Thursday, September 8, 2011

A Day Alone in The Mountains

Yesterday I decided to spend some time alone in the mountains.  I decided to go over to Camp Bartlett.  I took my fishing pole, a good church book, my camera, and my lunch and headed off for a day of solitude on a beautiful early fall day.  I was not disappointed.  I didn't see another soul.  I caught a few fish and returned each one carefully to the water to be caught again by some other angler another day.  I sat on a log and read and pondered some of the writings of Elder Neal A. Maxwell.  It is surprising the insights one gets alone in the woods pondering on the things of eternity.  I had left my camera on a log while I was fishing and happened to look up and see a deer sniffing around my camera.  I'm glad he didn't decide to take it with him.  Needless to say, I didn't get a picture of the deer.  I did, however, get pictures of other wild life.  I surprised a moose browsing in the rushes along the lake shore and yet another on the side of road as I was driving home through Emigration Canyon.

This is just one of the many moods of the lake at Camp Bartlett.  It seems to change from hour to hour.


A startled moose, returning to the shore after deciding I was really no threat.

This young bull moose was seen near the summit of Emigration Canyon licking the rocks along the roadside for salt.

I can fully understand why Joseph went to the grove for answers and why Moses and others went "up onto the mount", and why I have always appreciated the solitude and unity I feel when I am alone in the mountains.  I count this as one of the great blessings of my life.

6 comments:

Alison Daugs said...

Beautiful!!!! glad you had a good time. You should really try to get motto go with you. You could really enjoy that time together. She needs to do those things too!

Alison Daugs said...

mom- to go with you..

Rene Weston-Eborn said...

Great photo, Bart I think you taught your children well, Jason goes to the mountains too.

It is a great place to be especially when you need to have time alone.

meegz said...

Bartlett is a good place to be. I miss that place. I am glad that you are able to go up and enjoy the mountains so close to home. Thanks for sharing.

Philip

Bart said...

Alison,
Your mother goes with me lots of places, in fact most every where, but there are times when we both need our space and where we can commune with powers higher than ourselves. I love your mother and she loves me, even when I am alone on a mountain somewhere.

Love you all forever,

Dad

Bart said...

Dad needs to get away by himself
sometimes and just commune with
nature. I would ruin that for him
if I went with him.

Mom