Happy Memorial Day all. Since we'd visited the cemetery, we mostly had a quiet day at home on Monday.
Dad did go to the cemetery here in Payson for the Memorial Day tribute and 21 gun salute. Shown is Mayor Bill Wright.
Here's my Insta greeting for the day, showing my cousin Otis with his Mom LaRee, and Grandpa Larsen with two of his nephews.
We mostly worked in the garden, then cleaned up in time to go and see the new Downton Abbey movie.
The Stake President, with the yellow vest, came and gave us an encouraging talk as we started off our first season on Tuesday morning, and the site's first season after two years of no treks due to Covid. Sister and President Piper with Sister and Elder Parker, our directors.
Ron Crump, Elder and Sister Munro and our director, Elder Parker display the proper carry method for the river crossing, for unrelated persons.
Dad shows off his pioneer hair. Many of the men are growing beards, but with Dad's temple calling this is the best he can do. I love it.
Tuesday was the first of five days at Mosida, though it was the only one in work blues. After our devotional we headed out to move the newly refinished handcarts to their 'pick up position' as we started treks the next day.
Here Dad moves another to the starting position. After lunch that day we headed home...
to get ready for a dinner party. Elder Kenji Noftle, second from the left, was in town with his parents from British Columbia to bring his younger brother to the MTC. We were so thrilled he called us,
He had promised to meet up with McKenna Terry, another of our missionaries, while in town, so it worked out to have her and her parents come as well. We had just seen her at a homecoming on Sunday, and would later see her at a wedding on Friday. Yep, we're close like that.
Kenji, McKenna and us. They laughed when they saw they had come in matching shirts.
Kenji grew up in Elder and Sister Lewis' stake in Abottsford, BC. We talked about whether they knew Brittney, Sister Okada, or Spencer, Elder Perkins, but had to give up. Brother Noftle had met his wife, Shoko on his mission too. (Japan)
Here's the whole gang.
And during our tour, McKenna's father was surprised to see a picture of his office mate on our wall. Yep, he works right next to Dallas in the same office.
and since we're talking about feeding missionaries, these two were at our last Missionary dinner party, the week before. I just loved this wedding picture.
Wednesday dawned bright and early. Here Elder Child walks past a trailer filled with buckets for our first group of hand cart trekkers from Santaquin. The group had about 260 members, and would trek on the Wednesday to Friday schedule.
One of their young men had recently dashed behind a rolling vehicle to save his toddler brother from being hit. The vehicle ran over his leg, so he got to be one of the youth that needed one of our three rickshaws. (I later bawled when he carried his sister across the river, knowing he was a bonafide hero.)
Dad helps tie down a load.
Waiting to shout "Hurrah for Zion" as they embark. Elder Child, Perkins and Jones.
All ready to go.
Elder Smith shares a dramatization at the first stop.
and look at the beautiful bird I spotted while waiting for the vignette to start.
After a busy day Dad and I walked out to their camp to join them for dinner and a hoedown.
This trek was short on guys so Dad got to do some do-si-doing and alamanding.
I thought it was fun that these sisters were all wearing approximately the same outfit. I have one too. (Sisters Parker, Crump and Child.)
On Thursday morning we got our Thursday through Saturday group. As it turns out it was my friend Wendy Coltrin's ward from Lehi. This gal is the Trek leader and her name is also Wendy, and she had her three sons on trek with her.
We went out on a couple of the vignettes, and were headed to another when we realized we needed a break, an emergency break that is.
Because we got a call from Coralee next door, telling us we had a small geyser out by the sprinkler turn on. We went back to our car, and turned over the keys to another Elder so they could go out. Dad got it fixed in short order, spending less that $5. What a tender mercy it was that Coralee was over on the opposite side of our property from her house and happened to see the leak.
We got back in time for dinner and the Hoedown with the Lehi ward. These are Wendy's three boys.
It was fun to watch the kids playing Danish baseball (Rag balls don't bounce much) and kids walking on stilts.
on Friday, while waiting for the Santaquin Stake to do the women's pull, I picked up some arrow head shards. Here are a few embedded pieces. The rocks are not native to the area, and when they plow up the road to make the women's pull area more difficult, it brings up these bits. Its thought that Indians in the 1600 or 1700s sat out on this small hill, waiting for game, and chiseled arrow heads to keep busy. I actually gathered some of the shards too ...
The girls coming in from the women's pull.
These pictures are actually from Saturday's pull.
This Ma was exhausted after the women's pull.
We finished up on Friday in time to head to a Missionary's wedding reception up in Highland. This is Sister Samara Worthen as was, with her new husband.
And Sister Missionaries who also came to celebrate. Linsey Andreason, McKenne Terry, Taylor Watson and Alyssa Plant.
Back at the trek on Saturday, as the Lehi ward prepares for the River Crossing. I laughed at the fabrics these two sisters were wearing. The Mom is dressed in Salt Lake City fabric, and the daughter, who sewed both skirts, is wearing Baby Yoda.
The mom is wearing the yellow head scarf.
The men pull the wagons over first.
Then its time for the sisters to be carried over to commemorate the life saving service of the 'Valley Boys' or rescuers who came from Salt Lake and save the lives of many of the Martin and Willey companies. These two men are related to the young women they carry piggy back.
These brothers use the fireman carry we saw demonstrated earlier in the week for non relatives.
Sister Andreason (The former host to our turkey buzzards) visits with her son who is one of the medics for the Santaquin Stake group ...
He and one of his sons, with another, spotting behind her, carried her across the river. This is not something the missionaries usually get to do. It was very touching.
Dad watches as the go across, with Elder Rice behind
I sat with tears streaming down both cheeks, and was so grateful for the sunbonnet I wore.
Wendy's three boys carry her across.
Thanks for the sun bonnet Nell and Trevor.
This cute freckled face trekker let me take a picture of what happens to a white shirt over three days of trekking.
Dad and the other missionaries got busy bringing back the water buffaloes to empty them, and vacuum them out so that they are ready for next week. We have one at each lunch and camping site, they each can hold up to 500 gallons of water.
Dad is vacuuming it out with a wet vac that has only ever been used for this purpose.
'Back at home, I had a minute to check out Insta and found this beauty to share.
We had ordered some cookie dough from a fund raiser a couple of weeks earlier and it came in ... bad timing for me, because I've been sugar free for ten days now. We asked Dave if he thought they could use it, and he said he would be happy to make the sacrifice. It was fun to drop by, and talk birds, hiking and rock collecting. They have an amazing display of rocks in the their living room.
Doesn't this rock look like chocolate rice crispy treats? Yeah, well you'd definitely break your teeth on it. As we were leaving I saw my bag of arrow head shards in the car and told him about the old site and gave them the shards. There are many others to be collected. Anyone else want some?
That was our week. We were so exhausted that one night when we got home (Two days we left at 6;30 AM, and got home after 10:00 PM) Scott closed the garage door, and we both fell asleep before we could get out of the car.
We went to church this morning, and I came home and napped. Dad got to visit with Brittany on the phone, which is always a bonus.
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