Mountains²

I like to think of my life in terms of semesters. This is probably owing to the fact that I've been a student for most of my life. BYU has spring/summer terms, but I like to think of them as one collective unit. This spring/summer I felt impressed to live by the theme of Mountains². 

"What does that mean," you ask? Well, I felt impressed to spend time in the Mountains in the wilderness/ as well as the Mountains of the Lord--temples! I worked 40 hours a week this spring summer and had a long commute to and from Salt Lake, so there wasn't much time for fun trips and such, but I made the most with what I had. I focused my gospel study sessions on learning about Mountains and learned that they are places of revelation: both physical temples and nature are places where you can feel so much closer to Heavenly Father and the Savior. This was a perspective I greatly needed this summer!

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Alyssa, Travis, and I went on a hike one Saturday Morning to the 5th Water Hot Springs. I'd been there before, but this time we ventured a little further up to a more secluded spot. It felt like we had a little oasis all to ourselves. 

^^We dubbed this, "mushroom rock."

I originally had a goal to try and find the best burger in Utah, and someone recommended Glade's Drive Inn in Spanish Fork. The burgers were delicious, and it felt like the joint was a community gathering place. There were baseball teams and local cowboys, and everyone recommended the same item—the super cheese. 

Over Memorial Day Weekend, a few ward friends and I went on a camping trip to Great Basin National Park in Nevada. The park is known for having some of the darkest skies in the U.S. and they did NOT disappoint. There was a telescope presentation at night where we got to see the Milky way with our naked eyes!!!

When we originally got there, the campsites were reportedly full, but we lucked out with the most perfect spot we could have hoped for.

^^Carlos' trunk was filled to the brim!

^^Travis had a huge desire to knock over this mostly dead tree.

^^We ate SO well on this trip. Shout out to Pinterest for some amazing suggested camping recipes. & of course I'm a firm believer that everything tastes better with a little Tapatío.

^^We tripled the membership of the branch that day, and they were so happy to have us that one sweet couple invited us to visit them the next day and meet their horses.

Towards the end of the summer, mi amigo Rússell invited me to his friend's cabin for a small weekend excursion. It was a mini 97th ward old-timers reunion, and as we were picking up someone, we ran into our bishop! As a semi-joke, Russell invited him to our cabin trip, and he accepted the offer and actually ended up coming! It was the greatest, and seriously only something Tommaso could pull off.

^^I wish I could have done the moon justice that night! It was breathtaking.

^^Just playing games in a yurt with our Bishop. 

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