The air today was clear, and the Wasatch Range mountains, covered with snow, are beautiful. I especially like the view of Lone Peak. That is my favorite mountain in the Wasatch Range. I daydream of having a house half way up the mountain, hidden from view and accessible only by trail or helicopter. The house is modern, powered entirely by solar cells, and expensive. The trail to the house is hidden and not part of the trail system used by hikers. Cell phone and satellite Internet access are the only contact the house has with society. I daydream of that house a lot, especially on beautiful days such as this in which the mountains of the Wasatch Range stand out in all their splendor.
The temperature was in the high 60s (F), and there was lots of sun and beautiful clouds. A 3-mph or so tail wind blew me the 2.5 miles from the East Pavilion in South Jordan to the tunnel (flooded) under 12300 South. I went a bit slower than normal, and I enjoyed the run and walk. Having the timer beep me when it was time to change pace was nice, although I did notice that sometimes I was still counting in my mind. On the way back, I began to get too warm, and there wasn't much I could do but plod on to the end of the run. What had been a tail wind while I was going out was now a head wind, and I was grateful for the cooling effect of the breeze. There is only one bench along the Draper City side of the trail, and I stopped there for a couple of minutes and gazed at Lone Peak.
I saw a lot of walkers, runners, cyclists, and skaters on the path. One guy, who was being pulled by two large dogs passed me as fast as he would if he were on a bicycle. Those dogs weren't stopping for anybody. One small dog, as I passed him, came over to me and licked my hand a few times — a very friendly and happy dog.
The level in the River was down a small amount today. My wife heard on the news that the snow pack in the mountains for the whole state of Utah is 130 – 200% of normal and that the mountain lands are saturated with water. I really hope we have a cool spring so the snow pack melts slowly. If we don't, we'll have major floods all over the state. The Virgin River down by St. George is of special concern since it flows through residential areas, and the land adjacent to the river is pretty flat. At least in Utah and Salt Lake counties, the land near the Jordan River is raised due to hills near the river or to simple dikes that the pioneers built when they settled this area.
