My Pioneer Experience

I usually don't get all spiritual on my blog, but I'm afraid I may have to this time. I just returned from an amazing pioneer trek experience in Wyoming with the youth of our ward. I got to go with my two sons, Jordan and Kallai. I was one of the incredible camp cooks. Our food was so good that we were serenaded one night. Well, ok, he was singing the Lunch Lady Song by Adam Sandler, which isn't very flattering, but he apologized later. The weather was cold and rainy, which I didn't like at the time, but I think it helped us to better understand the experience of our Pioneer ancestors, so it was good.

The first day we went to Martin's Cove. We started by watching a very moving video about some of the events that took place there, just to start us off with red eyes and runny noses. Then we got our handcarts and started out. After trekking a few miles, we left our carts and headed up into the cove. Martin's Cove has been dedicated by President Hinckley as the Open Wyoming Temple. It is very sacred. The missionaries asked that we not talk while in the cove. I happened to end up towards the back of the pack and found myself walking by my son, Kallai. Kallai doesn't turn 12 for another 2 weeks, but he was allowed to go with the youth, and I am so glad he was there. As we made the final ascent into the cove, I held Kallai's hand, and we walked into the cove together. That was really special for me. We each chose a Pioneer ancestor to represent on our trek. Kallai was Squire Reynolds, and I was his mother, Phoebe Jane Ramsey. They were not in any of the handcart trains, but they crossed the plains with Brigham Young's wagon company when Squire was about 7 years old.

As I walked to the Cove holding my son's hand, I thought of Phoebe and her son, as well as all of the mothers in the Martin and Willie handcart companies. I thought of how it must have felt for them to see their children going through so much suffering, and danger and to not have the power to protect them. It must have been heartwrenching. As I sat in the Cove on one of the steps, the thought was impressed upon me that what our youth are going through today is just as dangerous as the trials of the handcart company. Our children are in just as much danger of being lost, but the danger is not physical, but spiritual. I started to think about whether I was doing all I could to protect my children from that danger. Many of the parents who died on the trek gave out from exhaustion because they pushed their handcarts all day long, and then gave their ration of flour to their children, to strengthen and preserve them. They did anything they could for their children. If they could have done more, they would have. Am I making that level of sacrifice for my children? No, and I'm not sure I'm required to, but I could do better. I will do better. I made that commitment to myself in Martin's Cove.

After Martin's Cove, we drove an hour away to our campground. Just as we arrived, it began to rain. It was then that the Bishop said he had prayed that we would have an "authentic" experience on our trek. I asked him why he had to do that, because now we were in for terrible weather. There were amazing lightning flashes that went all the way to the ground. They were a bit scary, and they were striking extremely close by. Luckily the rain didn't last very long, and we were able to set up camp in relatively dry conditions. Once dinner and square dancing was over with, the rain came again, and it rained much of the night.

The next day we woke up to heavy clouds, and cool weather. We grabbed our handcarts, loaded them up, and started a 10 mile trek. Jordan was told that he had died during the night, so he had to wear a black armband, help push the medical cart, and couldn't talk. Well, the not talking part didn't work out too well, because all the dead people sang tv show theme songs the whole way. I walked by that cart most of the way, and we had a good time. It started raining almost immediately. Most of us had rain ponchos, but even so, our arms and legs became soaked. The trail became slick and covered in mud and puddles. Our first stop was in a very special meadow. It stopped raining when we got there, and only misted for a while. The meadow was where the Willie Handcart company stopped and couldn't go on because they were so exhausted. There they were met by 4 young men who were an advanced rescue company. Unfortunately they didn't have much in the way of help. All they had was the good news that rescue wagons were waiting for them about 20 miles away. It was enough to get the company moving again to meet up with the rescuers.

One of the missionaries there told us about her great great grandfather Ole Hansen. Before he set out with his family to meet the rescuers, he gave his ration of flour to his kids. He pushed his handcart all day long and into the night. When they came to the crossing of the Sweetwater river, he carried each of his children across, then his wife, then went back for the handcart. (This was in negative 20 degree weather or colder.) He continued on until they made it over Rocky Ridge and into Rock Creek Hollow. He set up his family's tent and made them a fire. Then when he was sure that his family was safe in the hands of the rescuers, he sat down and died with his boots still on. They buried him with his boots because they were frozen to his feet, so they couldn't get them off. As I listened to this story, I realized that if we had been in the same situation, David would have done the exact same thing. That sounds like him exactly! He is very selfless, and always worried about the comfort of others over his own. This experience helped me gain a greater appreciation and love for my husband.

By the time we left the meadow we were all shivering from the cold and from sitting still. I was miserable. I knew we would have to cross the river 4 times that day, and I was really dreading it. There was an option of taking a shorter trail that was 6 miles long, and bypassed all of the river crossings, and I tried to convince the YW President to vote for that trail. I was unsuccessful, but as we continued on, we warmed up from the exertion, so it wasn't bad. After a while, a man came and told us all of our men were being drafted into the Mormon Batallion, so the girls would have to push the handcarts by themselves. Three other women and I pushed the medical handcart together for about 1/2 mile. Of course we had to push for the hardest part of the whole trail. It was uphill most of the way, and it was quite steep. Adding to that was the fact that it was raining again, and the trail was slick and muddy. It was deeply rutted, and it was hard to keep our feet from sliding sideways down into the ruts, as well as sliding back down the hill. The handcarts are 250 pounds empty, and I'm sure we had at least 100 pounds of stuff in the cart, with the medical supplies, clothing, several coolers of water, etc. At the top of the hill the boys and men were lined up on either side of the trail with their hats off, and they had to watch us struggle and were not allowed to help. It was pretty cool that we made it by ourselves, but I think I pulled my achilles tendon, because now it hurts to walk up stairs.

Soon after that we stopped for lunch. The rain was still coming down, and the wind was howling, and the temperature was 49 degrees. I was so cold. It was the last opportunity to take the 6 mile trail, and I was hoping that we would. The bishop and the YW President discussed it, and the bishop commented that he was so impressed by how positive the kids were, and how none of them were complaining about the conditions. That made me feel quite embarrassed and contrite, because I had been complaining. I decided that I needed to stop it right then, and commit fully to the experience. The decision was made to complete the 10 mile trek, with all of the river crossings. The YW President told me that because I was on the food committe, I could go ahead and take the 6 mile trail with a few others, but I declined. I decided if my children could do it with a good attitude, then so could I.

We started out again. By this time, Kallai was starting to wear out. He was the youngest on the trip, and he was struggling to keep going, and he felt like he was getting a cold. His family put him into the cart and let him ride for a while. As the day went on, it stopped raining, and started to warm up. By the time we got to the first river crossing, most of us had taken off our coats and were actually pretty comfortable. Kallai got out and started walking again at the first river crossing, and continued for the rest of the way. Before the first river crossing, we came to a spot where the trail was flooded. The mud was really deep, and the people pushing the handcarts had to take it at a run to keep from getting stuck. Several people fell in the mud which was really stinky.


At the first river crossing, we were told of how the handcart company couldn't find the courage to cross the river, which had ice floating in it, and four young men from the rescue party spent the entire day carrying the people of the company across. The young men of our group were asked to carry the women and girls across, and that it should be a very solemn crossing. A group of women sang as people started across. I was one of the last women to cross, and Jordan carried me across on his back. That was pretty special. On the far bank, people had begun singing hymns, and we continued to sing as the men brought the handcarts across. One of the songs we sang was "We thank thee oh God for a prophet" and it was then that I felt the spirit the strongest. I realized that the handcart pioneers had gone through all of this because they wanted to follow the counsel of the prophet, to go to Utah and gather with the Saints. The really cool thing was that on all of the other river crossings, the young men continued to help the girls across without being asked. It was a great thing to see.

When we made it back to camp we found all of our tents filled with huge puddles of water. The missionaries had advised us that we should put our tents down flat so if the winds kicked up (they regularly get 70 mph winds) our tents wouldn't blow away. It was good advice, except for the fact that it made the rain seep through the sides. Luckily most of the sleeping bags were in garbage bags. The missionaries came and offered to dry the wet sleeping bags, and we used brooms and towels to dry out the tents.

That night for dinner the kids were told they were eating 4 ounces of flour, and a potato (which is one potato more than the pioneers got.) We gave them their rations, and then sent them to their family fire to figure out how to eat it. They were suprisingly creative and positive. Some tried to make potato soup, some made gruel, some sliced and roasted their potato over the fire, some made ash cakes (basically you mix flour and water, then dump the dough into the ashes and let it cook). I didn't hear anyone complain at all. After they worked on their dinner for a while, the "rescuers" came and rescued them from their meager meal, and gave them pulled pork sandwiches. As positive as they had been about the potatoes and flour, the kids shouted for joy at the news of a better dinner.

The last day of our trek we drove to Rock Creek Hollow, the place where the Willie Company met up with the main rescue party. We had a very spiritual testimony meeting there. It was great to hear what the youth had learned. I was surprised that several of them said that they were glad for the miserable weather, because it helped them feel closer to the pioneers. After our meeting we headed back to civilization. I was shocked to see how fast our bishop drove. We were going 85 mph trying to keep up with the people in front of us, and he blew by us like we were standing still! Needless to say the car we were in got home about an hour after everyone else. It was good to be home.

I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to learn more about my ancestors, and to draw closer to my Savior. I will take this experience and use it to help me become a better wife, mother, and daughter of God.

Judie's Farewell

Grandma Judie is going on a mission! She is headed to Quito Ecuador, and she will be the secretary to the Mission President. She is really excited. We went to Idaho for her farewell talk. We were able to hang out with cousins, which we don't get to do very often anymore. Then when she went to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, she came to visit us. We are so excited for her.

Jordan's AP Test

Jordan took his very first AP test back in May. It was for his AP Biology class. He has been nervously awaiting the results ever since. AP Biology was a difficult class, and it took a couple of terms for him to get the hang of it, and start earning A's, which kind of messed up his GPA. His teacher told the class that if a student passed the AP test, she would change that students grades for Biology for every term to an A. Jordan was really excited about that.

Well, his test results came today, and he passed! There are 5 possible points on the test, 3 or higher is a passing grade. Jordan scored a 4. He is so excited!

Congratulations Jordan for a job well done!!

Weekend Get Away

David and I decided to get away for a weekend. We headed to Saint George for a little R&R. We stayed at my Grandpa Arvid's house and went golfing at Entrada. It was beautiful! The green grass against the rugged red mountains in the background was breathtaking.

Postcards from Paradise- Part 6

Friday

On Friday we tried to soak up as much of the Caribbean sun as possible. I could hardly believe that our vacation was almost over. We hung out by the pool and played at the beach.

We had several blow up tubes that we rode in the waves. Several years ago my niece Karina got slammed into the sand by a freakishly big wave while in Cancun. She got a black eye and scrapes all over her face. She asked me if the waves were very big before coming in. I told her they weren't big, and that I was able to float over the top of them. Within five minutes I was doing somersaults under a wave that had just knocked me off my tube, hoping not to hit the sand. I didn't, thank goodness, but after that I stayed closer to shore.

Later that night we headed back to the flea market. I wanted to get a necklace, but when I saw the prices, I wished I had bought the one at the mall. The two I looked at were $85 and $150 after haggling and a supposed "deep discount". Mariasha bought a woven bracelet for her souvineer.

Then we went to dinner at the Taco Factory. I was looking forward to another delicious el pastor burrito. Unfortunately, the Taco Factory isn't nearly as good as Tacolote. The waiter was awful! He didn't bring us any silverware. I understand no silverware for the tacos, but Teri's burrito was way too big to pick up, so she just had to sit and stare longingly at her dinner. She was the lucky one though. I didn't get my dinner until about 20 minutes after everyone else had their food. We had to track our waiter down and tell him I hadn't gotten it. Then he acted like I had made the mistake. The food was not good. The tacos were microscopic, and they weren't that cheap. My el pastor burrito was a huge disappointment. Ah, well, I guess we'll have to make the extra effort to go to Tacolote from now on.

As we were eating, a young woman with a small child came to our table and tried to sell us handmade bracelets. She charged $1 for them. I couldn't have bought the material to make them for $1, let alone the cost of the time to make them. It was so refreshing to have someone tell us the real price, not a jacked up price, that I bought several. Later, I wished I had bought even more.

Saturday

We packed quickly on Saturday, and then headed down to the pool for our last fix of Paradise.

Our taxi was going to pick us up at 1:30 to head to the airport, so we got out at 12:30, got dressed, and headed to La Palapa for some lunch. David and I shared a Mexican burger and it was amazing! It had jalapeno peppers and guacamole on it. Yummy! I also had my last glass of limonade.

At the last second I decided that I really did want the necklace from the mall, and decided to run quickly to get it. The mall was a block away from the hotel. My sister came with me, and we sprinted over there. It took me a few minutes to find the right store. Nothing has price tags on it, so when I picked it up, the guy working told me it was $55. Wow! in just a few days the price had risen $22! I didn't realize how much haggle room there was in the mall prices. I had thought they were fixed. I said, "Uh uh, you said $32 yesterday!" I talked him down to $35, but I couldn't get him to go lower in the time I had available. I went ahead and bought it for $3 more than the original price. I think he knew I was out of time. But I'm glad I bought it. I really like it. We ran back to the hotel in record time. I think the whole trip took 15 minutes.

We got back in time to grab our stuff and hop in the taxi.

The airport was uneventful. Going through customs and immigration in the US was a snap. I never would have thought it would be easier to get into the US than it was to get into Mexico, but no one even looked at our bags, and we only waited in line for about 10 minutes.

Even though it was nice to be home, I still miss Cancun, my favorite place in the whole world.

Postcards from Paradise- Part 5

Thursday

This was the best day of the vacation for me, because we went SCUBA DIVING!!!!!
I got scuba certified during the summer of 2007, and I have done 6 dives since then. 4 of them were at the Crater at the Homestead in Midway, Utah. They were actually a part of my certification. The crater is just a deep hole that is filled with water. It's quite boring. The other 2 were in Grand Turk, in the Bahamas in October 2007. Those dives were amazing! I haven't gone since then, and I was a bit nervous. I reread my scuba manual and was peppering everyone with scuba questions during the whole vacation. I started to feel a bit better when I realized that everyone had answered one of my questions wrong, and that I had actually been right. I realized that I really still did remember the important stuff.

My dad, my sister Teri, David and I woke up early, around 5:30 a.m. and took a 2 hour taxi ride to Playa del Carmen. Then we caught the 8 a.m. ferry to Cozumel. It was a very long trip, but it was totally worth it! We dove with Liquid Blue Divers. I would highly recommend them if you are ever diving in Cozumel. The owner Mikaela (second from the left) was very nice and accomodating. Our divemaster, Luis (far right), was awesome!

We were on the boat Bonita Luna. The boat captain's name was Javier, and he was fun and very helpful. It was pretty windy that morning, and the boat was pretty rocky, but we made it to our first dive site very quickly.

Our first dive was on the Santa Rosa Wall. It was beautiful! There were some pretty cool swim throughs where there were tunnels in the coral. I actually didn't like that part very much. I was having a bit of trouble with neutral buoyancy (not drifting up or down) and I kept hitting my tank on the top of the caves. Plus I kept picturing the page in my dive manual that said basically, "Don't go into any caves until you have been trained how to do so unless you want to DIE!" Well, I went in, and I didn't die, but there wasn't really anything growing inside the caves, so it was kind of lame. It was probably because a bunch of other morons who couldn't figure out neutral buoyancy had gone through the cave before me had killed everything inside. Or maybe it was the hurricane, who knows?

The rest of the dive was amazing though. We were on a wall, so you could look up or down and there was stuff growing everywhere.

There were tube shaped corals, fan corals, anenemes, bright purple corals, really cool white corals that looked like funnels that were growing all over each other, and tons of animals. We saw a giant crab that's legs were probably 2 inches thick, and a large white manta ray.

We saw tons of beautiful fish, my favorite were the Queen Angels.

We also saw a giant grouper, and a small baraccuda. David got really sea sick while he was on the first dive. I think it was all of the head over heels action while swimming through the caves. Next time I will make sure he takes dramamine before we dive. We were down 42 minutes and I went a max depth of 79 feet. I actually got a little sea sick after the first dive while I sat on the rocky boat waiting for one guy to finish his dive. But once the boat started traveling instead of just bobbing, I felt better.

After the first dive, we went to relax and eat lunch at a really cool beach restaurant. We invited the dive master to sit with us, and had fun getting to know him. He's lived in Cozumel his whole life. His parents were dive masters. He started diving when he was 8 years old, and his whole family went diving together all the time. He was always the caboose end of their family dive train. He has been a dive master for 16 years, and he dives 6 days a week, 7 during the busy season. I asked him if he ever got tired of diving. He said sometimes he got tired physically from the exertion, but he loved diving every day. The only other place he has ever gone diving was in Belize, and he said it wasn't as nice as Cozumel.

Our second dive was at Punta Tunish (or Rocky Point). This was my favorite dive. It was so beautiful! It was a drift dive, so we didn't have to do much, mostly just sit and let the current take us while we watched the beautiful scenery go by. We were supposed to only go 60 feet deep, but when we first went in, the bottom was about 70 feet down. It took us a minute to figure out we were too deep, then another minute to figure out where our dive master was. He was about 20 feet away on the top of a small hill. Once we had that figured out, we were off.

We saw 2 sea turtles. One of them was eating sea weed off the bottom.

The other one was floating on the surface when the dive master first saw it. He pointed it out to me, but I couldn't see anything. He took us closer, and I finally spotted it as it started diving down to the bottom. It was really cool! We were able to get a few feet away. I liked the jaggedy back of it's shell.

We saw a big ray, and a huge eel. The eel was about 12 inches across and we could see about 6 feet of it. It was hiding under a ledge, and I think the divemaster knew it lived there. He had us go under the ledge to see it. Of course, that was when my ears decided that they were done equalizing. I was really frustrated because I couldn't get down deep enough. The DM was great though. When he realized what my trouble was, he patiently worked with me for about 10 minutes to get my ears working again. Then he took me down under the ledge to see the eel. I'm so glad he did that for me, because my ears worked fine after that. My ears always seem to have more trouble on the second dive. I think I just need to be extra careful on the second dive to equalize my ears every foot!

There were huge schools of bright yellow fish, and small silver fish.We saw 2 huge groupers, more Queen Angelfish, and some really cool gray fish whose scales looked to me like they were made out of stone because of the mottled coloring.

I saw a what looked like a steel marble about 1 inch across rolling around inside a bowl shaped rock. I tried to get down to figure out what it was, but I wasn't able too. There wer all kinds of tiny fish and creatures among the seaweed on the bottom. It was just amazing! Beautiful! I want to go again next week! Alas, I live in the middle of a desert, and have the Crater as my scuba diving option. We went down to a max depth of 65 ft, and were down for 55 minutes.

After we were done diving, we had to hustle to make the 3 p.m. ferry. Again Mikaela was very helpful. She sent someone running to find a taxi for us while we were getting our gear off the boat so we could make it in time. I'm glad we made it, because the next ferry wasn't until 5, and I didn't want to wait that long. When we got to the hotel we were really tired, so we just hung out in the hotel for the rest of the day.