Provo City Center Temple

Last Tuesday morning we went to the Provo City Center Temple Open House. Sarah was excused. She didn't want to miss calculus and had already toured the temple once with the Young Women in the ward (below) and then again last Sunday with Marie for a special tour for girls and their mothers of the Bride's room.

In December 2010, the pioneer era Provo Tabernacle burned down. It was a church and community gathering center where I remember attending concerts and priesthood leadership meetings (while serving in a BYU Ward bishopric) and where Marie and I once enjoyed a Messiah Sing-In.

Church leaders decided to take the brick shell that remained and transform the tabernacle into a temple--a phoenix rising from the ashes.

The new temple was built and decorated in keeping with the original pioneer style.  The green and red design (an original section that survived the fire is show above) from the Tabernacle now graces the upper trim in the bride's room--with its Minera Teichert painting of Esther.

After our silent walk through tour of the beautiful building we learned more about temples in a parking garage visitor center. The map above shows the location of LDS temples over time. The Provo City Temple is the 150th temple to dot the earth. There was an explosion of temples in the 1990s and 2000s.

The eight stakes (diocese) in Springville plus a similar amount from south Provo and BYU make up the temple district.  Joel and Sarah are currently learning a dance and song that they will perform in the pre-dedication cultural celebration. Will's comment when we passed that baptismal font is that next year when he is 12 he will be able to attend this temple to perform baptisms for the dead. Sarah plans to have this be the temple she gets married in.



Our neighbor Craig Child was in charge of restoring all of the brick work.

 The gazebo is where people can wait during weddings. The big dark glass NuSkin Headquarters shares the entrance to a linked underground parking garage for the temple.

The following photos courtesy of : https://www.lds.org/church/news/new-temple-honors-pioneer-legacy-of-provo-tabernacle/gallery?lang=eng&_r=1

The lovely stained glass image of Jesus as the good shepherd (early 1900s) in the entry was reclaimed from a Presbyterian Church in New York that was slated for destruction.


 Baptismal font


Instruction room with murals showing the creation with nods to our local landscape..

Bride's room.

Sealing/Marriage room


Celestial Room--symbolic of Heaven.

Yeti Ten: Cherry Peak

Insider info indicated that Cherry Peak would not be open much longer due to limited snow. We had hoped to join with other Emmetts for a ski day next month at Utah's newest resort--opened just this season with two of three lifts in operation, but we decide that we had better do it now. So, after a fun, full day at Beaver Mountain we headed north to Richmond Utah, turned right at the only light and headed east towards the mountains for our second Yeti resort of the day.

Cherry Peak (center) is a prominent rise on the west front of the Bear River Range.

Cherry Peak ski resort is the dream of John Chadwick--whose family lived in our same LDS ward growing up. His dad was our bishop when I decided to serve an LDS mission. John's mom directed the Road Show (which included a live orchestra--I played cornet--and dancers on roller skates) and his older sisters were good friends of mine. One of John's first jobs was as a car salesman--he sold me my blue Ford escort wagon. Two years ago John approached my youngest brother Tom to see if he would help set up a ski shop for the planned resort. Tom agreed and has worked hard to help make the rental side of the resort a success. Tom has years of experience in the ski business, so he has lots of good ideas (not all of which are welcomed or implemented--such is life).

FYI: Fun to do summer activities to the east of the resort include hiking Mt. Naomi and camping on the banks of Tony Grove and White Pine lakes.

Cherry Peak Resort gets it name from one of several prominent peaks (including Mt Gog and Mt. Magog) in the Mt Naomi Wilderness Area. It is just minutes east of Richmond up Cherry Creek Canyon where the resort abuts the wilderness area.

First stop was to check in with Tom who was working the evening shift. Several hundred people were coming to ski, board and tube for a company party, so ski rentals were hopping.

Tom then took us out for a few tips on where to ski.



There's not much to the resort. It is small and relies heavily on snow making machinery. It is a great place to learn how to ski, to have evening youth skiing parties, or to drop in for a few runs after a day of milking the cows in Amalga or teaching school at North Cache Middle School in Richmond--both just down the road. It is not the place to go for long vertical runs or lots of deep powder.

Gateway Lift

Northern Cache Valley in the distance, plus some pretty bare south and west facing foothills.

We were limited on time so we took a run on the Gateway lift down the Narrows (a bit icy from warm days and freezing nights) and True Blue, above, (the Chadwicks are Aggie fans) which was well groomed and fun to ski.

Sun setting over Cache Valley (named for where fur trappers cached their pelts).

Next up was a few runs on Vista. The white towers for the Summit lift (opening next year) can be seen on the ridge.

Part of the main run was re-groomed between 4-5 pm so that the evening skiers had soft snow to ski on. Unfortunately the grooming machine broke down before the last few swaths could be completed. Will is descending one of the man made mounds that added to the fun.

The terrain park at the bottom of Edge.
 

Looking down to the base of the Summit and Vista lifts. It was a fun hour of skiing. Unfortunately our legs were well worn from a long ski day and we still had a dinner date in Logan and then a two hour drive home to Springville. We look forward to giving Cherry Peak another try once the upper lift is completed. It is also on my list as a great place to take the grandkids when they are learning to ski.

For dinner we met up with our Semester at Sea cabin neighbors (she is a theater professor at USU), whose daughter was Sarah's cabin mate. A happy gathering at the end of a fun day of double resort skiing.

Yeti Nine: Beaver Mountain

A back up of cars following behind three snowplows coming out of Sardine Canyon.

The recent warm spell in the Beehive State got me to worrying that some resorts may not stay open much longer. With six resorts still to ski and many Saturdays already booked with Temple celebration practices and performance, Joel and Sarah decided they could skip at least one practice while the skiing was still good. It was time to ski the Beav. I woke the kids at 6:15 hoping to depart by 7:00. That hope was delayed a half hour by Will's falling back to sleep twice (it just isn't his nature to go to bed when told and then to stop reading and turn out his light when told) and by Sarah waking to read an over night e-mail from BYU telling her she had been accepted (yeah) and then wanting to check in with many of her friends to see if they too had been accepted. Snow was still falling in Sardine Canyon, Cache Valley and Logan Canyon, the hold out from an over night storm forecasted to be gone by morning. 

China Row in Logan Canyon.

Beaver Mountain in the distance. Coming and going the canyon was full of lots of pickups pulling large trailers full of snow mobiles. Different strokes for different folks.

The backside of Beaver.

We pulled into the parking lot at 10:05 delighted to see blue skies on the horizon. Little Beaver hill to the left and Beaver Face lift on the right.

Marge Seeholzer (in green) has been selling tickets for as long as I can remember. She and her husband Ted took over management of the resort from Ted's parents--Harry and Luella Seeholzer--who founded Beaver Mountain. It was Harry who introduced my dad John to skiing at the Sinks. Dad was then among the first to ski on Beaver Mountain. One of my first skiing memories is sitting in the "lodge" (which is now the ticket office) and eating a bowl of Luella's homemade chili. 

I learned to first ski on an early rope tow and then on the Little Beaver lift (in the distance)--where my friend and I were given the title "snowplow kings."

The base lodge on the left with the old lodge (cabin)  turned ticket office and ski school on the right.

First run down The Face.

My brother Tom (left) and his wife Shelly (right) joined us for some fun morning runs.

 My famous brother Tom graces the cover of the Trail Map. 

Joel getting up from a fall on South Face.

Tom took a quick video of all of us skiing down through the trees on Schoolhouse--which still had nice patches of untracked powder. Perfect conditions.

The Ridge and Stump (called Stump Hollow in my day) are perennial favorites--especially when groomed in smooth corduroy.

That groomed corduroy became the favorite of a group of men who spent decades skiing together at Beaver. They affectionately became known as the corduroy posse. To honor our dad and his friends his six children installed this commemorative bench and plaque in the lodge to celebrate their lives and love of skiing. Jokester Wayne Rich is the only one left.

John and Norda taught those six kids to ski. They in turn have taught generation three (including my three kids--sitting on the commemorative bench) to ski and even now some in generation four. It is a great legacy.

Many an Emmett has enjoyed sack lunches in this lodge--mostly on the picnic tables in the basement but now in an expanded lodge in the designated sack lunch area on the main floor.

Thanks Beaver for welcoming brown-baggers.

A trip down memory lane for all four of us who enjoyed beginner days on Little Beav.

A few years ago Little Beaver Lift was extended and a magic carpet lift was installed. This makes for a great place to learn to ski.

From Little Beaver we traversed over to Harry's Dream Lift. Our first run from the top of the mountain was down Beaver's Powder--which my friends and I dubbed Mister Toads Wild Ride back in the day when we loved exploring out in the trees. Nothing better that skiing fresh snow down through glades of aspen. Way to go Sarah! We also had a fun powder run through the trees down Sour Grapes off of Marge's Triple lift along the far northern boundary of the area.

Will recovering from a fall.

Stump.

On Harry's Dream lift. As my dad liked to say: "The family that skis together, stays together."

Looking south down Logan Canyon from the top of Harry's Dream.

Same view from the top of the Face lift.

After a delightful and tiring day of skiing we drove by my parents house (first time seeing it since it was sold last summer) and stopped in Smithfield to see my brother Bill and his wife Lorie (who came up with the idea of the memorial bench). Knowing that the Twin Pine ranch was no longer available as the standard after skiing stop for sodas, bathroom and visiting, they invited us to drop by. Prominently displayed in their home was this sign--a gift from their daughters.

Having skied at many different resorts this year, I have come to realize, that this low-key, smaller-than-most ski resorts is one of the best places in Utah to ski. It has lots of top to bottom runs, few long traverses, easily accessible lifts, plus fun and varied terrain. It is family run and family friendly.

Beaver Mountain plays heavily into the very fiber of the Emmett clan. There are many memories to be written about skiing here over the past 54 years, but I will instead post a few photos to represent those many memories.

First run down Stump Hollow. 1964 (age 7)

  Freckled-face kid on the Face lift.

1969. Racing.

 I won.

 December 2005.

March 2006.

Jake, John, Bill, Tom and Chad Emmett  March 2007

 2007. Grandpa Emmett with Chad, Sarah and Joel.

 Sarah with cousins Katie and McKinley

 Will's first day at Beaver. March 2009. Note the groomed corduroy.

Will following Joel down Little Beaver

I spent many years skiing the greens as my children learned to ski. It is now a great delight to be able to ski the whole mountain--blues and blacks-- with them.

 Many Emmetts. Day after Christmas 2010.

 Day after Christmas 2010. Six children of John and Norda, plus most of their grandchildren.