Called to Serve III

Yesterday we got a text from Will, currently in Southern California with a group of friends for a Senior Trip, that his mission call had arrived in his inbox. His mission papers were submitted on Sunday May 21st so based on the timing of other mission calls to his friends, we knew that Tuesday the 30th might be the day the call arrived. It was. We had discussed what he would want to do it he got the call while in California. Joel and Sarah both recommended that he go down to the beach and open it on his own. No need to wait, no need for a big gathering and no need to then pretend to be excited when the call was to a less that favorite place. Will did just that. He then Facetimed his parents and siblings to read the call to them. Then he had a second opening on the beach with his friends. Here is a video of Will reading his call:

He is called to serve in the Mexico Xalapa Mission. He enters the Mexico City MTC on September 25th. He is very happy. Two years of high school Spanish (augmented by homework helper and quiz/test preparation helper Marie) will certainly give him a boost in the learning process. The mission was created in 2012.

Xalapa is also spelled Jalapa and pronounced Halapa. It is the capital of the state of Veracruz. I have travelled the road between Puebla and Veracruz twice in my life, but I think both times I followed the southern route. Xalapa was not a city in Mexico that I had ever noticed or focused on. It was nice to have a handy road atlas with a map of Mexico in it to get me oriented. 

When I first started teaching at BYU, I was assigned to teach the Geography of Latin America. I had never been south of Tijuana so teaching the class required a significantly steep learning curve for me. One thing I soon learned was that the mountainous Spanish colonized countries of Latin America all refer to zones of climates, vegetation and crops in their countries (Altitudinal Zonation) by the same names. Some of the first words in Spanish I learned that year were tierra--land, helada--frozen, fria--cold, templada--temperate and caliente--hot. 

That first year of teaching, my class was full of returned missionaries who had served in Latin America. I felt intimidated by their in-country experiences, so I convinced my department chair that if I was to teach the class again my second year, I needed to see Latin America for myself. He agreed and provided funding for a three-week trip to Ecuador and Mexico (summer 1993). In Ecuador I loved traversing the country from the top of Cotopaxi (19,347 feet) down to the beaches of Guayaquil and seeing the potatoes of the tierra fria, the coffee of the tierra templada and the bananas of the tierra caliente. 

When I got to Mexico, I was surprised to notice similar patterns, particularly as I travelled from Mexico City to Puebla, and through the state of Veracuz to the city to Veracruz and back. The city of Veracruz is certainly tierra caliente and Pueblo tierra fria and looking at the above map I would guess Xalapa is tierra templada. Most European settlers preferred templada or fria located cities over the heat of coastal caliente cites like Veracruz. 

A fruit market in Veracuz shows the wonderful array of tropical fruits gown in the hot zone. I highly recommend the liquado mango con leche (fresh mango milk shakes)

Heading up the eastern slope of the Sierra Madre Oriental (mountains) I noticed road side stands selling bags of locally grown coffee beans in the tierra templada. 

Higher up near Puebla in the fria zone, corn was growing (it grows in all three non-frozen zones)

and Agave--which is used to make tequila. 

 

Far in the distance, glacier capped Mt Popocatepetl (17,694 ft) illustrates the frozen zone (tierra helada). 

I hope Will gets to live and serve in all three zones and experience the nice variety of temperatures and local foods. 

On my second trip to Mexico in 1994 (a drive from Utah to the southernmost state of Chiapas and back) coming and going we drove west to east and then south to north through the state of Veracruz. Read about it here: https://beitemmett.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-day-i-met-zapatistas.html

It was on that trip that I first tasted tacos al pastor. Prior to that the only tacos I had ever eaten were from Taco Time or home made with ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce and cheese. I loved tacos al pastor. Our whole family loves tacos al pastor from Don Joaquin's down the street. I think part of Will's excitement in his call is that he is going to the heartland of tacos al pastor. 

Family dinner of tacos al- pastor at Don Joaquin's the night before Joel left for his mission to Ghana.  

Mexico will bless Will with many great foods, wonderful people, and beautiful lands and cities. And Will will bless Mexico with his witty humor, his smooth football moves and his love for Jesus Christ. Way to go Will. We are proud of you. 

Searching for sego lilies

Sego lilies are the state flower of Utah. Sego is a Shoshonean word that is thought to mean "edible bulb"--an appropriate name since the small (marble to walnut size) bulbs were consumed by early Mormon pioneers to ward of hunger. https://historytogo.utah.gov/sego-lily/

I grew up on these stories of the lifesaving bulbs, but I don't recall actually seeing a living sego lily until one day on a July 2008 hike to Stewart Falls above Sundance (above photo). Finding this lone sego lily bloom reminded me of an earlier time where finding flowers had become a quest. 

During my dissertation research year in Nazareth I became enamored with the spectacular wildflowers of the Galilee. I even bought the above Wild Flowers of Israel poster to hang in my office to remind me of the many flowers I had discovered on walk abouts. I was surprised to learn that there was a rare Nazareth Iris (my favorite flower) with unique deep purple spots on its lower petals that only grew in the hills of the lower Galilee. 

Soource: Nazareth Iris | Israel (101israel.com)

I did some sleuthing and found out the time when this iris bloomed. When the timing was right, I one day hiked out through the hills east of Upper Nazareth searching. I was delighted to find some blooming Nazareth iris and have slides to prove it (sadly buried in a box somewhere). Later when I returned to Utah, I joined by brothers for a mountain bike excursion in Logan Canyon. As we biked through mountain meadows I was surprised at the beauty of Utah's wildflowers--something I had barely noticed when younger but never much appreciated.

In 2010 when road tripping through the British Isles, we spent a night with Marie's cousin Shelly in Oxford. Next morning, she took us out to search for the famous blue bells. It didn't take very long, since Shelly knew where to look. We found a magnificent meadow full of the delicate flowers. Questing for national flower treasures started to become something I enjoyed.

During the COVID pandemic, the Bonneville Shoreline Trail that runs along the foothills above Springville and Provo (and much of the Wasatch Front) became my therapeutic friend. I delighted in watching the seasonal changes, particularly in terms of wildflower blooms. Two years ago in May, I happened upon hillsides of hundreds, if not thousands of sego lilies. Here are some photos from that late May two years ago: 

Today I returned to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) and was happy to see that sego lilies are just starting to bloom. I decided to provide directions for anyone who wants a fun outing or an obtainable quest--to hike for an hour or two and to find sego lilies in the wild. Seeking and finding unique plants, animals or vistas can be a joyful, fulfilling experience. 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIPa4EJmPBw State of the BST (Bonneville Shoreline Trail)

My BYU geography colleague Brandon Plewe has been walking and documenting his travels along the length of the shoreline trail--which follows the shoreline of ancient Lake Bonneville. Last year he started in Payson and headed north. Episode 4 covers the length from Springville (Hobble Creek Canyon) to Provo (Slate Canyon) marked in orange and purple on this screen shot of the map Brandon made for his YouTube video. The Section of the tail where I found all of the sego lilies is the section from where the orange section ends (north/left), splits into the higher section (blue) and a lower section (purple) and then come together again just above the large gravel pit. Hiking that loop you will certainly see plenty of sego lilies, but only for a few weeks in late May and early June. 

I started from my apartment on California avenue and walked up to Oregon Ave where there is public access to the trail. Hiking the whole loop from my apartment route takes about 2 hours. Starting from the center or south end requires only about one hour. 

Here is the north access point on Oregon Avenue.

At the point where the access trail hits the BST, you can turn left/north and walk 30 minutes to Slate Canyon or you can turn right/south and head thirty minutes up and around the gravel pit. 

When you get to this vantage point above the gravel pit the upper trail of the BST veers left/eastward up the mountain side. It's easy to miss. 

Heading south, the lower trail veers right and the upper trail veers left. 

Standing at the beginning/northernmost section of the upper trail. 

On the left of the goggle earth photo you can see where the two trails spilt--yellow upper and red lower. 

This is a steep section.

Deer carcass. It was a tough winter. 

The view the other evening from the flat portion of the upper section of the trail looking west to the filling up East Bay of Utah Lake. 

The photo above shows the area along the upper trail where the sego lilies are most plentiful and where all of the photos from two years ago were taken. 

A lone bloom. They are just starting to open. 

Several dozen blooms. On May 30th two years ago this section was covered with blooms. 

The steep southward descent of the upper trail. 

The trail winds a bit through some scrub oak then climbs sharply up where it rejoins the lower main portion of the BST.

Hang a left and head up to the mouth of Little Rock Canyon. From there you can descend to another foot access point on 800 East in Springville or continue southward along the trail towards Hobble Creek Canyon. 

If you are coming from the south access point (see map below) on 800 East this is what the beginning of the upper trail looks like. 

Little Rock Canyon

Looking down to the access point at the bend of 800 East. Notice the various sections of the BST heading south. This section of the trail(s) can be very confusing. 

In previous years I would leave our home walking (lower left) and head up the hill to 800 East. For those driving, there is a place to park (lower right) at the bend of that uppermost road 

The lower trail has much less elevation gain. 

Notice highway 89 and the gravel road entrance (between the gravel pit and the lot of shipping containers) that leads up to a parking area and easy trail access. 

The beginning of the lower trail has several branches. Eventually they merge into one path. Lower down is a gravel road that parallels the lower trail. 

Brandon has been installing additional signs along the length of the trail to help navigation. They are most welcome in this confusing area. 

Looking back south to the low ridge where the upper and lower trails merge and where the lower trail has several branches. 

Before too long, I was surprised to see more sego lilies. This lower elevation means they are blossoming sooner than those on the higher trail. This section is marked on the map above. 

Several bikers and runners passed me on the loop today. Mostly on the lower trail. 

I wondered if it hit the power lines above? 

At the mid section of the lower trail, Springville City has installed a trail access point (off of US 89) with parking. See map/photo above. 

If you park here, you can head south/right to do the loop counterclockwise. 

Or head left/north to start the loop going clockwise.

Today was the perfect temperature for a morning hike. 

The lower trail is single track in the south section and double track gravel road to the north. Motor vehicles are prohibited along the whole trail. 

From the rising lower trail at the southern edge of the gravel pit. 

Back at the northern divide into upper and lower trails. 

If this blog inspired you to get out and explore and if you found sego lilies for your first time, drop me a comment below. Also has anyone ever eaten a bulb? I haven't.