Amber Johnson 5 posts 0 comments

“Stop. Watch. What is Custom saying to you when he flicks his ears like that?” My daughter Hadley listens to trainer Jeanie’s counsel, carefully analyzes the Quarter Horse Gelding’s body language and adjusts her actions. Custom hesitatingly approaches and once a mutual understanding of trust is reached, he closely follows her through a series of companionship interactions. Her slightest motion, he responds in perfect symmetry. It is synchronized dancing under the North Fields’ autumn sky.  Hadley has…

“You’re doing what?” my incredulous sister-in-law exclaimed when I told her I was going to fly in a North American T-6 Texan. “Is this part of a crazy bucket list?” “Not really. It just sounds like fun,” I responded but I soon learned that flying in one of the most iconic aircrafts in U.S. military history is the bucket list item I never knew I had. The Golden Age of aviation is alive and well at the Heber Valley Airport, thanks to the Utah Wing of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Museum, dedicated to the…

Now in his tenth year of growing, Jamie Johnson is finishing up his second season in Midway and will compete in the 13th Annual Utah Giant Pumpkin Growers Weigh-Off at  Thanksgiving Point on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. His largest pumpkin to date? A 1,220-pound giant. One of his favorite memories is when he appeared on NBC’s comedy “The Marriage Ref” to defend his pumpkin obsession against his wife. Not only did he win the argument but Jerry Seinfeld serenaded him with a song he wrote, “The Pumpkin Man!” Jamie’s been…

As the Sons of the San Joaquin’s deep, rich baritones harmonized to “Shenandoah,” BYU’s Philharmonic Orchestra responded, their melodramatic violins rising up louder than ever, drawing out the night’s climax. The ocean of cowboy hats in the Wasatch High School auditorium was transmogrified to a place where western tunes met classical music, creating a musical movement through the combination of distinct traditions. And it was during that concert that Brent and Mary Kelly — with tears in their eyes — knew they were part of…

If you happen to pass through Midway on a Monday evening, don’t be surprised if you encounter a swarm of locals of all ages happily buzzing through this bucolic, pastoral mountain village on their Midway Cruiser. Welcome to the Monday Midway Cruiser Cruise, a grassroots “slow ride” that began two summers ago with a few invites via text message and resulted in 40 enthusiasts gathering for a casual bike ride by the end of the day. Midway-based filmmaker Steve Olpin is evasive about the genesis of the Cruiser Cruise but…