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| Back to Utah |
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This view of "Ben Lomond" is from the back porch of my new
residence. I am back in Utah, only this time I am here to stay.
Because of Covid, it's been five years since I have produced any
new photos of Utah, but now you can expect an unending flow of
new ideas from this enchanted part of the world. People ask me why I moved to Utah. Truthfully, it was never my intention to stay in Thailand as long as I did. Having lived in Utah for 27 years, and having worked for Questar Corporation for 23 of those years, one day I came back to the office and was greeted with "Guess, what? Today was your last day." I was then looking for a new job when a friend of mine, who had long ago moved to Thailand, came back for a visit. He thought I would enjoy Thailand and lined me up with a teaching job in Bangkok. Previously I had moved several times around the Salt Lake area thinking each time I would stay at my new residence for about a year. However, once I got settled, it seemed that I ended up residing at each of those places for a long time. And so it was in the land of the elephants. I originally planned to stay for a year, but anchored down for over 20 years. And for sure, one of the things that kept me in Thailand for so long, was lower cost of living (especially since all of my savings also were earned at that lower cost of living, making it more difficult to move to the U.S.) When people ask me why I left, I tell them because of the heat. Some people have responded that Utah is hot, too, which is true especially now, as I write this in July, with August just two weeks away. My friend says that it has already been up to 106 Fahrenheit (41 Celsius) here, and I remember one year when we had 20 days in a row that were above 100 F. But in Utah the air is dry, while in Bangkok the humidity is forever hanging on me, running down my temples in rivers of sweat. Yesterday I was out in the Utah heat for a couple hours, and I probably sweated every bit as much as I would have during my usual twenty minute walk in Bangkok. In Thailand I could never have stayed outside for two hours at all. Once, for example, while I was photographing stunning butterflies on top of colorful flowers, I worked in the sun for an hour. The result was a mild heat stroke. For the rest of the day I was sick to my stomach, had a headache, and felt exhausted. Thailand was already hot when I first moved there, but as I have gotten older, the heat has become more difficult for me to bear. My body's cooling system just doesn't work as efficiently as it used to. Nowadays, twenty minutes outdoors is pretty much my limit, which is exactly why I moved back to Utah. I am an outdoor person. I want to spend hours per day outdoors photographing the scenery and the wildlife, or simply going for a hike in the mountains. And unlike Thailand, when it is hot here, the mornings and evenings are still cool. Even though it had been nearly 100 F the previous afternoon, my first morning here was a cool 72 F. I was sleep depraved from my 31 hour plane flight and didn't get to bed until 2 a.m., but five hours later, when the morning light came through my bedroom window, and Google showed me what the temperature was, I was anxious to get out and go for a walk. I had to enjoy the cool mountain air. And the best part of all is that Utah is only hot a few months per year. Autumn, my favorite season, is just two months away! And with it, perfect weather, fall colors, and college football. |