Guatemalan Foundation: Chapter 9: I HAVE SEEN THE HAND OF GOD TODAY! plus APPENDIX 1: A horrendous FALL in the Uintas that should have killed me.....for me one of the GREATEST MIRACLES OF MY LIFE!

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Chapter 9:

INTRODUCTION

Our "Dynamic Earth" with

all of its unending movements...... twists, squeezes, overlays, faults, uplifts, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions with rock melting heat, ice ages with land-skulpting glaciers, periods of millions of years of just vegetation, followed by long ages of roaming beasts and more..... we come to our title page of Chapter 9:

When each of the long periods of creation were accomplished and pronounced "GOOD"

the Architect as well as the Creator then moved to bring to earth the crowning purpose of all

of this effort.....intelligent man and a companion, both their children..

...created in their likeness and image....as are our children, all blessed with freedom,

wisdom, love, faith and the hope that all will freely choose wisely and not stupidly.

I Have seen today the hand of God in all of the above

and in this beautiful

VISION of CREATION!

This magnificent

Divine Vision of Nature

I was blessed to find...

...I believe gratefully guided to because I was seeking....

and pray all will be humble seekers and

be blessed as I have been.

IT REPRESENTS the WONDERS of CREATION

I was rewarded with getting a photo of new beautiful life springing from the rocks and soil.

This marvelous vibrant new life being born is surrounded by other elements of creation:

Rocks and dead organic life that will now decompose to give the nourishment our new

Western Yarrow plant will need to

GROW, BLOSSOM and REPRODUCE

I recognize this as an awesome system of life that was

put into motion by the Creator

making possible the many miraclous processes unfolding

through 6 long periods of creation we will get simple glimpses

of in this last chapter of my new online book the

DIVINE VISIONS of NATURE from the FOOTHILLS

of MOUNT TIMPANOGOS.

********

Western Scrub Jay

CHAPTER 6

Our

"Dynamic Earth & The Creation

from Wence comes all the

DIVINE VISIONS"

Let's face it honestly, NATURE isn't as orderly as our

level, right angle, perfect symmetry and excellence of proportion

modern world as demonstrated by

the beauty of this LDS temple,

contrasted to a different kind of beauty we see

behind it in the apparent

CHAOS OF NATURE

demonstrated in ROCK CANYON, guarded by Squaw Peak,

to the east of Provo, Utah and part of the Wasatch Mountains.

Let's take a hike into the Wasatch Mountain's Rock Canyon that is

famous among geologists about which it is said (paraphrased):

It is one of the few places on earth where such a repository of evolution is more accessible and well exposed!

It is also well known among historians as Rock Canyon is where

Timpanogos chief, Big Elk, with his followers fled after the 1850

Provo River Massacre, that took place near where Deseret Industries

is located in north Provo. The Timpanogos were ersued by Mormon

militia and in a confrontation Big Elk's wife died, the peak

named SQUAW PEAK in her honor.

Now up the canyon and looking back on what many hikers miss.

We will go back down a bit and pause to marvel at the magnificent

chaos of nature we see below even more starkly.

In the background we see Squaw Peak, a different type of rock with

in some respects more orderly layers...but the tannish/orangish ones

in the foreground are jumbled, twisted, even sometimes a

seemingly upside-down creation that at times was much more

violent than anything we see today in our seemingly slow moving

world.

We are seeing here sedimentary layers of sandstone

actually produced gradually over millions of years which is in

harmony with Ralph Waldo Emerson who said:

Let's get started right by understanding that word...sedimentary.

We will learn it is crucial to understanding creation.

From the U.S. Geologic Survey site we learn:

Common Sedimentary Rocks:
Common sedimentary rocks include sandstone, limestone, and shale. These rocks often start as sediments carried in rivers and deposited in lakes and oceans. When buried, the sediments lose water and become cemented to form rock.
Clastic Sedimentary Rocks:
Clastic sedimentary rocks are the group of rocks most people think of when they think of sedimentary rocks. Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces (clasts) of pre-existing rocks. Pieces of rock are loosened by weathering, then transported to some basin or depression where sediment is trapped. If the sediment is buried deeply, it becomes compacted and cemented, forming sedimentary rock. Clastic sedimentary rocks may have particles ranging in size from microscopic clay to huge boulders. Their names are based on their clast or grain size. The smallest grains are called clay, then silt, then sand. Grains larger than 2 millimeters are called pebbles. Shale is a rock made mostly of clay, siltstone is made up of silt-sized grains, sandstone is made of sand-sized clasts, and conglomerate is made of pebbles surrounded by a matrix of sand or mud.
Biologic Sedimentary Rocks:
Biologic sedimentary rocks form when large numbers of living things die. Coal is an example for this type of rock, and this is one of the ways limestone can form. Limestone can also form by precipitating directly out of the water.

***********

So the jumbled puzzle we see was originally created on the ocean

floor as level, parallel layers, but today they are more than 5,000 feet

higher than ocean level.... ..something traumatic happened!

Let's zoom in a bit more....

....in this picture in the left middle bottom the layers seem to be level,

then make a sharp swing up even twisting a bit to the left....but seem

to abruptly end with other dark layers behind angling left then

turning right upwards with some pointing directly to the sun.....and

on and on we attempt to make sense out of this puzzle with a branch

of geology called "geomorphology" that became personal for me as

a freshman geology major at BYU in 1954.

Directly in back of us on the other side of the canyon we find

completly different layers, thick ones also layed down on the ocean

floor, but now standing tall making a challenge for rock climbers

who love Rock Canyon.

A ways up the canyon on the same south side of the canyon we see a

quite different kind of scenery and geology.

We are viewing the rough north side of Y Mountain which brings

back memories of my youth trying to be a mountain man, already in

California at 15 having trapped a cougar, and quickly in Utah

muskrats, and a beaver that got away with my trap, as the cougar

had done.

NOTE: The notch pointed to in the picture below became very

personal for me as a 16 year old explorer along with my 8 year old

brother, Howard.

A GOOD STORY WORTH REMEMBERING & TELLING

In 1952 we were new in Utah, living just a couple of blocks from the

foothills, so I began satisfying my life-long love of the outdoors

roaming the hills with my dad's .22 Browning rifle he had bought for

$11 in Australia as an LDS missionary in 1928. Howard was my

companion in many of the adventures.

Here we are in the Fall after the my first deer hunt, Howard

with some antlers he found somewhere.

One day we hiked up the face of Y Mountain...up the trailess north

side and eventually came to cliffs. I had a 50 foot long rope I tied to

Howard, so I would go up first, then pull him up. Finally we made it

to that "notch" and with my little brother along I couldn't find a safe

way to the top of Y Mountain. So, we decided to go down a long

chute to the bottom of Rock Canyon.

Howard would go first to the end of the rope and then move over in

case I dislodged rocks in coming down to him. We eventually got to

the bottom of the canyon. Howard had completely worn out the seat

of his pants so tied his shirt around his waist like a loin cloth to

cover his behind and we hiked home.

Quite frankly looking at these pictures, taken from the Pole Canyon

Road, I can't believe we actually did that and lived to tell the tale

*********

The wise and loving CREATOR, for the eventual blessing of

humanity, commanded and set in motion the forces and power of

the prolific systems of nature forming mountains, valleys, deserts,

lakes, oceans and more, and after periods of millions of years of

vegetation, and others with animals/dinosaurs and other living

creatures.....followed by burying the organic matter that was turned

into what some call "black gold," and natural gas, as well as many

other minerals that have blessed humanity....with some curious men

gratefully trying to understand and make sense of it all with the

science of GEOLOGY.

"Rocks and minerals are the basic documents of

the science of geology,"

said, Dr. W. Ken Hamblin, in his first university level geology textbook back in the late 60's .....based strikingly on

beautiful color photographs of 86 of the rocks and minerals.

After my graduation from BYU in 1963 one of my first freelance

photography projects was to take those photographs for him using a

room in the basement of our rental home at 720 E. 700 E. in Provo.

I used a a Mamiya twin lens reflex medium format camera

using color slide film.

He would go on with several editions of that first textbook used by

hundreds of universities across the U.S. and in foreign countries,

and then produced a long chain of higher level geology textbooks

and lab manuals selling over a million copies.

Ken was born in Lyman, Wyoming, and later received an athletic

scholarship to play football at BYU, and among other things kicked

the winning field in a game with the University of Wyoming. He

finished his teaching positions as a Geology professor at BYU for

the last 30 years of his career.

Once we were talking about an area of his interest

I knew also had good fishing and asked him,

"Hey, Ken, have you ever fished there?"
His reply was quick and revealing, saying:

"FISHING IS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LOVE THEIR

PROFESSIONS!"

*********

MY BACKGROUND IN GEOLOGY

In 1954 I began my university studies at BYU. That was the time of

the "uranium boom" in Utah so, along with my High Uinta buddies,

Ted Packard, and Charlie Petersen, we all became geology majors

with the dream of later forming an exploration company and getting

rich.

Not just with uranium, but by then I had spent a summer as a trapper

and hunter on a project at Dugway Proving Grounds, and was

entranced with the West Utah Desert that for me had unending

magnificent Visions of Nature, its rich mining past, fascinating

ghost towns, and Native American Reservations....where I later

had important personal experience with members of the Goshute

tribe. We figured there were reasons for one ghost town being

called "Gold Hill," hopefully with a lot of that stuff still hidden and

begging for us to discover them.

My first quarter (not the semester system yet) I enrolled in a general

Geology class and got an A. The next quarter I followed with a class

in Historical Geology, much harder but I got another A. But my 3rd

quarter was stymied in following with the next class in the geology

major sequence because I didn't have the pre-requisite background

in calculus, and chemistry. There was only one class in geology that

didn't require those prerequisites. It was a graduate class in what

was called

GEOMORPHOLOGY.

Wikipedia defines it as:

Geomorphology is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface.

The Thesaurus dictionary says is much simpler: the study of the characteristics, origin, and development of landforms.

It was a class that normally a freshmen wouldn't qualify for, much

less even want, but my special request was granted due to my

superior grades in the two geology classes completed, and I wanted

to keep in the geology field no matter what while getting the classes

I needed.

So, I as a humble freshman, launched myself into competition with

14 geology graduate students, with Dr. Rigby strictly grading with

the curve, meaning several of us 15 would fail.

It was a subject whose purpose was to unravel all the folds and

faults, overlays and mysterious appearances and disappearances of

the earth's rocky documention of its many millions of years of

history.

It was the hardest class I ever had and for the first time

I was proud of getting a C!

Note: Now looking back 69 years I suspect that Dr. Rigby seeing me

as a freshman competing with graduate students, and noting how

hard I tried, likely decided to make an exception to the curve

grading system and rather was charitable in giving me the lowest

possible passing grade!

Soon geology was replaced by me adopting, trying to understand

and save as many as possible in the Mountains of the

Maya persisting now for more than 68 years and counting.

An unbiased observer, friend and Regional LDS Leader, Harold

Brown, said about that "impossible dream,"

"Thousands were saved and many tens of thousands aided to acquire an education!"

So, I don't remember enough about geomorphology to be able to

unravel the puzzle of earth's geologic history....so don't worry

about me getting impossibly technical. More than anything we will

just be awed observing beauty in the endless

VISIONS of NATURE

that we recognize even in the CHAOS OF NATURE: In the rocks,

minerals, and geologic monuments that surround and always rise

above us along with contemplating the creative processes

that perhaps made them, like

MOUNT TIMPANOGOS

Note the sedimentary layers of different kinds of rocks that are our

mountain, all of them originally created in the bottom of the ocean.

We learn that all kinds of things were involved: Infinite variation

and color, unending earth movements with falts, quakes, landslides,

floods creating all kinds of layers of rainbow colors of earth and

rock, compressions producing rocks, minerals, even diamonds, heat

and pressures taking continent sized slabs of rock folding and

overlaying others from under the seas standing them on end

pointing thousands of feet towards the heavens, volcanic blasts of

milenia sized moments destroying much life and from the surface

burying it deep down forming lakes of black gold, creation working

without rest towards producing an environment for more refined

creation, even intelligent men and women....His children, you, and I

and our families.

THE CREATION & GEOLOGY of OUR AREA IN UTAH and the WEST

What we today call the Wasatch Front came to be

known by geologists as "The Wastch Line" which was the western

coastline of a huge continent originally including Europe and Africa

joined with North America in what was called "PANGEA."

Eventually there was a drifting apart with the Atlantic Ocean

separating North America from Europe and Africa.

The Wasatch Line was then made up of tropical beaches with clear

waters like the Bahamas! Where the Uinta Mountains are today was

a large bay with sandy beaches.

Fine material was washed into the sea forming sedimentary layers

that over millions of years were turned into rock that were then

raised in gigantic uplifts many thousands of feet above the

ocean...sometimes the opposite with some areas sinking. These

uplifts with unrelenting squeezing forces were then twisted and

curved upwards, sometimes folding the layers back over

themselves and breaking leaving sharp peaks and mountain ranges

looking west showing layers of sedimentary rocks. On the eastern

side the layers sloped down and disappeared.

Erosion went to work with creeks, and rivers carving out

canyons....like Rock Canyon, and there were also ice ages with

glaciers gouging and sculpting entire drainages like those on the North, and South slopes of the Uinta Mountains. To say the least all

of this is puzzling to unravel for curious men.

In harmony with our subject, on that dangerous youthful adventure in

1952, we were actually climbing/sliding down a chute that was

between layers of sedimentary rock created under the ocean

millions of years ago, then likely still sort of at level raised up

thousands of feet in a giant uplift followed years later with a

violent fault that split that layer raising it up to form the Wastach

Mountains, and the Wasatch front at all kinds of jumbled

angles.....followed by erosion creating Rock Canyon the bottom of

which Howard and I were grateful to get to after having a great

adventure working our way down that sedimentary layer chute.

I mentioned above the High Uinta Mountains, included in the map of

the Wasatch Front, and quite intimately conncted to the Wasatch as

well as my life...where I realized my Second Impossible Dream,

described in my first published book. From that book a quote will

help us understand the complexity of the creation:

THE MAKING OF THE UINTA MOUNTAINS

Geologically the Uinta Range was born over 25 million years ago by

an east-west fracture of the earth’s crust and a massive uplift that

pushed the area above sea level. This was a stroke of very good

luck without which the face of modern Utah would be incredibly

different as all of the important rivers of Utah are born there and

contribute 90% of Utah’s water.

Glaciers began sculpting the basins, canyons, and valleys leaving in

their wake majestic mountains and peaks. These glacially carved

canyons extend to the south about 20 miles, and to the north

between 10-15 miles.

Down these glacially created canyons flow all the important rivers of

Utah beginning on the northwest with the 4 important tributaries of

the Bear River which are born in the Uintas flowing north into

Wyoming then turn west into Idaho making a swing around the north

tip of the Wasatch Mountains, and continue south back into Utah

flowing into the Great Salt Lake…..making the Bear River one of a

kind in our hemisphere—It being the largest and longest river...500

miles... in North America that doesn’t empty into an ocean.

NOTE: The above quote is from my High Uinta Mountains book.

NOW..TO HELP US VISUALIZE GEOLOGIC PROCESSES

Including the making of the Wasatch Front and other areas of North America.....

.....I will here introduce a series of wonderful pictorial explanations

from a Forest Service display at the eastern end of the Uinta

Mountains that demostrate the making of the High Uinta Mountains

that will help our understanding and appreciation of the making of

the Wasatch Mountains as well as many others. Not to fear....this

will be about as technical as I will get....but at least try and grasp the

inmensity of the creative processes put in motion by the Creator.

Many of these same creative processes were involved in the making

of our world as we know it today.

************

VOLCANIC FORCES IN OUR MOUNTAINS

There were also at work volcanic forces forming new mountains, and

mountain chains, such as the Sierra Nevada Mountains in

California. Powerful volcanic forces pushed up mountain chains,

and domes of volcanic rock forcing their way up through

sedimentary layers that were then eroded away.

These intrusions of what geologists call igneous, or granite rock,

created the areas in Salt Lake City canyons where Mormon pioneers

quarried the granite used to build their first temple.

A little further south....between the Salt Lake Valley and Utah

Valley in the Wasatch Range is another example of an igneous

intrusion in what became in 1978 Utah's first wilderness area: The

30,735 acre Lone Peak Wilderness Area seen below.

This summertime picture shows the igneous granitoid intrusion of

the sedimentary rocks of the Wasatch mountains.

This picture was taken in summer from Highland, Utah looking

north.

Lone Peak is 11,253' elevation.

Below we see it in the winter.

Borrowing the Lone Peak High School building and sign looking

north from Highland, Utah in wintertime.

Other examples in Utah of such igneous intrusions are the Deep

Creek Mountains, part of the West Utah Desert we see below

looking west about 50 miles distant from near the Fish Springs

National Wildlife Refuge

The core of the Deep Creek Mountains is granite from an igneous

intrusion as others mentioned above in the Wasatch Mountains. Two

peaks are higher than any peaks in the Wasatch. They are Ibapah

Peak, 12,087 feet in elevation, and Haystack Peak at 12,020 feet

Forty-seven years ago with my two young sons, Rich (11) and Joey

(9), we backpacked to the highest peak on a great adventure that

included an overnight stay in the ghost town GOLD HILL located at

the north end of the Deep Creeks.....as we were exploring we were

shocked to see way down a street a GHOST! I'll tell that among

many experiences in my 6th book about

THE WEST UTAH DESERT.

Also in the West Utah Desert is GRANITE PEAK, 9,580 ft. in

elevation and located in the middle of the U.S. government's

Dugway Proving Grounds seen below with some wild mustang

horses in the foreground.

For many years Grantie Peak has been shrouded in mystery being

inaccessible to the public on the Dugway Proving Grounds, but in

2006 an indepth geologic study was started you can learn about at:

GRANITE PEAK MOUNTAIN: A GEOLOGIC MYSTERY

REVEALED

By Donald L. Clark, Utah Geological Survey and Eric H. Christiansen, Brigham

Young University

The other such mountains I have mentioned in my writings are

the Henry Mountains in Southern Utah seen below from the west.

- The Henry Mountains -

an igneous intrusion in the middle of colorful Southern Utah's

famous National and State Parks we see that surround me as I hike

out of the Henry's on my last deer hunt before heading south to the

Mountains of the Maya for 35 years.

Mount Timpanogos....

...and below the peaks east of Provo, Utah....

....with Provo Peak seen below.....

....all are inclined downward towards the east,

the west side looking up

It's quite impossible to imagine but powerful squeezing actions

caused folds that would break creating faults and uplifts of some of

the same layers that would also become lower mountain chains to

the west of the Wasatch front.

NOTE: You might have noticed that area to the west...

....THE WEST UTAH DESERT...

...is my next target for exploration and another book, likely when in my 90ies......going for 100.....if I can keep my boys from taking away my car keys!

**********

MOUNT TIMPANOGOS

....a mountain with its own timeless Romeo and Juliet love story etched in stone that some with a vivid imagination tell us is actually a beautuful Indian maiden preserved there. She is pleading to the heavens to reunite her with the love of her life who lost his life there

seeking her. I am talking about.......

......THE LEGEND OF TIMPANOGOS

The vision below of Timpanogos is from the website you can go to by

clicking below..

..where we will go to learn more of the Legend

GO HEBER VALLEY UTAH

Below we can see more fully their imagination of the legend's

BEAUTIFUL INDIAN PRINCESS

turned into a stone monument of this Indian Romeo & Julliet legend

as seen from the east in Heber Valley.

There are at least a dozen different versions of this legend, some

viewing the Princess as above head to the south. Others with a

lively imagination from the west see her there with her head to the

north.

None of the legends actually come from the Native American

Timpanogos who lived in Utah Valley, rather from lovers of the

mountain who came up with their versions in their dreams.

I won't get into all of them, rather just give a brief summary of the

one from the Heber Valley website.

THE LEGEND

Anciently a leader of the Nez Perece tribe, far to the north, were

undergoing a period of drought and famine. His son, Timpanac,

prayed and was told to go south where he would find a valley with

a "silver lake" with Indians who would provide food.

He gathered ponies and loaded them with furs for trading, and went

south where he found the silver lake.......

.......... and the Timpanogos tribe who were happy to help him. While

there he saw the beautiful chief's daughter, Ucanogos, and they fell

in love, exchanging gifts.

When she was of age to marry her father sent a runner to tell

Timpanac, but he was going to have to win her in a competition with

four others who desired her: An Arapaho, a Ute, a Shoshone, and a

Hopi.

First there was race around the silver lake in which the Arapho lost

his life. Second, they were sent to hunt game with no weapons.

One came back with a rabbit, another a pheasant, another a small deer. Timpanac was gone three days but had got a buffalo, and got

the men to help bring back the meat.

The final competition was to climb to the summit of a high mountain where Ucanogos would be claimed. The others cheated leaving early and ambushed Timpanac and pushed him over a ledge to his death.

Ucanogos saw what happened and wept great unending tears which she is still doing at Bridal Veil Falls in Provo, Canyon. She then threw herself off the mountain praying to the Great Spirit to take her soul and join it with Timpanac's, which was done their two hearts together as one in the heart of Timpanogos Cave.

I end with a direct quote from the Heber Valley version.

"The Great Spirit was so saddened by these events he decided to put the Indian Maiden to rest on the mountain tops for eternity. Many now call her the Sleeping Princess. Those who travel through Heber Valley or Provo Canyon can clearly see her features. The name Timpanogos was given to the mountain by combining the names of the ill-fated lovers: Timpanac and Ucanogos. The word Timpanogos, has since been used by the tribe to mean 'People of a Mountain.'"

https://www.gohebervalley.com/timpanogos-legend/

**********

For other versions of the legend click on the following:

MOUNTAIN a Premier Guide to Park City

today's mama podcast

From today's mama podcast we get the following depiction of the

legend of Timpanogos

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

DESERET NEWS - legends & info on Timpanogos

***************

NOW LET'S GET BACK TO....

......my daily efforts...hiking & seeking... to save

my life long enough to contribute to your appreciation and awe at

CREATION

and the

DIVINE VISIONS of NATURE in the FOOTHILLS OF MOUNT TIMPANOGOS.

********

I just posted on Facebook the following:

So, I've got to hustle and finish this chapter on

THE FOUNDATION of all CREATION

the

Previously I have discussed in general all the efforts set in motion by

the Creator to prepare this planet for the crowning glory of ALL

creation:

INTELLIGENT MEN & WOMEN.

Now, while citing words of awe and gratitude, I will inject beautiful

photographs...mostly from the area of my efforts to keep alive and

learn something inspiring I can also share with you, namely....the

Foothills of Mount Timpanogos down to the Foothills of Springville,

and since I've mentioned the High Uinta Mountains, I'll include

something beautifully geologic also from there too.

Much of what we will see are mountains and rocks. Do you

remember how important they are?

Our friend Dr. Hamblin stated:

"Rocks and minerals are the basic documents of the science of

geology,"

So here we go with a lot of scenic & geologic beauty...from which

our physical bodies come and where they will return.....for a while at

least!

I persist with my hikes.....even with winter, almost everyday in the

Hills of Timpanogos. It isn't easy, but the other option for this old

guy....isn't acceptable, and I am richly rewarded as you will note

below, and with additions I'm inserting in past chapters about how

the plants and life survive the winter....some persisting in winter

and helping other life to survive. This year I'll do as always

...observe, photograph, research and report with those that

are alive through the winter, and others when each comes alive.

In February 2024 hiking the slopes of Mount Mohagany I was

blessed with getting photographs of a large herd of Rocky Mountain

sheep....do you see them below? They are near the bottom behind

the rabbitbrush.

Best get closer so you can see these magnificent

VISIONS of NATURE.

This big fellow we see above is going to be challenged by another

ram that all of a sudden came charging down the mountain!

I was excited thinking I was going to be able to photograph a fight,

but I think the potential challenger decided against it once he saw a

much bigger ram!

Now on to

The FOUNDATION OF OUR LIVES!

Mainly just photogaphs, with each of which you should

imagine....since I've given you the broad outline of creation....what

were the creative processes that created them, beginning with some

scenics, and then get down to showing you many beautiful rocks like

the ones I photographed for Dr. Hamblin except then I had a larger

format professional camera.

Let's first remember the Wasatch Front was originally under the

ocean, then raised up, but the sedimentary layers came under giant

pressures creating a fault with the westward edge raised up we see

here in Y Mountain, then Maple and Buckley Mountains, the layers

we see all inclined downward to the east and disappearing under the

higher mountains behind them.

With Timpanogos, there are also to its west lower mountains

like Mohagany Mountain...then Grove Canyon, then a lower no-

name mountain, next Battle Creek Canyon, Big Baldy Mountain, and

last Dry Canyon....and on to Provo, Canyon.

Usually the frontal lesser mountain's sedimentary layers angle down

to the east and disappear under the higher mountains behind like to

the south of Provo Canyon. That's the general rule, but oh, oh,

something broke the rule on the north as we can see with a few

photos!

First, we see in a picture of Mohagany Mountain, the layers are all

angling down to the south and continue that way to Provo Canyon.

On the south side of Provo Canyon the layers from at least Y

Mountain and Squaw Peak angle down to the north towards Provo

Canyon following the angle of Pole Canyon which is at the foot of

Cascade Mountain and behind Squaw Peak.

NOTE: There is a road that goes up Pole Canyon from Provo

Canyon, and is paved to where it then drops down to a campground

hikers get to hiking up Rock Canyon. From there the road continues

up 2nd Right, traverses the side of Provo Peak, and then drops down

into Hobble Creek Canyon....by the way it's a nice excursion for a

picnic and great scenery.

Back to the creation: All of that is fine for whatever reasons, but the

rule that is broken is that the sharp angle down to the east of Y

Mountain and companions, is not repeated in Grove and Battle

Creek Canyons. It's a little hard to see in the photos I've got...with

others later.... but below the layers we see top right are angling down

slightly to the west and that line continues upwards towards

Timpanogos.

You will notice in the photographs that follow there are all kinds of

exceptions...to our rules.....and in my Geomorphology class 69 years

ago we had to figure out the jumbled, twisted, faults and overlays,

etc. of the puzzle. So let's just look at some pictures and admire the

chaos of nature even if we can't figure out the why or the how of it

all.

Febreuary 10, 2024
GROVE CANYON
Up the canyon showing how it is now for my daily hikes..... we'll

look on both sides of the canyon and see a tough geological picture.

Earlier in the season.....it's a popular place for hiking.

Below we can see more clearly the sedimentary layers tilting down to

the west.

Above in the rock monument, if you look closely, you'll notice the

layers angling down slightly to the west, the opposite of the norm.

A friend cheering me on!

Below we see the north side of the canyon...looking up where they

anchor one side of the cable from which they hang that giant

American flag for July 4th.

Those also are ones showing an angle down to the south, but also a

slight angle down to the west. I'm not sure what happens when

these frontal mountains meet the newer layers of Timpanogos. One

day I'll do a little research, with more exploring.....and maybe finally

get better than a C- in Geomorphology!

Below we see where the trail takes off up the canyon, the road to the

diversion dam, and up to the south side of the canyon that we'll

zoom in on....but first, it was in those boulders on the left where I

got the photograph of the TARANTULA, and it is along there where

we see one of the few fossils I have seen in this area. I'll insert them

below the photo.

First something I found nearby along the trail

going up the canyon.

After cleaning and drying it I sprayed it with clear Rust-Oleum to

enhance the texture and color. It wasn't something a real geologist

would do. Sorry. I did this with a special collection of rocks from

the area, some of which you'll see in a moment. In my defense,

would you have special wood decorating your home without

preserving and enhancing it to make a sort of dull wood

bright and beautiful?

With rocks you can get much the same effect by just wetting the

rock. An example follows of a fossil found in the boulders of the

picture with our two friends. The one below is dry. It will be

followed with one I wet today February 14, 2024 on my daily hike.

It looks like perhaps the wing of a bird, or the fin of a fish.

What do you think?

Below, this might be something.....but it was out of the ordinary.

Now looking up to the south side of the canyon.

Zooming in on one spot.........where again we see the

rule broken with the layers angling down to the west.

Below a curvy turn in a layer......what might have caused it?

Whatever, we do have to realize that the movements of our earth in

its creation, and shaping to where it is today would have been

dramatic to say the least. I hope oneday to see in the great beyond

a video of it all!

Then again on the other side of the canyon.

We now move down the canyon and bid farewell to the companions

of the Sentinels who guard faithfully the Canyon I have come to

respect and be grateful for now with over 130 hikes in the last 11

months that have given me new life, and the faithbuilding discovery

of many new VISIONS of NATURE to share with friends.

Now we'll get a few glimpses of

Battle Creek Canyon.

NOW WE CONTINUE SOUTH TO

DRY CANYON

This canyon is geologically very different than other two. I only

made one very short hike here at the end of the season, but it looks

fascinating. So I look forward to alternating exploring all three in

2024....which I failed doing....maybe in 2025.... and observing and photographing all the wonders I'm sure I'll find ....and of course share with all of you in updates of this book.

Above we see again the angling down to the west that might mean

that on the eastern side is actually portions that look up towards

Timpanogos, if so the continuation of said layers are maybe buried?

To oriente everybody below I'll insert a Google Earth view of the

area. The Red line is the high mountains: Timpanogos, Cascade

Mountain, and Provo Peak. The yellow line is the lower frontal

mountains: Mohagany Mt., then Grove, Battle and Dry Canyons of

Timpanogos. Then a break with Provo Canyon. Then of the yellow

line: (Squaw Peak, not labeled ), Y Moumntain, (Maple Mt., not

labeled) ), and Buckley Mt(s).

At the South end, actually at Hobble Creek Canyon near Springville,

the two mountain chain layers come together and clash that must

have increased the chaos, and as they did you will notice further

along that the two thick layers of sedimentary rocks become very

jumbled and different creating some wonderous and amazing rock

monuments pointing to the heavens.

The lower level on the north beginning with Provo Canyon angles

up,

each peak or mountain becoming progressively higher.

We begin with Squaw Peak....do you recall?

Named for a Timpanogos chief's wife who in 1850 lost her life

in an encounter with the Mormon militia in Rock Canyon.

For your interest as a potential tourist and explorer, there is a nice

park we see here just a bit passed the LDS Temple to the north

.. Above we are seeing Squaw Peak. Down the ridge from Squaw

Peak, is Little Squaw Peak that I have mentioned in my hike when I

was surrounded by rattle snakes...mentioned in Chapter 1.

Taking the road that goes straight up towards Rock Canyon, you will

find more facilities for tourists and hikers, including.....

.....it's a good idea to check it out and learn all you can about the

wonders and Visions of Creation that surround you here.

Previously in this chapter we saw scenes from Rock Canyon showing

the twisted, and jumbled layers just a bit up the canyon. I won't

repeat those photos as you can go back and look at them, but below

is a reminder with a new picture.

From down here we zoom up on the Peak...

.....where I'll be heading, taking you along with me.

Do you see the flag? Maybe we need to zoom in more....

Along the way there are incredible, magestic scenes

all around us, just one below...

...and as we get higher a beautiful one of Provo Peak....mentioned in

my MOUNTAINS of the MAYA book...climbing it the first time

with a dear Guatemalan friend, Lotario Nuila. To say the least all of

these scenes bring back fond memories of my adventurous youth.

For example another of those memories described in my

"Checkered" autobiography "0-22 years" and included as Chapter 1

in the MOUNTAINS of the MAYA book, has to do with what's called

up Rock Canyon "2nd right" more or less where that thick strip of

pines are. One of my High Uinta buddies, Charlie Petersen, and I

made applications with the Forest Service for a permit to build each

of us a log cabin there. We began making trips carrying materials in

our family's old '39 Plymouth, known affectionaly among the guys

in Provo as

"Little Andy's muscle car!"

But, I had pretty well worn it out by the time I went on my LDS

Mission to Central America in 1956, so after I left dad sold it to

Charlie for $25. Charlie cut out the roof starting the trend of

sunroofs, took off the fenders, removed the muffler with a straight

pipe coming out of the manifold that made it roar like a legitimate

"muscle car."

He wrote me and told me the story of him using it as his "mountain

buggy" carrying materials to the cabin site, but one day he ran out of

gas at the summit of Pole Canyon. So hiked down into Rock

Canyon and home. A few days later he hitched a ride taking a can of

gasoline, but found him stripped of anything of value, so removed

the license plates and bid farewell to our cherished friend.

Later on another trip he found that all of him had disappeared,

likely translated to heaven waiting for the resurrection when he will look like this!

Enough of my past. Let's continue with the past of the

Divine Visions of Creation.

We are now at the summit of Squaw Peak.

Actually this spot is not the highest....we look behind.

Above in the background we see Cascade Peak, and below see the

entire mountain in a light winter. From early on I always wanted to

climb it, and even go deer hunting up there........

.......and I finally did in 1991 during the years when I would spend

two months in Guatemala keeping everything going, and two

months in Utah with the family.

It was another of the great adventures of my life...showing below

the tough route I took up the mountain......

.....below indicating where I set up my camp from where the next

day I was able to look with my binoculars into the Lavell Edwards

Stadium and watch some BYU's football game while listening on

my tiny radio....we won of course!

What? You want to know if I got my buck?

I did see a nice one, but he only had an antler on one side....likely

having lost the other in a fight or a fall. I wasn't going to take on the

difficult task of getting a deer down the mountain if it wasn't going

to be a trophy, so I passed, just climbed the peak, and with a storm

coming I got out of there fast as a descent with wet, snowy slippery

footholds would not have been wise.

Enough said about the Rock Canyon-Squaw Peak-Cascade Mountain

area with the geologic documentation of the creation all around us.

Have you figured it all out?

As I begin moving down, I pause to look down into Rock Canyon

and see the north/Rock Canyon side of Y Mountain showing the layers sharply angling down to the east.....remember? My brother Howard and myself in 1952 went down one of those chutes!

In the picture below on the right bottom we see a triangle which is

the backside of Y Mountain angling down and disappearing under

Provo Peak.

Provo Peak, as well as Cascade Mountain, the face of both

angling up towards the west, and to the east their sedimentary layers

angling down and disappearing. That is the basic story of our

Wasatch Mountains. Don't feel bad if you haven't figured it all out

logically......I didn't too well at it eirther.....earning my C-!

So the sun will set on Rock Canyon and we'll move further south, but

it's impossible to leave without plans of coming back and spending a

lot more time, as it is like almost nowhere else where the majesty of

creation is better demonstrated and recorded in the beautiful chaos

of nature....all necessary in preparation for introducing humanity on

earth.

We've seen a lot of geologic documentation of the creation.....sorry

for not really explaining much, but remember I didn't get an A in my Geomorphology class from Dr. Rigby...just a C-...and that was 69 years ago!

Otherwise I would be WOWING you with incredible explanations

like Dr. Hamblin would be doing, rather than leaving

IT ALL UP TO YOU TO FIGURE OUT!

To keep track of where we are....

....let's look again at a picture of Y Mountain, Maple Mountain, Slate

Canyon and then one of the two Buckley Peaks, and below on to

where the coming together of the two massive mountain layers

creates some incredible scenes.

I got the above photo climbing the Buckley Mountains, the

sedimentary layers coming from down deep and standing tall, but

this was just a warm-up for what I would find next at the southern

side of the Buckley Peaks. There we get into an area similar but

impressively larger and from different sedimentary layers,

all preparing us for what we have seen several times. For me it's

worth a last look as it's hard to get bored with such an incredible

scene decorated with a splash of brilliant yellow from one of our

favorites........Rabbitbrush.

The layers of sedimentary rock come from down deep standing on

end reaching for the skies.We see them in two pictures in the late

fall.

And below a few more, but with the green of Spring.

Can you imagine where the layers go down deep in the earth or

where they come from? And where were they going?

Remember we are seeing sedimentary layers laid down level on the

bottom of the ocean, but here they are 7,000 feet above sea level

standing on end! We need Dr. Hamblin to help us out, but he passed

on in 2009. And Dr. Rigby who taught the Geomorphology

class.... given me a bad grade maybe couldn't help either, he also

going the way of all the Visions of Nature...in his case some of you

might remember he was taking a group of Scouts/Explorers on a trip

in Southern Utah when the truck he was traveling in suffered a

terrible accident and he, along with others lost his life.

Then we come to the seeming culmination of this wild show of

geologic creative processes with the......

CRAGS of the WASATCH

This beautiful scene is just east of McDonalds at Springville's north end.

....and seemingly with a last gasp, there are a few more of the same a

bit south before you come to Spring Canyon, and then Hobble Creek

Canyon.

From there we look south past Hobble Creek Canyon and note a

level line at the bottom of the mountain. It is a line that one can

observe all along the Wasatch foothills, a remnant of the shoreline of

ancient Lake Bonneville that covered much of the Great Basin

anciently.

Today the remnant of Lake Bonneville is Utah Lake, drained by the

Jordan River leading to the end of the line in the Great Salt Lake and

extending west to the Great Salt Desert or the Salt Flats.

The first mountainmen and explorers to reach the northern end of the

Great Salt Lake thought they had arrived at the Pacific Ocean!

Twenty-five years or so later the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt

Lake Valley.....and today in 2024 Salt Lake City is known as

"THE CROSSROADS OF THE WEST"

The population is growing very fast, most of it strung along what is

called today The Wasatch Front...but which as we have explained

simply it is a fault-line, and an active one we should all understand

better. So, let's insert here an article that explains in simple

terminology the situation.

The following article will be divided up and inserted into a series of

photographs showing some geologic wonders from the Grove

Canyon area which I have mainly focused on with around 380 hikes

in the past two years to keep my body from going to sleep.

https://www.saltlakemagazine.com/wasatch-fault/

According to Austin Elliott, an Oxford geo-scientist who knows these sorts of things, the Wasatch Fault is the world’s best-studied normal fault. Thus, people like Elliot know quite a lot about the seam in the Earth’s crust that defines the Wasatch Front. Most of us actually living on or near the Fault, however, don’t know squat. So here’s a short version of the essential info, without too many big scientific words.

As we go through the brief article, lets get a few glimpses of Grove Canyon as I went

up it today, February 22, 2024, and then came back down

The Wasatch Fault forms a boundary between the relatively stable North American plate and the collapsing crust of the Great Basin and Range to the west. Slowly, so slowly we seldom notice it, the Salt Lake Valley is sliding away to the west, slipping off the Wasatch Mountains earthquake by earthquake. That’s what’s happening and has been happening for millennia.

Of course, lots of other forces have been at work on the Wasatch, too, making the mountains we know now. Ancient glaciers formed the smooth U-shaped valleys. Much, much later, rivers cut V-shaped valleys as they found their way downhill to the Prehistoric Lake Bonneville and its remains, The Great Salt Lake, and carved the floor of the big valley between the Wasatch Front and the Oquirrhs. Erosion by wind, rain, snow, hail and avalanches have sculpted the rock, stripped it away and worn it down to dirt.

But the big work was done when the Wasatch Fault’s movement cut through the moraines, slicing through them and lifting them up into the steep, jagged cliffs that give us a view of the interior history of the Earth. You can see the Jurassic Period in the reddish rocks up Parley’s Canyon. Near the mouth of the canyon, Suicide Rock is a relic of the earlier Triassic age. Lower portions of Big Cottonwood Canyon have billion-year-old Precambrian rock. The exposed portion of Timpanogos is limestone and dolomite from the Pennsylvanian period, about 300 million years old. Little Cottonwood Canyon has relatively newer rock: A molten igneous mass bubbled up near the surface a mere 32 million years ago. This is the granite that was used to build the Salt Lake City Temple which came to be called “Temple stone.”

And our Fault is what caused the stair stepping Benches, defining the value of Valley’s real estate. The higher your house, the higher the price.

We’ve known about the Wasatch Fault in theory since the 1890s, but

that hasn’t stopped us from building steadily on it with

little heed to the whole earthquake thing. We all feel them

occasionally, little shivers that cause the pictures on our walls to go

crooked, harbingers of the big one to come.

BEST BEFORE WE FINISH GET A MORE COMPLETE

GLIMPSE OF THE GEOLOGY OF THE WASATCH

FRONT....WHICH IS AN ACTIVE EARTHQUAKE ZONE,

from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasatch_Fault

THE WASATCH FAULT

Note: The visuals are mine (C.Andersen)

The Wasatch Fault is an active fault located primarily on the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains in the U.S. states of Utah and Idaho. The fault is about 240 miles (390 kilometres) long, stretching from southern Idaho, through northern Utah, before terminating in central Utah near the town of Fayette. The fault is made up of ten segments, five of which are considered active.^[1] On average the segments are approximately 25 miles (40 kilometres) long, each of which can independently produce earthquakes as powerful as local magnitude 7.5.^[2] The five active segments from north to south are called the Brigham City Fault Segment, the Weber Fault Segment, the Salt Lake City Fault Segment, the Provo Fault Segment and the Nephi Fault Segment.^{[citation needed]}

We are viewing the northern edge of the mountain with Grove Canyon to the right. This is

the area where the University of Utah has an Earthquake recording station I will show you

further down between paragraphs of this important article.

The Wasatch Fault is a normal (vertical motion) fault which forms the eastern boundary of the Basin and Range geologic province which comprises the geographic Great Basin. The Wasatch Mountains have been uplifted and tilted to the east by movement of the fault.^[3] The average vertical displacement rate of the fault over its history is approximately 0.8–1.2 mm/yr.^[4]

Geological history[edit]

During the past 10,000 years, major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0 or greater) occur about every 900–1,300 years along any one of the five central segments of the Wasatch Fault. However, the average time-span between earthquakes along the entirety of the central segments is about 300 years.^[5] The segment that underlies Salt Lake City produced a major earthquake approximately 1,200–1,300 years ago, the Weber, Provo, and Nephi segments each produced one about 200–700 years ago and the Brigham City fault segment has not produced a major earthquake in about 2,200–2,800 years.^[3]

Earthquake assessment[edit]

Statistically, the Wasatch Fault is overdue for another major earthquake. Experts have given a 57% probability of an earthquake magnitude 6.0 or greater occurring within the next 50 years. However, statistical frequency does not necessarily imply periodic behavior, though it can serve as a good indicator.^[6] Liquefaction due to a strong earthquake is of particular concern because many highly populated areas along the Wasatch Front lie on soft lake sediments, remnants of Lake Bonneville.^[7]^[8]

A strong earthquake on the Wasatch Fault could trigger landslides, cause mass liquefaction, and flooding of low-lying areas forming near lakes due to subsidence and tilting. The quake may also rupture the surface causing displacement of up to 20 feet (6.1 m), and severely damage gas, electric, water, communication, and transportation lifelines.^[9] A report released by Bob Carey of Utah's Office of Emergency Services and published by the Deseret News in April 2006 predicts that a strong earthquake occurring in Salt Lake City could kill up to 6,200 people, injure 90,000, and cause US$40 billion in economic losses. Due to the earthquake danger not being well known when many structures were built in the area, at least 42% of the buildings along the Wasatch Front are at risk of moderate to severe damage in the event of a strong earthquake. Many buildings, such as hospitals and schools, are located directly atop the Wasatch Fault. Approximately 50% of hospital beds in Salt Lake City are at risk.^[10] Currently, about 80% of Utah's population live along the Wasatch Fault, representing the largest earthquake threat in the interior Western U.S.^[11]^[1]

On the west end of Salt Lake Valley is another fault zone called the West Valley fault zone that spans 9 miles (16 km) north-northwest. Recent trench studies have shown that the West Valley fault tends to rupture simultaneously with the Wasatch Fault, compounding issues such as liquefaction, landslides and flooding. The two faults likely converge into a single fault deep underneath Salt Lake Valley.^[11]^[12] On March 18, 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake occurred just north of Magna, causing moderate damage.^[13] In March 2021, a new study based on evaluations of the 2020 earthquake and aftershocks determined that the Wasatch Fault undercuts the Salt Lake Valley at a shallower depth than previously thought. This means that a large earthquake on the Salt Lake section of the Wasatch Fault would likely cause more ground shaking and greater damage than previously expected.^[14]

Public awareness[edit]

As awareness has increased since the 1980s, many key structures in the region have been undergoing extensive seismic retrofitting, reservoirs on the fault have been drained, and development in at-risk areas curtailed.^[15]^[16] The Utah Earthquake Program (a partnership between The Utah Geological Survey, University of Utah Seismograph Stations, and Utah Division of Emergency Management) has been actively working to educate communities in Utah, conduct research, and investigate technologies that can mitigate the damage caused by a strong earthquake along the Wasatch Fault.^[17] Salt Lake City is currently utilizing federal grant funds to run a Fix the Bricks program targeting seismic safety upgrades in unreinforced masonry buildings.^[18]

A NEW EARTHQUAKE RECORDING STATION

I found it just above the Grove Creek Trailhead parking lot in the summer of 2024.

EARTHQUAKES ARE SERIOUS MATTERS

NOTE: We should all be aware that along the Wasatch Front we are in an active earthquake area that is overdue for earthquakes, as mentioned above in the Wikipedia article, with a 57% chance of major quakes during the next 50 years.

I HAVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH A MAJOR QUAKE plus THOUSANDS OF AFTERSHOCKES!

In 1976 we had personal experience with earthquakes when living in Guatemala on February 4th at 3:00 AM we were hit by THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE. It hit us hard on our Valparaiso Plantation, but nothing like the Central Highlands. I have a section in my history book about our life in THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MAYA you can see for a lot of detail.....when and if it ever becomes available again.

All of a sudden we began hearing cows and dogs making a fuss, sensing something was coming. It sounded like a giant jet airplane zeroing in on us. The electricity was instantly gone and we were in the dark. It lasted for about 30 second....that seemed much longer. But we were alright. I turned on my Zenith shortwave radio but the electricity was gone and the batteries were dead.

David jumped on my mud bike with me and we headed for the Central House and the store there to get batteries. We imagined that the Central House would be in ruins. The end of the adobe barn had given way blocking the road and we had to circle down to the main road and back to the Central House. We found all our people outside huddled together with their blankets, except for Dr. Buz Sandberg visiting who didn't know that with an earthquake you get out of the house fast! He had just rolled over in his bed pulling the blanket over him and ended up covered with plaster that came off the walls, but was alright.

And, the visiting Penrods sleeping in their van....slept through it without awakening.

In the giant Central House walls were cracked, but the walls held, but eventually we had to replace all the adobe walls between rooms with wood partitions.

With batteries back at our A-frame home we searched on the radio for a Guatemalan radio station, but found none. We finally got a

station from Honduras reporting the quake had been felt in all of Central America, but with only a few deaths in a Hoduran hospital.

They then said, " No Guatemalan radio stations are broadcasting, and the phone lines are silent. It's as if Guatemala is dead!"

We wondered if we were the only ones left alive in all of Guatemala.

There was a dust cloud covering all the Central Highlands for days. Eventually the death toll stood at 25,000, including some of our friends in Patzicia.

****************

Now we'll end our glimpses of the Great Creation, by viewing a

collection of rocks and minerals showing a seeming unending

variety. With them try and imagine what creative processes created

each. They were mostly from sedimentary layers of one kind or another.

But first it's best to mention briefly what you might see on some of

those rocks.....LICHENS we see below covering one of our rocks

from the Foothills of Mount Timpanogos. This is just another of the

impossible to believe stories that are part of the

DIVINE VISIONS of NATURE

with more details below.....

A few pictures down I'll insert explanations about this most

interesting and curious life form....

They don't only grow on rocks. Remember this old fellow?

But mainly we find them on rocks, in an unending variety....with

over 3,000 varieties identified in the Rocky Mountain area. In

dealing with Sagebrush I have already told the story of it

shepherding other life, like Lichens, and mentioned a little about

that, but here is the rest of the story.

But, we'll start by telling

the wonderful SHEPHERD STORY of rocks, sagebrush

and others shepherding two living organisms that decided to help each other survive by combining their talents for the survival of both.

I'm talking about two living organisms:

FUNGI & ALGAE

I'm not sure who spoke up first to begin this amazing story, but it

was as if one of them said to the other,

"Hey friend, let's find a way to work together so that we can both not

only survive, but thrive, reproduce as well as brighten up the dull

rocks, the sagebrush, scrub oak and other trees!"

So, they formed what is called a symbiotic partnership. Another

way to say it with critical detail is:

A Lichen is a composite living organism resultant from algae living

among the filaments of two fungi in a mutually beneficial symbiotic

or partnership relationship. The fungi benefit from the

carbohydrates produced by the algae. The algae benefit by being

protected from the environment by the filaments of the fungi that

gather water and nutrients from the environment and provide a

home for the algae.

For me this is just another in

the unending intelligent systems of

creation put in motion by our wise and all knowing

DIVINE CREATOR.

Above we also see growing on the rock another living plant....

....A MOSS...........that we learned about in Chapter 7.

EDIBLE & MEDICINAL BENEFITS OF LICHENS

For example, lichens are used in deodorant, toothpaste, salves, extracts, and perfumes. In Japan, they use lichens in paint for its anti-mildew properties.

1 year ago

Lichens - Did You Know? - USDA Forest Service

… being valuable bio-indicators of pollution, lichens provide important ecosystem services, such as binding and building soil and fixing atmospheric nitrogen

7 years ago

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Lichens, But Wish You ...

… and active substances have also been shown to have multiple health benefits including anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative stress, and anti-diabetes

3 years ago

A comprehensive review on secondary metabolites and health ...

By the way the beautiful Rocky Mountain goats we have on Mount Timpanogos, in the High Uintas and in many of our mountains, eat Lichens as an important part of their diet in the high rocky mountains where lichens can always be found on the rocks. I'll insert below one of my photos of a young goat surrounded by his lunch.

This young goat is surrounded by delicious LICHENS.

About 25% of 1.5 million varieties of fungi are capable of becoming a lichen, so they figure there could be at least 250,000 varieties of lichens in our world....likely a lot more.

3,000 species have been identified in our Rocky Mountain area.

Below I'll show you just a few of them with which I will have to do as I promised with the GRASSES, and research a name for each of the following Lichens.

Since in the creation story for Utah I have mentioned the High Uinta Mountains, I'd best also insert one rock from the Uintas loaded with

Lichens.

Now to finish this chapter we'll enjoy viewing a few of the unending

variety of rocks and minerals along with the words of several

beautiful songs that mention our Creator....a line or so between each

photos of pairs of beautiful and fascinating rocks.....each with a long

story to tell us.

Try and pick out the one with yellow specs that might be gold and
let me know so I can get the reliable 4 x 4 vehicle I need for my
next project,
THE WEST UTAH DESERT!

FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH

From that wonderful song...with a tiny bit of artistic & poetic license.

My collection of favorites from the High Uintas

For the glory of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies

'Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night

Hill and vale and tree and flow'r

Sun and Moon and stars of light

'Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise

For the joy of human love

Brother, sister, parent, child

Friends on earth and friends above

For all gentle thoughts and mild

'Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise

For each perfect gift of Thine

To humanity so freely given

Graces human Given , Human and divine

Flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n

'Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise

For the beauty of the earth!

and

I THINK THE WORLD IS GLORIOUS

Look at the world

Everything all around us

Look at the world

And marvel every day

Look at the world

So many joys and wonders

So many miracles

Along our way

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see

All the gifts we share and every blessing

All things come of thee

Look at the earth

Bringing forth fruit and flowers

Look at the sky

The sunshine and the rain

Look at the hills

Look at the trees and mountains

Valley and flowing river
Field and plain

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see

All the gifts we share and every blessing

All things come of thee

Think of the spring

Think of the warmth of summer

Bringing the harvest

Before the winter's cold

Everything grows
Everything has a season

'Til it is gathered to the fathers fold

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of thee

Every good gift

All that we need and cherish
Comes from the Lord

In token of his love
We are his hands

Stewards of all his bounty
His is the earth and his the heavens above

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see

All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of thee!

LOOK AT THE EARTH
Look at the world
Everything all around us

Look at the world
And marvel every day

Look at the world
So many joys and wonders

So many miracles
Along our way

December 31, 2023

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see

All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of thee

Look at the earth
Bringing forth fruit and flowers

Look at the sky
The sunshine and the rain
Look at the hills

Look at the trees and mountains
Valley and flowing river
Field and plain

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share and every blessing
All things come of thee

Think of the spring
Think of the warmth of summer

Bringing the harvest
Before the winter's cold

Everything grows
Everything has a season
'Til it is gathered to the fathers fold

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share and every blessing

All things come of thee

Every good gift

All that we need and cherish
Comes from the Lord
In token of his love

We are his hands
Stewards of all his bounty

His is the earth and his the heavens above

Praise to thee O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see!

Alleluia, alleluia....

....PRAISE THE LORD of CREATION!

*************

IN CONCLUSION....

...as the sort of construction worker of this divine work of

SCIENCE, LITERATURE & ART

I express to my Lord and Creator soul felt gratitude for having

quite miraculously let a "recovering cripple" make it through

these two years completing this first step of what I intend to be finally a

printed book...

....at least with one printing for me..... to hold in my hands often and remember gratefully the 3rd of my

"IMPOSSIBLE DREAMS COME TRUE IN ONE LIFETIME"

The Lord kindly gave me new life permitting me enjoying

with great love and, sharing with my friends.

the discovery of so many of his

DIVINE VISIONS of CREATION.

With deep love and gratitude

Cordell M. Andersen

THE END

Not of "Little Andy" quite yet!

**************

APPENDIX 1

This excerpt from my website…click below to see the entire post from August 2020

https://cordellmandersen.com/2020/08/?doing_wp_cron=1736355244.3149909973144531250000

CONFESSION:

I have been inactive for several months in my 85th year with three problems I’ll tell you about, but I will reshuffle the items mentioned in my post as the 3rd item actually came first, it was:

1. I had a chance to be exposed to COVID-19, and except for my back, am in better health than others my age so I decided best build up my immunity now, so….

“BRING IT ON WHILE STILL HEALTHY.”

When my blood pressure indicated something was going south in my body I started the
CURATIVE LEVEL OF MY WELLNESS FORMULA,

The next day the blood pressure was solved, then had one day later with a temperature of 99.1 F, then one day at 99.9 then always normal. No body pains nor breathing problems, only daily headaches and my taste turned on end for three weeks with even my favorite foods and drinks being NASTY! But mostly my life continued normally, the normal flu–had years ago before discovering the WELLNESS FORMULA, was many times more miserable & dangerous. YOU CAN HAVE THE WELLNESS FORMULA by buying my book, it being explained in Appendix 5 in the article entitled “THE ANTI-AGING CHALLENGE,” on page 635-636, along with solutions to most problems in the 55 page article, and my survival stories sprinkled throughout the book that can SAVE YOUR LIFE!

THE KEYS TO BEATING COVID-19 & ALL HEALTH PROBLEMS?
HEALTHY WEIGHT — EXERCISE —
BE AT PEACE
STUDY MY “ANTI-AGE CHALLENGE” IN APPENDIX 5,
plus
Chapter 5: “LIGHTWEIGHT, JOYFUL & SAFE BACKPACKING”

2. On May 11th on an exploratory trip to be able to report to you the accessibility conditions I took THE WORST FALL OF MY LIFE THAT SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME. Let me describe it for the survival lessons it teaches, I quote:

“I decided for the report on my website I should include pictures of a wildflower in bloom at the lower elevations. I noticed some in bloom up a steep slope and pulled off the road. I’d been behind the wheel for an hour or so and as I started up the slope I felt very unsteady with awful balance. I even strangely thought, “Wow, I could use a hiking stick or trekking pole!” That I have resisted all these years as usually I had in my hands my camera, or my munchies. But, I finally got up to the flower, and on the uneven steep slope with rocks and sagebrush, each time I’d try and focus I would lose my balance, so sat down to get the picture

Then I started down, but completely forgetting what I have advised going down a steep slope—” ALWAYS LEAN INTO THE MOUNTAIN…because if you fall the OTHER WAY, YOU’RE MOST LIKELY DEAD!” See pages 563-564 of my book. All of a sudden I began losing my balance–one of the first things you begin to lose as you get older. I did my darndest with me feet to keep up with my body but couldn’t do it as all was happening so quickly and all of a sudden I went head over heels flying downward, apparently hitting the rocks a time or two I determined afterwards seeing the deep dirt and green scuff marks on the back of my shirt, then somehow quite miraculously my body got twisted around in the air–that saved me, before I hit the bottom so I landed with a thud on my back horizontally with the shock evenly distributed the length of my body. If I had of hit on any angle I would for sure have broke something. I laid there stunned thinking, “For sure there’s got to be multiple fractures somewhere–MAYBE EVERYWHERE!” I carefully moved one leg, then the other. Then each arm. I raised my head just a little, and then more. By then I was feeling warm blood on the back of my head. My left arm shirt sleeve was soaked with blood. I carefully sat up, and slowly got to my feet, and noticed nearby my Nikon camera with Zoom lens that separate from me somehow had come down the steep hill with me, dirty with dust, but back in the car I checked it out, and it too had survived without breaking anything. My first thought, I stupidly had violated the rule and NOT LEANED INTO THE MOUNTAIN. The second thing that came to mind: VERY LIKELY MY BACKPACKING DAYS ARE OVER WITH, BUT I WAS ALIVE! Thirdly, once again the supplements I promote in my “Anti-Aging Challenge” chapter in Appendix 5, primarily: Magnesium/Calcium and others, saved my body from any kind of fractures. I mention in the book Dr. Jackson saying, after my hip replacement surgery.

“Your bones are the hardest we’ve ever seen!” WHY? see Appendix 5

IMPORTANT NOTE: As indicated in the story of my fall, BALANCE is one of the first things we lose as we get older, and I’m convinced that some of those who have been lost in the Uintas and never found, very possibly–in the numerous dangerous places in the Uintas have just simply lost their balance as happened to me, and fallen into a ravine, or out of sight area, and are never found.

Like famous Australian backpacker ERIC ROBINSON doing the Highline Trail and disappeared for 5 years, before his bones were finally found at the bottom of a cliff–HE UNDOUBTEDLY LOST HIS BALANCE TRYING TO GET BACK TO THE HIGHLINE TRAIL, AFTER SOMEHOW GETTING WAY OFF COURSE. See pages 156-159 for all the details.

SO PLEASE….BE VERY AWARE AND TAKE SPECIAL CAUTION, especially in the first few days on a trip–until you get your “mountain legs working,” & IN DANGEROUS PLACES…..AND IF YOUR BALANCE IS LESS THAN NORMAL, I GUESS YOU’LL HAVE TO USE TREKKING POLES.

3. Consequently my back problems that were already bad–having had two surgeries with titanium appliances in my lower back, but now worse, with discs worn out and missing in my mid back, my spinal chord being pinched in those locations and the Doctors feel at my age and the nature of the problems its too dangerous to repair with surgery. The Dr. injected something into my spine, but its doing almost NOTHING! Consequently NO MORE BACKPACKING, JOGGING, but NOT GIVING IN YET–I’m doing daily my 40-50 good pushups, flexibility exercises, an 8 lb. barbell in each hand while watching TV, and walking every day at the American Fork Amphitheater park, climbing up and down holding onto the railing, and will…… somehow find a way to again do

“the impossible!”

...that by the Fall of 2020 was to get worse....
....and I had to have my 3^rd back surgery….but something went wrong. My right leg was dead, or in deep sleep, and I couldn’t walk anymore. I was confined to bed, and the muscles in my legs, especially the dead right one, began quickly disappearing. Seeing them reminded me of holocaust victims. I was shocked, and with the thoughts of me ending up in a Rest Home, had me going to work as I explain……

By 2023 the HIGH UINTAS became a bit difficult....cutting down a bit the size of

THE FIGHT TO NOT GIVE IN.....to the FOOTHILLS of MOUNTATIMPANOGOS, and

380 mini-hikes in those foothills later. plus unending work with many thousands of photographs, and never ending research, investigations, and writing by early 2025 produced my

THIRD IMPOSSIBLE DREAM REALIZED.....

A 9 chapter online book with photos of the creation like many have never seen before!

Available free for all of my friends and lovers of the inspiring great outdoor's wonderment....at the retired Foundation's website: www.guatemalanfoundation.org

NOW INFORMATION ABOUT MY

Books:

HIGH UINTA MOUNTAINS & LIGHWEIGHT BACKPACKING

and

GUIDE FOR 856 MILE AUTO-LOOP TOUR OF UINTAS

Available in paperback and in hard cover you see here. The hardcover version has

better paper and excellent color reproduction like you see above.
Go to: Amazon.com

Return to Home page for more info and glimpses of pages from the books and information to get original book online with page numbers and index.

Original printed book in 2 volumes, but also available online. Information on Home page and on my personal website.

*****************

The books tell the story of GOLD IN THE UINTAS including the direction how to find it, so.....

.....GOING FOR THE GOLD!

you'll have to get

MY BOOK, that details how.

THE HIGH UINTA MOUNTAINS BOOK

Originally this book was a digital book available online for a small fee. Then a surprising number of friends wanted a printed version, which had to be done in two volumnes.

It has now been divided by the publisher into two books available on www.amazon.com as explained and shown in the beginning of this post. What is described below is the unique contents of both books that no other books on the High Uinta Mountains have.

*****************************

The first book, THE HIGH UINTA MOUNTAINS, is the only book on the High Uintas that has up-to-date information about the lakes with color topographical maps showing the routes and distances to each lake, as well as being the only guide book that has HISTORY, LEGENDS, SURVIVAL STORIES of those who didn't make it and why, plus MY OWN 8 SURVIVAL STORIES & why I'm still around in my late 80's.

There is also an important chapter in the AUTO-TOUR book on...

.. LIGHTWEIGHT --JOYFUL & SAFE BACKPACKING ANYWHERE that first explores WHY WE EXPLORE,

and even a section on why one outdoor expert from the East

on a BYU Radio talk show called me a...

"BAD ASS BACKPACKER!"

The explanation about what to some might

sound "bad" and "vulgar" needing to be bleeped out by BYU,

but it is clarafied as "a good thing" for outdoor lovers!"

You'll have to decide for yourself....good, or bad?

Plus 15 Appendices also in the Auto-Tour book

with all kinds of additional information unique to this book,

like references to the

High Uinta Project in Backpacker Magazine

and

A full-page spread color photo & article from

The Salt Lake Tribune,

plus articles on:

Giardia,

Personal Locater Beacons, a

Tie Hacker Museum in Wyoming,

Another article about me in

Combat Handguns magazine,

The Legend of Big & Little Foot,

The Central Utah Project,

Visions of Nature,

A Mosaic of hundreds of High Uinta Friends,

High Altitude Sickness,

and a big section with all my secrets on the

AGING CHALLENGE,

with pictures below used in that story of my struggle to remain active and useful,

which likely will enhance your life too!

Just for health and longevity purposes

THE PURCHASE PRICE IS A STEAL!

Bill does have a lot more hair than me, but also too much other stuff!

Only the original book also has a 14 page index.

HOW to ACQUIRE EITHER OF THE BOOKS

Above we see the hardcover version that has better paper and wonderful color reproduction. Both hardcover and paperback are large format 8.5" x 11.5". Go to Amazon for details.

Go to: www.amazon.com/books by Cordell Andersen

If, for whatever reasons you still want the original as offered already, follow the instructions below.

To acquire a digital copy of the 730 page ebook, send me $30 and your email address to:

Cordell M. Andersen

444 Elm St.

American Fork, Utah 84003

On receipt of your order I will immediately email you a link to download the book to your computer along with my permission to share the link with one other friend.

PRINT COPIES

For a print copy in two volumes as seen above the spiral version

is the most practical as pages will remain open.

The other version is mainly for libraries with a place

to list call numbers.

Every library in the U.S. should have this book as

there is no other book about the

HIGH UINTAS

SAFE, ENJOYABLE BACKPACKING ANYWHERE

that even comes close.

I do not personally handle orders for print copies anymore as I did in the beginning for about 60 more than willing to pay big bucks to get it, but now suggest my favorite printer below. Prices in the beginning were relatively low as I got a quantity discount for the 60 who were willing to pay almost anything, but prices have risen a lot, so you will have to talk to the printer....but for a single copy you can expect the cost to be around $200. They do excellent color reproduction with great paper.

Also they can do a black & white version that will cost about 1/3rd of what color will cost.

Of course you can get it done at your favorite printer by taking to the printer a thumb drive with the book. If you go to Office Max, remember my experience is that they printed all the pictures too dark, so give strict instructions to avoid that and get better color reproduction.

Best call COPYTEC.

**********************************

Throughout the 2025 season I will persist

NOT GIVING UP....WITHOUT A GOOD FIGHT,

doing my daily hikes to keep my body and mind from going to sleep, by keeping track of all the plants, insects, mammals, repitles, lichens, rocks, and now BIRDS too,......