Capitol Reef National Park

We caught the brief spell of warm weather over Memorial Day at Capitol Reef National Park.

Capitol Gorge Trail
Group portrait – Sulphur Creek
Sulphur Creek hike – Capitol Reef
Capitol Reef National Park
Sulphur Creek hike – Capitol Reef
Capitol Reef National Park
Turtle shell
Sunset in Torey, UT
Hickman Bridge hike – Capitol Reef
Capitol Gorge Trail
Hickman Bridge hike – Capitol Reef
Off-roading in Torrey, UT
Capitol Reef National Park
Sulphur Creek mini falls – Capitol Reef
Capitol Gorge Trail
Capitol Reef National Park
Lizard!
Water tank at end of Capitol Gorge trail

 

 

Caught a swarm!

I caught my first bee swarm in my own backyard! My wife noticed them in the apple tree and called me out. My 11-year-old and I had a blast figuring out how to do it and we successfully sighted the queen at the end of it all. I knew that old nuc box would come in handy one day. I’m now the proud owner of two colonies.
Father and Son beekeepers after the swarm capture

Vietnam

In April we did a “Volunteer Vacation” in Vietnam with a company called GlobeAware. It was a mix of service and touristing and it was a blast. The service involved building a brick house for a woman whose house was falling apart, painting rooms and building a chicken coop for a deaf school (Hearing and Beyond), teaching English, and visiting a hospital. The tourist activities included Cham Island, My Son ruins, a couple of afternoons at the beach, and shopping. Some of us also fit in an amazing bike tour (Heaven and Earth) on the last day before heading to the airport for our 12-hour layover in Seoul.

Here’s a 5-minute video that’s focused on the service –

And a much longer one with all the activities –

And, of course, some photos –

Boat and river in Hoi An
Hare Krishnas
Bike tour – Hoi An
A mess of electrical wires in Vietnam
Japanese Covered Bridge
Hoi An bridge
Lantern seller
Night market reflections
Getting measured for a suit
Bike tour – Hoi An
Selling lanterns
Cool roof – Cham Island
Hearing and Beyond School for the Deaf
The Hill Boys in Hoi An
Vegetable market
Cham Island
Hearing and Beyond School for the Deaf
Cham Island
Taking a boat to another island – bike tour, Hoi An
My Son ruins
Sunrise – Hoi An
Eyes on the fronts of the boats
Cool design
Hoi An 2019
Golden Peach Villa in Hoi An
My Son ruins
Bamboo root beards
My Son ruins
On the bridge, Day 1
Cool roof – Cham Island
Cham Island group shot
Tourists
My Son ruins

Long layover in Seoul

I’m posting these in the wrong order, but oh well. On our way back from Vietnam (post coming soon) we had a 12-hour layover in Seoul. We arranged for a tour guide to pick us up in a minibus with an amazing interior and take us to several sights in the city, including:

  • BukchonHanok Village
  • Gyeongbok Palace
  • Blue House (quick glance as we drove by)
  • Cheonggye Stream
  • N Seoul Tower
  • Insadong Antique Street
  • Gwangjang Food Market (amazing!)
  • Seoul Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Here’s a video summary –

If you couldn’t get enough of the raw octopus footage, here’s some more –

And a bunch of photos –

From N Seoul Tower
Gyeongbok Palace
Seoul Temple
Gwangjang Food Market
Seoul Temple
Seoul Temple
Gyeongbok Palace
Cheonggye Stream
Gwangjang Food Market
Met some 4-H kids
Gyeongbok Palace
Art?
Gyeongbok Palace
N Seoul Tower love locks
Gwangjang Food Market
Cheonggye Stream
Pastry shop on Insadong Street
Gwangjang Food Market

 

LDS Apostles when they were young missionaries

I taught a mission prep class this week and gathered what photos I could find of current members of the Quorum of the Twelve back when they were young missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Can you figure them all out? Answers at the bottom.

1 (the one on the right) –

2 (on the right) –

3 (on the right) –

4 (center with the tie) –

5 (with the amazing purple suit and tie) –

6 –

7 (on the right) –

8 –

9 –

 

Answers:

  1. Elder Ulisses Soares – Rio de Janeiro
  2. Elder Gerrit W. Gong – Taipei Taiwan
  3. Elder Dale G. Renlund – Sweden
  4. Elder Gary E. Stevenson – Japan Fukuoka
  5. Elder Ronald A. Rasband – Eastern States. Cool story about this photo here.
  6. Elder Neil L. Andersen – France
  7. Elder D. Todd Christofferson – Cordoba Argentina
  8. Elder Quentin L. Cook – British Mission
  9. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland – British Mission (as far as I can tell, this photo was taken shortly *after* his mission)

Elders Ballard (England) and Bednar (Germany) also served missions but I couldn’t find photos of them.