Cousins!

Janika and Brandon brought their littles for the weekend. Jase and Ellen brought over their new bounce house and the cousins had a great time! 

Happy Anniversary!!

Today was our 31st Wedding Anniversary!! It was lovely! We checked in at The Inn on the Cliff which is a hotel that overlooks the whole city. The Cliffside Restaurant is a nice restaurant connected with the Inn. We enjoy that restaurant but decided to go to Sakura for dinner instead. We checked in at 3:00 so that we could enjoy some time in the hotel and then had a lovely dinner of chicken and salmon, cooked hibachi style. Then we went back to the hotel for some romcoms! Sakura brought us some free cheesecake for our Anniversary and so did the Inn on the Cliff! So fun! 

The next morning we went for a walk and learned that "The Stairs on Tech Ridge" (333 stairs, 630 feet long) was right across the street from where we are staying. I had heard of it, but never seen them. So we went for a little hike and tried out the stairs! That was a great workout and definitely left us sore the next day. I should bring Jenna and Jaiden over to try them out sometime. Then I went to the pool to swim laps for a half hour or so and then relaxed in the hot tub! We finished the morning off with another movie. It was the perfect little get-away! 

Pioneer Trails Workshop

Rick and I had an incredible experience at the Pioneer Trails Workshop! S&I (Seminaries and Institutes) allows their employees to go on three different Workshops some time during their career. We went on one of the Church History Workshops in July 2012. You can read about that HERE. Although looking back it looks like I never finished blogging about the trip since it only includes the first four days. That trip was exhaustingly busy (like this one) but we stayed in hotels. This trip involved staying in tents and also included hiking.  

Rick and I figured we had better hurry and apply for this workshop now since Rick wants to retire in a couple of years. It was also a good summer to do it since we currently don't have any weddings to plan and no missionaries leaving or arriving home. We did a ton of homework before going. This included a big spiral bound book of pioneer journal entries and stories that were written at the places we were visiting. There was also optional reading from Saint, Volume 2. The homework was required for S&I employees, and strongly recommended for spouses. Even though it was only "recommended" for spouses, I definitely wanted to do it. We had a reading schedule from April to July. Unfortunately I didn't keep up with the reading schedule. So the 2-3 weeks before the workshop I was reading about two hours a day, trying to catch up, but I did it! At least the mad dash at the end made all of the stories more fresh in my mind, ha ha! 

Here some pros and cons of this workshop.

Pros: 

Walking on sacred ground!  

Developing a strengthened testimony and greater appreciation of the sacrifice of the pioneers. 

Learning more about my own ancestors who crossed the plains.

Gaining greater insights and perspectives into some of the controversial decisions that were made, especially relating to the Willey and Martin Handcart Companies.

Learning so much from the many hours of homework done before the workshop. 

Meeting new people and developing wonderful friendships. I loved getting to know such wonderful people! Salt of the earth! It made me so grateful that we were blessed with such an amazing career! 

Having an amazing team of knowledgable directors.

Having an awesome tent crew who put up our tents every evening and took them down every morning.

A wonderful cook crew who fixed all of our meals.

A potty crew who took care of four port-a-potties and kept them smelling fresh. They even played music so that people couldn't hear each other, ha ha. 

We stayed in nice tents, which was definitely harder than hotels, but it also helped us relate more to the pioneer experience. 

And many more...

Cons:

As a disclaimer, the minor inconveniences mentioned below are completely miniscule compared to the horrific experiences that the pioneers went through. This is more of a pro and con list for this particular workshop.    

Waking up at 3:30 a.m. the first morning in order to meet our group at 4:00 and head out at 4:30. 

Waking up at 5:00 a.m. every morning to a cow bell. (I am NOT an early-morning person!) Surprisingly enough though my body seemed to adjust after a few days and I even found myself waking up before the cow bell.

No time for naps (I love my sleep!) 

Storms that arose out of nowhere as soon as we got in our tents for the night. (The first night was wind, another night was rain, thunder, and lightning and another night was another downpour.) 

Walkie Talkies: Communication between the trucks during the drives was done by walkie talkies. Sometimes it worked great, but there were times were the connection kept dropping. They would be in the middle of a great story and then it would get all crackly and we couldn't hear anything. That was frustrating! Other times we wished there wasn't so much talking over the walkie talkies because we wanted to visit with the passengers in our trucks! 

Flat tires. There were three different flat tires throughout the week! None on our truck though! 

Allergic Reaction. This wouldn't apply to other people, but I had an awful allergic reaction from my breakfast Friday morning, leading to four hours of suffering. The cook crew was so good to provide gluten free meals and accommodate allergies, and I was fine most of the week, but unfortunately I had an awful reaction to that one meal. 

Wet stuff! I felt like I was always trying to dry something out. My towel was hung up in the tent but didn't dry out and so I was trying to dry it out during our drive the next day. Another time our camping chairs were soaking wet because of being left out in the truck in the rain. So the next day I tried to dry them out at our various stops. Then after going through the sweetwater river in my water shoes I was trying to dry them out on our hike. Then the next time we had acces to showers I had hung up my towel overnight in the tent, but it was still just as wet the next morning. So again I was trying to dry it out in the car during the drive!  

-------------------------

We had a fireside Sunday night and then stayed over at The Plaza Hotel. We met the next morning at  4:30 a.m. and lined up our trucks in order. Each truck had a vinyl number on the back window 1-4 in Yellow, 1-4 in Red, and 1-4 in Green. Our was Green 4 (the tail runner). We drove clear to Nebraska (stopping at various points along the way). The directors communicated with all of the trucks through walkie talkies sharing stories and information about the places we were passing or going to. The next day we started followed the pioneer trail from Nebraska back to SLC! 

Day One (Monday, July 14): Salt Lake City, Utah to Scott's Bluff, Nebraska 

Wyoming: Point of Rocks (Overland stage station), Lincoln Memorial (Lunch), Pine Bluffs. Nebraska: Chimney Rock, Rebecca Winters Grave Site, Scott's Bluff

Point of Rocks

Chimney Rock

The first two days we drove with Brad and Jenna Barson. We had so much in common with them and really enjoyed getting to know them!! I am so glad that Jenna thought to get a picture together! 

In these pictures you can see chimney rock behind us. According to our Pioneer Trails Workbook, "This spectacular landmark of Chimney Rock received more pioneer diary space than any other." "Chimney Rock was the traditional half-way point on the trail between Winter Quarters and Salt Lake City. In reality it was 452 1/2 miles from Winter Quarters and 578 1/2 miles from Salt Lake City." It was likely 40 to 50 feet higher than it is today.  

The story of  Mary Murdoch "Wee Granny," is such a touching one! She was just 4'7," and about 90 pounds, which is why she was called "Wee Granny." She was part of the Martin Handcart company and was 73 at the start of her journey. She died at age 74. Just before she died she said (referring to her son, John), "Tell John I died with my face toward Zion." Her final words were a powerful statement to her determination and faith. A few principles I pondered from this story are:  

1: Wee Granny left a legacy of testimony to her family, leaving no doubt of her faith. Am I leaving a sure testimony for my family? 

2. Where we are headed is more important than where we are currently at. Are we headed in the right direction?

3. Am I giving my all to God? 

May we all live, and die, with our face towards Zion, and live in such a way that our loved ones know exactly where we stand! 

The women of our group at Rebecca Winters Grave 

Day Two (Tuesday, July 15): Scott's Bluff, Nebraska to Casper, Wyoming

Fort Laramie, Guernsey Ruts, Ayres Natural Bridge (Lunch), Deer Creek, Reshaw's Bridge, NHTC, Fort Casper 

Fort Laramie: Original wood from pioneer times 

The Guernsey Ruts made from the wagons and handcarts 

Day Three (Wednesday, July 16): Casper, Wyoming to Martin's Cove, Wyoming

Red Buttes (Bessemer Bend), Mineral springs and lake (bad water), Avenue of Rocks, Willow Springs, Prospect Hill, Bad Slough, Greasewood Creek, Independence Rock, Mormon Handcart Visitors' Center, Devin's Gate, Martin's Cove 

Bessemer Bend 

At Bessemer Bend, the Martin Handcart Company faced a harrowing experience during their journey west. After crossing the North Platte River, the company camped near Red Buttes (Bessemer Bend) and endured a severe snowstorm that lasted for three days, causing many deaths from cold and disease. The company was snowbound for nine days, during which time 56 people perished. The company was eventually found by the rescue party and encouraged to continue their journey. 

"From riding express in October 1856 to locate the Willie, Martin, Hodgett and Hunt Companies and let them know that rescue wagons were coming, to carrying express reports back to Salt Lake City in November, to shoveling snow and breaking trails into December to get the last immigrants safely in to the Valley, Joseph Angell Young traveled over 800 miles and is mentioned often in these pioneer diaries. One of the most poignant of these accounts was written by 16-year-old Albert Jones of the Martin Handcart Company:"

It was at this place [Red Buttes, near Bessemer Bend of the Platte River] that Joseph A. Young arrived as the leader of the [express] relief party sent from the valleys by President Brigham Young - he rode a white mule down a snow covered hill or dug way. The white mule was lost sight of on the white background of snow, and Joseph A. with his big blue soldier's overcoat, its large cape and capacious skirts rising and falling with the motion of the mule, gave the appearance of a big blue winged angel flying to our rescue. The scene that presented itself on his arrival I shall never forget; women and men surrounded him, weeping and crying aloud; on their knees, holding to the skirts of his coat, as though afraid he would escape from their grasp and fly away. Joseph stood in their midst drawn up to his full height and gazed upon their upturned faces, his eyes full of tears. I, boy as I was, prayed "God bless him." 

(https://www.tellmystorytoo.com/fine-arts/julie-rogers/blue-angel)

I had tears running down my face during the telling of this story at Bessemer Bend. Afterwards we were all given prints of "The Blue Angel." We then headed on the Greasewood Creek where all of the men sang, "Ye Elders of Israel." 

"It was here on Greasewood Creek in late October of 1856 that the Martin handcart company finally met the six supply wagons sent to help them. The supplies distributed were meager when spread among the group of nearly 500, but was enough to keep the moving." 

https://www.independencerock.org/places/greasewood.html

Clayton's Cave: This was a cavern that William Clayton wrote about in his journal. He said that there were several names written in it in black paint. 

 
Independence Rock 

We camped right below Independence Rock. We were able to see some of the original names carved in the stone. I was expecting Independence Rock to be completely covered with carvings of names, but I only saw names on parts of it. Maybe most of the writing has worn off through the years. We hiked to the top where there was a beautiful view of the river below and took a bunch of pictures. 

After lunch we left for our five mile hike near Sweetwater. When we left I got in our truck I couldn't find my sling bag with my phone in it. I was starting to panic a little and ran out to where my camp chair was since I remember having it draped over the chair. I was in a rush because all the trucks were lined up ready to go. I didn't see it and so I hurried back to the truck. I hated to leave on a five mile hike without it, especially since I knew I would want to take some pictures. 

The food crew was staying back at camp and so we communicated with them to keep an eye out for it. Then one of the trucks ahead of us got on the walkie talkie and said that they had a flat tire. This would be the first of three flat tires over the course of the week. So we all had to wait for them. In the meantime someone back at camp found my purse and brought it to me. So while I felt bad that someone had a flat tire, I was grateful that the delay allowed me to get my bag and phone before we left! 

They eventually decided to leave the truck with the flat tire with a few people to fix it and the rest of the trucks headed to Martin's Cove: Mormon Trail Site to start our hike. Part of the hike included crossing over the Sweetwater River. It wasn't very deep -- and wasn't very cold -- nothing like the crossing of the pioneers in October with a rushing deep river with ice floating in it. We visited this as part of our pioneer trek in 2009. You can read about that HERE. 

We stopped at a little amphitheater where the statues were. One of the directors (Jeremiah Duersch)  gave a very touching lesson comparing the rescue efforts of the young men at the Sweetwater River to the rescue Christ has given all of us through His atonement. 

During the hike we stopped at another monument and they showed us Martin's Cove.  Martin's Cove is where the Martin Handcart Company and the Hunt and Hodgett wagon companies sheltered while awaiting rescue in the fall of 1856. After the hike we had to go put gas in the car and then met the others for dinner (Sausage, Cabbage, and Corn on the Cob with cobbler and gluten free brownies for dessert. 

Tonight after dinner we had a variety show! We didn't plan a song for it since Rick was so busy with work leading up to this week. The show was quite entertaining! Lots of talent in this group, that's for sure!! It was also very cold! I had brought Rick's big blanket and kept it wrapped around me. I had brought a hoodie and wind-breaker, but a couple of the nights I wished I had brought my warm puffy coat (and a beanie and gloves!) Sometimes it was very hot during the day, but as soon as the sun went down it got very cold! I was fine when I was in my sleeping bag, but I was cold during the variety show and later during Friday's testimony meeting. Jenna and Brad Barson both sang and did a great job. Jenna is in the Tabernacle Choir. There was another couple who sang a a funny song and they were very good too. Rich Young has a side gig doing magic shows and he is really good! It was very impressive!! The tent crew did a rap with funny lyrics about putting up tents. I will add some videos in Dropbox. 

I got a lot of steps today!! 

Day Four (Thursday, July 17): Martin's Cove, Wyoming to Rock Creek, Wyoming

Split Rock Overlook (the handcart rescue effort), Cottonwood Creek (Ephraim Hanks met and camped with the Martin Company), Three Crossings, Fifth Crossing, Ice Spring Slough (pioneers enjoyed ice, rescue express reached Willie company, Ephraim Hanks shot buffalo), Linford Monument (Willie company, John Linford family monument), Sixth Crossing Visitors' Center, "Eminence," (Rescue of the Willie company), Seventh and Eighth Crossings (high sandy ridge), St. Mary's Station (Pony Express Station), Rescue Monument, Rocky Ridge, Strawberry Creek, Rock Creek Hollow (Suffering and death -- Jens Neilson, Bodil Mortensen)

 I love this picture of our camp that a member of the tent crew took early this morning! 

We had a devotional up on Independence Rock right after breakfast taught by our director, TC Erkelens 

Cooking Crew!! 

The Sixth Crossing Visitors Center was so neat!! It just opened in 2017. They did a great job with it! I was very touched by the story of the family depicted below.  

 

It was very windy during lunch. After lunch we hiked rocky ridge. The wind had died down, but it was still breezy, which helped the hike not be so hot. It was a higher elevation than the sweetwater hike, but not as long. The Willie and Martin Handcarts had to traverse rocky ridge in severe wind and snow, much of it in the dark. Many didn't make it. Jeremiah gave another touching lesson when we arrived at the top.  

After hiking rocky ridge we arrived at Rock Creek Hollow for dinner. Rick and I came to Rock Creek Hollow during the Red Cliffs Stake Pioneer Trek in 2009. You can read about that HERE. At that time I had written about how awful the mosquitos were. They didn't seem to be bad this trip though! I saw a few, but nothing terrible. In my 2009 post I have a picture of the "Remember Monument," below. A google search states: "The "Remember Monument" at Rock Creek Hollow, Wyoming, honors the Willie Handcart Company and their sacrifices during their trek westward. It also commemorates the "Second Rescue" efforts by the Riverton Wyoming Stake, where temple ordinances were performed for the pioneers. The monument, originally placed in 1933 and rebuilt in 1994, stands as a testament to their faith and resilience." 

Lots of steps again today!!! 

Day Five (Friday, July 18): Rock Creek to Fort Bridger 

Burnt Ranch, Twin Mounds, Last camp on the Sweetwater  (Reddick Allred), South Pass, Pacific Springs "Feast in the Wilderness," South Pass, False Parting of the Ways, Parking of the Ways, Little Sandy, Big Sandy Crossing (Farson), Simpson's Hollow, Green River Crossing, Muddy Fork, Piedmont, Fort Bridger 

This morning was really rough for me. We got up at 5:00 as usual. They gave us our breakfast to go and we headed out in our trucks. They switched off passengers for each truck every two days and also switched the order of the trucks. The first two days we were the "trail gunner," which was the last truck. Then we were in the middle of the pack and the last two days we were first (right after the director's car). This was nice because the director's walkie talkies came through nice and clear when we were closer in proximity and so we didn't miss any of the stories. 

They had given us breakfast burritos for the road. Mine was labeled "gluten free." The tortilla didn't look like my corn tortillas at home and so I was a little cautious. But it looked different than Rick's flour tortilla. I took a bite and seemed fine, so I took another bite. Then I waited a while and took another bite. Again I seemed fine and so I went ahead and finished it. It was delicious, but just a short time later I started feeling sick, and then very sick. It was awful! There was definitely something in that tortilla that I was allergic to, although I am not sure what it was. I had almost made it through the trip with no food issues. What made it worse was that we were also riding on rough roads and so I was sick from the allergic reaction along with rough bumpy roads. At the first stop I drank a gaterade, hoping that would help. It didn't. We stopped at dry sandy and the group was challenged to find water. After digging quite deep they did find water. I wouldn't want to drink that muddy water, but I guess if you are thirsty enough you will drink anything! One of the guys in the group did drink some!

There were a few "parting of the ways." They shared a story about a family who was ahead of their pioneer company and took the wrong way. They traveled for hours until running into a mountain man who told them they were on the wrong path and gave them instructions on what to do to meet back up with their company the next day. 

I was still feeling really sick. It was at one of these stops that I was able to get myself to throw up. Not much came out though. Later on in the car, driving on rough roads, shortly before we arrived at our next location I threw up several times in the hot chocolate cup from this morning. It was pretty embarrassing to throw up in front of our passenger in the back seat. But I hoped it would help me to feel better. It was weird, because I would start to feel better and think, "Whew! I am finally over it!" But then another wave would come through and I would feel awful again. I kept thinking, "Well, this just adds to the pioneer experience. Many of them suffered from horrible illnesses and just had to keep going." I just had to keep going too. I finally started feeling better after about four hours. I was getting better by the time we had lunch. I was nervous to eat lunch, but everything was fine. After that we went and got ice-cream. Everyone had been joking about ice-cream the whole trip and now we finally got some, ha ha! The helpings were enormous! I ate all my ice-cream and was SO relieved to finally be feeling better!! 

Parting of the ways

Day Six (Saturday, July 19): Fort Bridger, Wyoming, to Salt Lake City, Utah 

Camp Scott, High Ridge (Utah War), Aspen Ridge, Sulphur Crek Camp/Bear River Crossing, Echo Canyon, Cache Cave, Castle Rock, Emory Exit, Heneer, Hogsback Summit, Dixie Hollow, Mormon Flats, Big Mountain (first view of the valley), Donner Hill, This is the Place State Park

I really didn't know much about the Utah War before this workshop. I mean I assume we learned about it in school, but I really couldn't remember any of the details. The Saints had endured so much persecution, and were forced to leave their homes, and had to suffer in crossing the plains in order to find religious freedom in their new home in Salt Lake. And yet even after all of that, U.S. troops STILL came after them! The church had purchased Fort Bridger and did so much to build and expand it, but when the troops were coming Brigham had his people burn it to the ground so that the U.S. troops couldn't take it over. It is a miracle and blessing that the war was largely resolved without large-scale battles. 

 

Before we headed down into the Salt Lake Valley, we went through an area of private property (with permission granted in advance) and down some very steep, rocky roads in our trucks. I hate anything resembling off-road 4-wheeling and driving down those steep roads made me SO nervous! I was glad that Anna Williams (the cute single gal in the red sweatshirt) was driving since she has a lot of experience off-roading. If I was that scared going down these roads in nice 4-wheel drive trucks, I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to go down it in a wagon with oxen! I was grateful when we made it through the rough roads and on to the nice paved roads to head into the valley! 

Saying goodgye to our amazing Potty Crew!! 

Our last stop was This is the Place Monument. I haven't been there years! We only had about an hour here. We should bring our family here when we have more time to take it all in. 

Reading over all of the names at the Pioneer Children's Memorial brought tears to my eyes! The list below is just a small part of it. The names went on and on! 

 

This trip was wonderful, but also very sobering! These pictures and descriptions represent only a small portion of what we saw and learned about during this workshop. It is difficult to even imagine all of the hardships that the pioneers endured. Their sacrifices were so great! When we came back to Salt Lake and looked over the busy, thriving city it was humbling to remember how it all began! 

This was such an impactful experience. We are grateful for the hard work of everyone who put it together. Rick and I also discussed the possibilities of bringing our family out to see and experience some of the sites in the hopes that they would be as touched as we were. As part of our homework we were invited to find our own ancestors who were involved with crossing the plains. The church has a website where you can sign in and easily see who in your family was involved. This was eye-opening to me also. Here is the website. Check it out! 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/campaign/pioneers