It took me a lot of years to come to terms with this but “Simple Man” is my favorite song. I’m not a Skynyrd diehard, but something about the union of the song’s vast progression, restrained tempo and homespun lyrics forces me to sit back and put things in perspective.

I’m watching the sun set on the porch right now. There’s a mellow pink light withering on the darkening blue behind the peak across the way. We just hit the solo. Something in me’s saying, “It’s cool, man. All is well.”

I guess that’s why…

Mama told me when I was young 
Come sit beside me, my only son 
And listen closely to what I say. 
And if you do this 

It’ll help you some sunny day. Oh Yah! 
Oh, take your time… Don’t live too fast, 
Troubles will come and they will pass. 
You’ll find a woman, yea yea, you’ll find love, 
And don’t forget son, 
There is someone up above. 

And be a simple, kind of man. 
Oh be something, you love and understand. 
Baby be a simple, kind of man. 
Oh, won’t you do this for me son, 
If you can? 

Forget your lust, for the rich man’s gold 
All that you need, is in your soul, 
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try. 
All that I want for you my son, 
Is to be satisfied. 

And be a simple, kind of man. 
Oh be something, you love and understand. 
Baby be a simple, kind of man. 
Oh, won’t you do this for me son, 
If you can? 

Boy, don’t you worry… you’ll find yourself. 
Follow your heart, lord, and nothing else. 
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try. 
All that I want for you my son, 
Is to be satisfied. 

And be a simple, kind of man. 
Oh be something, you love and understand. 
Baby be a simple, kind of man. 
Oh, won’t you do this for me son, 
If you can? 

Baby be a simple, be a simple man. 
Oh be something, you love and understand. 
Baby be a simple, kind of man.

Rolled down to Salt Lake City this morning for some meetings. The fastest way to get back up the mountain is Parley’s Canyon, but the prettiest is Emigration Canyon—a winding mountain road that peaks at 6,000 feet. From there, you can hike a trail that takes you up to 7,200 with an epic view of the city you just escaped.

I have a hard time not stopping here.

Made some friends right off the bat.

At first, I was like, “This is nice.”

Cactus flowers are awe-inspiring.

Then I was like, “Man, it’s a little hot out today.”

I looked back down the trail after a couple miles and thought, “Maybe I should head back.”

Then I looked up and thought, “Nope.”

When I got to the base of the steepest leg I encountered a gosh darn beautiful meadow of flowers. A good sign.

And another friend who moved too fast for focus.

But it didn’t get any easier… What with the flaked rock…

And the thickets that tried to suffocate me, despite their beauty.

But the feeling when you emerge to a view like this…

It’s like, “YES!”

Then, “Check this out!”

Then, “Whoa, there’s not a lot of air up here, I’m getting pretty sunburned and there’s no water left.”

But the view… The Great Salt Lake to the West.

The last snow in the Wasatch to the South.

And to the East, the crystal Wasatch Watershed and damn near Colorado.

On the way down, I made another friend who didn’t wanna hang.

Oh and nothing feels better worse than running outta water when hiking with one of Utah’s finest water sources in constant view.

But it was awesome.

A fella by the name of Francis Tate built a wild-lookin’ dairy farm in Heber, Utah back in 1902. He constructed the thing with a foundation of local “hot pot” rock—the Heber Valley is home to multiple natural hot springs—and red pine. 

The barn fell into disrepair in the 90s but was reconstructed by a coalition of citizens and civic groups before the Olympics visited Utah in 2002.

While no longer used for agricultural purposes, the barn is a Heber landmark, a sight-seeing attraction from the local Heber Creeper train ride and home to two magnificent horses. Here’s a look…

It was about 1pm with a high, clear-sky sun when I arrived at Solider’s Hollow, the venue for the annual Heber Valley Pow Wow. Ceremonial dances aren’t something you can do justice in words, so first off…

These were the ‘granddaughter’ dances. This was fancy shawl, if I remember correctly. There were also jingly shawl and traditional shawl competitions.

If you’ve never been to a pow wow, you can think of it as a cross between a good old family reunion bbq, a religious holiday and a full-on dance party. Long story short, it’s a helluva time…