Tag: utah

            When I arrived in Provo, Utah, in the fall of 1997, I was looking for a fresh start.  I was craving connection.

            I found what I sought in spades.  My dormmates that year are still some of my very best brothers.  I also fell in with a group of friends from American Fork, Utah.  Amongst the American Fork folk was a singular character:  Bryce Shelley.

            I’m ashamed to say Bryce somewhat irritated me at first.  He struck me as a wee bit eccentric.  He wore badges with quotes he found interesting.  He remembered everybody’s birthday.  He was endlessly enthusiastic.

            As that year wore on, I noticed other things about Bryce too.  He was unerringly kind.  He was curious.  He was smart.  He was generous.  He was genuine.

            I’ll never forget the final day of my freshman year at BYU.  My bags were packed.  I was heading home for a brief layover before striking out on a two-year proselyting mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Bryce stopped by my dorm room to say goodbye, and as he left, I remember thinking to myself that meeting Bryce was among the very best things that had happened to me all year.

            Bryce is a keeper.  We lived in the same apartment complex after our missions, attended the same church congregation.  Later, Bryce drove through the night with another friend to be there when Sara and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha, Nebraska.  Bryce has called or texted or emailed me on my birthday every year since college.  When I finish a draft of a novel, Bryce is amongst the first to read and remark.  He’s one of my biggest cheerleaders.

            As it turns out, Bryce is also a fantastic tour guide.  Last month I traveled to southern Utah with my three oldest children and my brother for an epic Seifert Family High Adventure.  We met up with Bryce and his eleven-year-old daughter in Moab, and the Shelleys showed us the ropes.  Five nights of camping to remember for a lifetime.  We visited Arches National Park, Goblin Valley State Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.  We went on an expedition down the Colorado River.  It was a grand journey, and Bryce led us every step of the way.

            Something else I’ll never forget: Bryce and his daughter guiding me through Arches National Park in the middle of the night, so I could get the night-sky photo of Delicate Arch I was coveting.  “I’d say there’s an eighty-percent chance I can get you there,” Bryce quipped as we hiked through the dark.  Things were touch and go for a minute, but we made it.  I never would’ve made it without them.

            There was so much to appreciate about the trip, but spending time with my old friend was near the top of the list. I appreciated catching up.  I think Bryce and I have both come to realize in our old age that life is messy.  It’s something I now know Bryce was acutely aware of all the way back at the beginning of this adventure – back when we were kids trying to find our way.  He never let that hold him back.

            I’ve been so blessed over the years.  I have a beautiful, talented, magnanimous eternal companion. I have seven marvelous children, who are friends to each other.  And I have stalwart buddies like Bryce Shelley I wouldn’t trade for the world.