highest elevation of the entire journey- would occur at the end of the trail, on the day they first caught glimpse of their destination. Bob and Jim Ford hiked the 9.1 historic trail from Mormon Flats to LIttle Dell Reservoir in a rain storm. Bob was always thinking of his great-grandfather Valentine Valentine (Wallentin Wallentinsen) who arrived in Brigham City in October 1853. This portion of the trail was used until 1861.

Lone Peak!

Starting at 4 a.m. Grandpa Valentine made it above the second Hamongong (meadow) to about 10,000 feet at 8 a.m. and ran out of steam. Gina, Jonathan and their friends kept going up the granite boulders to the top at 11,235 feet where they frolicked with a dozen or so white mountain goats.

The Provo Half Marathon

Not on Sunday! This race took place last May, I think. Just forgot to load the pictures. Missing this time? James and Amanda! The finishers: Gina and Jonathan, Lisa and Chris.