Week 13 - 7/18-24/16 7th Trek, Hunter South Stake, Salt Lake City UT

On our p-day this week, Elder and Sister Call invited us to go on a ride with them to Mirror Lake, which is up through Evanston WY and then back down into Utah, above Camas.  It is always fun to do things with the Calls.  It was a beautiful ride that took us up into the pine-treed mountains and mountain lakes.

This is Bald Mountain (wonder why?!?) and it is near Mirror Lake.

Elder Howard and Elder Call are looking over Pass Lake, which is about 3 miles from Mirror Lake.  We met a couple who were fishing there and they (she) had caught several fish.

I and Sister Call are "goofing off" at Mirror Lake.  It was a little difficult for us to get our old bodies (mine is much older than hers) into a position to peek through this hole.

Mirror Lake was beautiful.  I always have to get my feet wet when I am around water.  There is a really nice campground there, but it was closed because they were cutting down all of the diseased and dead trees.  We tried to walk around the lake, but they had it closed off.  Sarah & Ryan and their family have been camping at this lake.  What a nice day we had and it was so good to be in the mountains again.  It made us a little homesick for Idaho.

On our 7th trek of the season, we were finally on one with a 2nd-year missionary couple, Elder and Sister Peart.  They are actually going to be our Mission Directors next year.  Our first six treks were with missionaries who are new this year--just like us.  Pearts were the lead missionaries, so all we had to do was sit back, do what they asked us to do, and see all of the things we had been doing wrong the last six treks!  We had a group of about 90 people, with 7 handcarts--Salt Lake Hunter South Stake.  What a great group.  Their whole Stake Presidency was there, along with most of the Bishops.  They were well organized and we had a great trek.

Sometimes when you look ahead on the trail and see how far it is, you think you can never walk that far in one day.  Even one mile looks like a long ways, and we walked about 10 miles the first day!

Trail 6 is the only trail that goes along one of the little "lakes" on the ranch, and I love it!  We stopped for a long water stop before going on to our 2nd night's camp.  Elder Peart and Elder Howard are discussing how to get these trekkers going again!

It was quite a warm day and the water was refreshing just to look at.  We told the kids that there were leeches in the water (although we are not really sure there is any) so they would not be tempted to get in it to cool off.  We actually saw some fish jump and the kids threw a lot of rocks in the water.

When we got near to the camp (where cows had been the day before) we were glad to see the cowboys.  They had been rounding up the cattle to move them and only had about 100 left.  They said they would be back early in the morning to get the rest.  It surely made for better camping without the cows.  When the cooking support people got to this same camp a few hours before, they saw a moose and her baby!  That happens once in a while on trail 6, and the rest of us were disappointed that we didn't get to see them.

We had been on this trail before.  It has a great women's pull, which is one of the most difficult of all of our women's pulls.  The next day, the girls struggled with it, but it turned out to be a very successful one.  The girls learned that they could do hard things that they didn't think they could do, and the boys gained a lot of respect for the girls.  It was a very moving experience for all of us.

On the last night, Elder Howard got to deliver the mail, again, as the Pot Gut Express, in our little mini truck with the steering wheel on the wrong side.

 The Stake President received the mail from the Pot Gut Express and handed the letters out to the trekkers.  It was a fun experience, except that Elder Howard had trouble keeping his eyeballs in!

This was a great group and I really admired one of the Bishops, especially.  He had talked about six of his young men who were inactive, to come on trek.  One of the boys had just gotten out of juvenile detention.  They were very good about doing what their Bishop asked of them, and all of the youth befriended them.  There were a few behavioral problems the first day, but by the last day, there had been some very noticeable changes in some of those young men.  Instead of hanging out together so much, they were more a part of their trek families and did their part of the work in things that needed to be done, and smiled and laughed a lot.  Another one of those little miracles that happen on trek each week.

Week 12 - 7/11-17/16 6th Trek, Canyon Crest Ward, Alpine UT

We had a great trek with the Canyon Crest Ward from Alpine UT.  We were the only missionary couple assigned to them because there was a trek group of 650 that came the same week, so they took our other couple to help with them.  Elder and Sister Johnson, who attend the gate, saved us by doing some of our support.  With only one couple, one of us would have had to take the support around the roads while the other one would be walking along the trails with the trekkers.  We were a little nervous about only one of us being with the trekkers all day.  We did trail 28, which is almost all cross country trails and there would have not been any with to communicate with each other if there would have been a problem.  We had the medical people drive the 4-wheeler behind us so we could both walk the whole trek.

Our group was very small, with only three handcarts.  It was a fun experience with them.  Each of the families (one per handcart) made a flag for their cart.  They were all pretty ingenious flags!

As we left the staging area, this "brave" photographer laid on the ground as the carts went over top of her and she took pictures.  She did this several times during the trek.

It was a good thing that this handcart broke after she had finished taking the pictures.  It was close enough to the staging area that we brought up a different one and reloaded all of their stuff.  Some of our handcarts are getting pretty old and we usually have two or three break each week among all of the treks.  Most of them can be repaired.  It cost about $500 for us to build a new handcart, and we will have built about 20 by the end of this year.

We really like this trail because we trek on very little road--mostly all trails in the valleys and over the ridges.  There is usually lots of antelope in this area, also.  The babies are now teenagers!

At one point on this trail, we can see down into a really pretty valley (where we don't get to trek.)

This group had a lot of musical talent.  One night, the girls sang and they just happened to sing the song "To Those Who Came Before Me," which is the song that our Missionary Choir has been singing almost every Sunday in Sacrament Meetings.

Then, the next night, all of the boys and men sang.

On the second day, we had the women's pull.  Here, the boys and men wave goodby as they leave the girls and head up the hill first.  The girls sang to them--"Called To Serve."

The girls had a little meeting where their leader talked to them about how strong the pioneer women were, and that they could also do hard things.  The boys also got a talk at the top of the hill about respecting women.

The girls start up the trail.  They have two big hills to climb, ending at the very furtherest hill at the top, pulling the handcarts without any help from the boys.

The girls are almost there, meeting the boys who are reverently standing along the sides of the road, with their hats in their hands, not being allowed to help with the pulling of the carts as they watch the girls struggle.  The Women's Pull can be a very spiritual and life-changing experience for these youth--boys and girls--and even the leaders.

After the Women's Pull, the kids put their tarps up to make shade at the campsite so they could eat lunch before they started putting their tents up.  While they were still under their tarps, the wind started blowing and a big gust hit two of the handcarts, twisting them enough to cause them to fall down.  One of the girls got hit in the back with the handle.  She was pretty upset and wouldn't calm down, so after about an hour we ended up leading the doctor/Bishop (traveling about as fast as we could go in the 4-wheeler) down to the gate so they could take her to the hospital to get checked out.  It really scared everyone, but it turned out that she was okay.  This was our first trip to the hospital with any of our trekkers, and we hope we don't have any more!

This is always a fun site to see along the road--it reminds us that we are trekking on a cattle ranch.

I think that after following a herd of "live" cows all the way through a 2-mile valley (fresh cow pies the whole way) the kids didn't think that the site of a dead cow was quite so bad!  At the end of the valley, the cows stayed at a watering hole as we turned to go up a hill.  As we turned, there was another herd in front of us!  At the top of the hill there was a gate.  The cows know that when a gate is opened, it means fresh fields of grass for them.  As Elder Howard opened the gate, he had to shoo the cows away before the trekkers could go through.  It was kind of nice to not have to continue to step over fresh cow pies!

It was also kind of nice for these kids to find a nice "clean" place to find a place to rest when we had a water stop!

I think that all of the cows the day before must have prompted this "cow pie throwing contest."  The leaders had gathered two big garbage bags full of dried cow pies and the families competed.

Some of them got quite a few cow pies in the circle!  Part of the throwers had to use rubber gloves, but some of them didn't care and just threw them with their bare hands.

Our last night, we had a beautiful sunset.  Each part of the sky looked different.

This was one of the most spectacular sunsets that we have seen so far this summer!

One of the leaders brought his computer and had a projector.  At the end of each day he took all of the pictures taken that day and put them on a slide show, with music, and showed them that evening on the side of one of their supply trailers.  It was so fun.  He told me how easy it was to do it on a MAC computer (which I happen to have.)  After the trek, I actually made up a musical slide show and used it the next week for a family home evening with the other missionaries!  This group was so talented.  They had a skit night and one of the leaders made up a parody to "Home On The Range" and it was about their trek.  He e-mailed me the words.  It is really good!

The last morning, before we headed for the staging area and home, these kids still hadn't had enough playing!  They had tug-a-wars between all of the families, then the men and boys, then the girls and women, and finally against the leaders.  It is kind of nice that they had such a good time that they are not so anxious to go home.  I know that we sure had a good time with them!

One of the Ma's wondered what it would be like to ride in a handcart.  Her family willingly pulled her    for a ways so she could have that experience.

When you have a small group, and you are their only missionaries, it is easy to get to know the youth and their leaders.  It is amazing to watch these youth come on the first day, some of them not really excited to be here,  and then after the second or third day they don't think much about the video games and other things they left at home.  We really get to take them out of the world for a few days, and hopefully they feel the spirit of the pioneers and gain a stronger testimony of their Savior.  We had such a good time with the Canyon Crest Ward and will remember them always.

Week 11 - 7/4-10/16 5th Trek, Meadows Ward, Harrisville UT

We are done with the 11th week of our mission, out of 18 weeks.  The time is flying by and it seems that I am always about two weeks behind on my BLOG!  I had to lead music all this week, for the last time.  It really doesn't matter how you lead, because no one usually watches you.  I don't do too bad on the 2/2  and 4/4 time, but I kind of have a little trouble on the 3/4.  We sang patriotic songs all week because I got to pick which song to sing.  I will probably never lead singing anywhere else!

On the 4th of July, all of us missionaries went to Woodruff, UT, and walked in their parade.  We had been asked to pull a handcart.  Here are Elder and Sister Johnson and some of their family, Elder and Sister Brinkerhoff, Howard (can't remember who that is behind us), Barton, Eikins, Elder Cowen, Elder and Sister Peart, Call, Sister Cowen, and Elder and Sister Higginson.

It was fun throwing candy out to all of the kids.  It was amazing how many of the people recognized us as the TREK Missionaries and yelled for us and waved at us.  Maybe they only wanted candy, but it was fun anyway.

Elder and Sister Peart had a couple of their grandkids visiting and they rode in the cart.

Our trek this week was from the Misty Meadows Ward from Harrisville UT.  What a great ward it was!  There were only about 75 people, with six handcarts.  Small groups are fun because you usually get to know them better than you do the people in the larger groups.  We follow all of the trekkers with our 4x4, which is used as the medical emergency vehicle.  We also use it to give "catch-up rides" to some  of the trekkers who might get behind because of cowboy or cowgirl stops (potty stops) or some of the leaders who might get a little behind. 

This group brought "babies" along with them.  They had their faces painted on and even gave them names.  They took very good care of them, but some of them "died" on the trip!

They had "trail trials" as they trekked.  This boy broke his leg and had to ride in the cart.  The "trial" was for his family, because they had to pull him!

This girl "died" on the trek!

This cart "broke down" so the family had to beg some of the other carts to carry all of their stuff!

The girls had some cute pantaloons under their pioneer skirts!  Their bonnets matched their dresses and they had aprons on.  The pockets on aprons really come in handy sometimes!

They are always glad to see camp ahead of them.

The cooking crew was great!  They never let us go hungry.  It is a good thing we walk a lot!

We had a really fun hoedown.  Elder Howard and I, and Elder Walker went out and got them started.  No pictures of us--we stepped out so I could take some pictures.

They got the Virginia Reel down pretty good!

Elder and Sister Walker were the lead missionaries on this trek and we were the assistant missionaries.  Sister Walker called the hoedown and did a great job!

Each trek has a women's pull.  The boys have just left and the girls are getting ready for their devotional before they start up the hill.

The girls are starting up this first hill, not realizing that there is another one after this one.  But, they do have a down hill and a bit of level trail before starting up the next one.

The girls have almost made it!  The boys are lined up down the hill, all dressed in white shirts and showing respect for the girls.  This activity shows the girls that they can do hard things and the boys learn how special the girls are.

When we missionaries deliver mail for the group, we can deliver it by "Pony Express."  We have a "pony" named Sliver, who is a thoroughboard.  He comes from a good family tree--maple!

Mail is delivered to all of the kids and sometimes even the leaders.  Usually the letters are from their parents.

Elder Walker did a really good job delivering mail by pony express!

Sister Walker,  getting a well-deserved rest after getting into camp, as Elder Howard looks on.  We had such a good group.  We have been invited to their Sacrament Meeting on July 24, where the kids will be giving talks about TREK.  It is in Harrisville, near Ogden, and we are looking forward to going.

We have several jobs we have to do on Saturdays, after all of our trekkers have gone home.  We have to empty the water buffalo, vacuum it out, and sanitize it.  We have to wash and gas up the truck and 4x4 that we used all week.  By then, we are ready for a couple of days off from trekking, even though we have lots of other work to do during those days!

I have mentioned that we have a "Missionary Choir."  Well, it is getting quite popular and we keep getting invitations to sing in the wards in the area.  The song we sing is "To Those Who Came Before Me" by Sally DeFord.  We are pretty booked up.  In fact, this week we had to sing in two wards--one at 9:00 and one at 1:00.  So, we went to the 3-hour block church service at 9:00 and then to just Sacrament Meeting at 1:00.  We were all so tired from trek the week before, and sitting in Church for so long, that when we sang at 1:00, there is a part where the men start singing first, and then the women join in.  Well, none of the women joined in!  Even the choir director, Sister Barton, didn't start singing it.  It was hilarious, although I don't think that anyone but us noticed it!  Then, as we and the congregation stood to sing the closing song (The Star Spangled Banner), Elder Ekins took out his music to sing our missionary song!  He forgot that we had already sang it!  What a hoot it was!  We decided we better all go home and have a good nap!