Photography

First, you have to know that I would rather shadow a professional nature photographer than be one. Why? When it comes to the perfect scene, the pros have an abundance of patience. Second, that I encounter beautiful scenes is more serendipity than plan. I’m often skiing, trail running, or hiking and simply pull up alongside something rich and amazingly beautiful. A few snaps later (with occasional retouching, which is also not a pro approach) and some text, and voilé, my snapshots are Instagram worthy.

Mainly, I showcase my small part in a remarkably majestic world.

bcwalkeroriginal

“You are never lost when you can see the temple.

“You are never lost when you can see the temple. The temple will provide direction for you and your family in a world filled with chaos. It is an eternal guidepost…” - Gary E. Stevenson
#givethanks
#mountainofthelord
#temples
#provotemple
#godisgreat

I had three sons—rough and tumble—before we ha

I had three sons—rough and tumble—before we had a little girl. She changed my life then and continues to be one of the strongest, happiest, most congenial, and most put-together people (both men and women) I know. She can ski as fast as the rest of us, smile longer, play harder, and praise God more genuinely. She’s got incredible common sense and has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Oh, and she’s every bit as pretty as her mother.

Now with two boys of her own and a third on the way, I hope she gets a little version of herself someday that will change her life as much as she has mine. I joke that she will be my child that takes care of me when I’m much, much older. She always says, “I know.”

Love you, Kassidy Jane!
#givethanks
#daughtersareamazing
#sundance
#skidays

I think I know a little of how God must have felt,

I think I know a little of how God must have felt, letting His only son go forth in the world, come what may. I’m grateful for three sons who lift me to higher heights, show me amazing things that they have created from intellects and curiosity and strength that exceeds my own. I’m grateful for their commitment to truth and integrity, for their graciousness and kindness that lights the way for others.

I’m a blessed father. #givethanks
#sons
#californiacoast
#godisgreat

“Nobody grows old by merely living a number of y

“Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals, their faith. There is always the love of wonder, a childlike appetite for what is next, and the joy of your life. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear or despair.”

“In the center of our heart is a recording chamber, and so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage, and faith, so long are we young.” - Douglas MacArthur
#givethanks
#lovegrandchildren
#youngness
#joyoflife
#teachmetowalkinthelight

#givethanks #togetherforever #amazingwoman #redcli

#givethanks
#togetherforever
#amazingwoman
#redcliffs

“A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband....She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.…Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”
- Proverbs 12:4, 31:26,30

“Crisis or transition of any kind reminds us of

“Crisis or transition of any kind reminds us of what matters most. In the routine of life, we often take our families—our parents and children and siblings—for granted. But in times of danger and need and change, there is no question that what we care about most is our families! It will be even more so when we leave this life and enter into the spirit world. Surely the first people we will seek to find there will be father, mother, spouse, children, and siblings.” - M. Russell Ballard #givethanks #indianroadtrail #familytime

All that God gives us becomes gold. “I counsel t

All that God gives us becomes gold. “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich” Revelation 3:18 #givethanks #provocanyon #upperfalls

I skied yesterday. Earliest day I can remember fre

I skied yesterday. Earliest day I can remember free-heeling in the back country. November 9th.

We hiked it very early that morning—7:00 a.m.—myself and two of my sons. I eyed the snow depth every half mile or so, and tracked six inches at the trailhead, eight at what we call the Big Meadow.

I contemplated the entire way how well this could be skied. A first snow like this usually sets the base, and it’s the second snow that begins to be ski-able. We followed old steps from the day before for the first half mile, kicking steps into the new snow that had fallen since whoever had come before us and tracked it out a bit.

But could it be skied? I felt for rocks and sticks through my boots, all of which were surprisingly more covered than I had expected, likely from the wet first inch of snow that had now hardened based on the colder temperatures. It might work, I thought several times. It might work.

One son yelled out “first tracks” when we moved into the untracked snow about where we crossed the old road and moved up into the older growth evergreens along the north-facing slope of the canyon. There, the powder deepened and fluffed. I cheered at a full foot of fresh powder at the top near where the springs trickle out of the mountainside all year long.

We laughed nearly the entire hike out, tossing snowballs into the snow-burdened branches overhead to douse each other with powder from heaven. It was a joyous morning.

One thought stayed with me the rest of the morning and interrupted my work. It could be skied, my subconscious had concluded... (Continued in comments)

“I knew there was something special happening. I

“I knew there was something special happening.
I looked up, left, right, and even down.
Divinity was everywhere and infusing everything, including me.
I smiled at the feeling, a wonderful blend of love, majesty, beauty, and futurity.
And in that moment of absolute and total presence, it was though I could hear the universe itself—something more heavenly than merely my own best thinking began to settle over me. Ancient melodies adapted to modern moments began touching me like the first drops of rain in late summer shower...” —Read all my thoughts- link in bio.

A lazy afternoon in a hammock strapped between two

A lazy afternoon in a hammock strapped between two lodgepole pines gave me this view—all my son Dakota’s idea. The creaking trees, afternoon birdsong, a plane passing high overhead—I found myself entirely present, devoid of any regret or worry for an hour.

As one wise person said, “Sling a hammock between the words ‘over’ and ‘next,’ and you are living in the moment.” For me, literally hanging a hammock between two trees and lying back produced an equivalent sensation. And in that pause, I found myself looking up.

My head cleared in no time. My worries disappeared. My heart filled with awe. I felt God whisper His love in the wind.

Oh, to stay in that moment swaying in that comforting breeze! To care less and hope more! To love better now rather than later! To spend more moments looking up—I think I’ll try.

#islandpark #lookup #adayatatime #thismoment #christ #god #lds #Hislove #hope #faith #savior #nature #heavenlyfather #greatoutdoors

Astounded by the Pristine Near the headwaters of

Astounded by the Pristine

Near the headwaters of Henry’s Fork of the Snake River, I hiked a half mile along these sparkling rapids one morning recently. The crisp air and pungency of lodgepole pines “took my breath away”—a phrase I have repeated many, many times when I find myself in or near anything truly pristine. On a macro scale, pristine could be the sky, clouds, rivers, trees. At a micro level, and just as it was that day, I saw harebells and thimble berries in abundance. I discovered Pacific Coralroot—an orchid variety with dozens of flowers per tiny stem—and common selfheal, a storied folk medicine and edible. I cleared spider silk as I walked, telling me I was the first to take the trail that morning. At every bend or window through the trees, the fomenting white of the river was highlighted even more by the sun coming down through the trees as it rose in the northeast—rising farther north this time of year than any other.

A picture paints a thousand words, truly, and this one particularly captured three important words for me: God is Great. What He can do, both big and small, to enable a pristine world and restore my own soul daily is astounding.

I took note and walked on.

#astounded
#godslove
#hearhim
#coffeepotrapids

“God is good; his promises never fail; to implic

“God is good; his promises never fail; to implicitly trust his goodness and mercy, is a correct principle. Let us, therefore, put our trust in Him.” -Joseph F. Smith

Chapter 6: Faith: The Foundation of All Righteousness

#islandpark
#macksinn
#henrysfork
#snakeriver
#godisgood

26| For the earth is the Lord’

26| For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. |1 Corinthians 10|

#wildatheart
#shinglemill
#greatwesterntrail
#romans8:18

“By this we know that we love the children of Go

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.” - 1 John 5:2 #godschildren
#iamachildofgod
#youarehis
#humankind

Always remember the way 💫 #shinglemilltrail #re

Always remember the way 💫
#shinglemilltrail
#remember
#ancestraltrail

DC 50:23 And that which doth not edify is not of G

DC 50:23 And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.
24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
25 And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you;|| #light
#brightereveryday

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