September 17, 2014

So, Dee Stratton, Ray Lund, and others, here is the finish of our summer 

Adventure.  We got home on September 2nd and have been

so busy I just didn't have time to finish the blog.  So tonight I am

going to put a ending on our summer, kinda.

We had Trek Training for the groups coming in 2015.

We had almost 250 people come to the Ranch.  Right now

we are booked 5 treks a week for nine weeks.  We have only

two slots left unfilled.  We are looking at almost 11,000 people 

planning to come on trek with us next year!  We have

the trekkers now we need the missionary couples to

help us with those trekkers.  So SPREAD THE WORD!!!

It is a great mission and we would love to share the experience

with others.

We made 24 new carts this year and will probably build

even more next year to cover our needs.  I have to say building

a hand cart is one of my favorite memories of this summer.

Now they are all tucked away in the Trek Center so

they can stay nice and dry until next summer.

This is one of two unfortunate mice that decided to walk into

a cement filler we had applied to the cracks.  What a surprise

it was the next morning to find them STUCK!  It was not

a pretty picture when they were removed.

The Trek Directors for the past two years has been the Pratts.

They worked hard and were released at the end of the season.

The scary part of this is Jeff and I  were picked to be their

replacements.  So, we were the dumbest Ordinance workers, then

the dumbest Coordinators at the Temple.  We came on a Mission

and were the dumbest Trek missionaries and now we will be 

the dumbest Trek directors also.  What a legacy we have

left behind!  This is a photo of the passing of the 

Trek / Director Staff to Jeff.

Then the passing of the KEYS from Pratt to Cowan.

We love the idea that we will return to the D.L. & L.

We just wish we weren't the ones with the Staff, Keys and 

Phone!  Oh, Well, What more can I say?

This is a photo of Jeremiah's mom and dad, Jack and 

Christina Greene.  On August 26th they were traveling

to the Tetons and stopped to have a tour of the Ranch.  

Jeff was busy with the Elders putting things away and so I

got to be the tour guide.  They had a ball and I loved

showing off our "Play Ground"  This is them in front

of SKULL ROCK, one of my favorite places on the trail.

On Wednesday Aug 27th, everyone else was gone.

Jeff and I stayed waiting for the rain to stop so we could 

apply a sealer to the cement block walls of the trek Center.

We actually were glad because we got a call that the 24

Amish wagon wheels we had been waiting for had arrived in

Woodruff.  So Jeff and I drove to get them, what a load

that was!  They were put together inside that cardboard box

like a puzzle.  We waited until Friday Aug 29th to unload them.

The Kennedy's and Nordgrens drove back up to help us

spray the building and they helped unload the wheels and

axles.  We were so glad for the help.

That night Jeff and I drove up to Fort Bridger to the Mountain

Man Rendezvous.  What a sight that was!  Tepee's everywhere

and all kinds of interesting people.  We loved the fact they

had a ATM machine, talk about being out of place.

Check out the handcart fire truck that is displayed at the Fort.

  

We think we should get us one of those at D.L. & L.  It

would fit right in with our carts.

The next morning we loaded up and drove away.  How

lonely we had been with all the other missionaries gone.

It was just us and the coyotes.  Truly, they would yelp and

bark in the night, the afternoon, the morning.  It was like they

were just waiting for us to leave.  We were actually seeing

them right by our living area.  Notice the shorts!  Jeff was

so excited to wear shorts again.  He only had the one pair and

for the next four days he wore them.  By the time we 

got home on Tuesday they were really pretty dirty.

This would be who I found in my shower when I got home,

how cool is that?  I'm wondering who will be there

next year?  I hope not Darth Vader.

We Stopped in Salina for four days to visit with Zach, 

Katie and their four boys.  What a fun time that was.

The whole family is really into climbing trees, except

Katie and Sullivan.

Quinn and Max slept in the Trailer with us and loved that.

We made Katie, Ollie, Sully and Zach sleep in the house.

Even Zach was up in the tree.  He was working at hanging

a tree swing for the boys.  What a fun Dad he is.

Jeff and the boys were enjoying a moment watching

Transformers.  Check out Max's sox's!

I'm not even sure what this is!  We enjoyed a afternoon

in the Richfield park.  Life for us was very relaxing.

Today we went four wheeling up Beaver Mountain.  On

the way home we encountered this 4 wheeler hookup.

I have to say it was a new way to transport a 4 wheeler.

He actually followed us all the way home to Cedar and

turned toward Enoch, so maybe we will see this sight again.

The leaves were beautiful and we enjoyed riding the

South and North Creek trails.  It has been several years

since we were there.  We saw about six elk and two Bucks, that

is always a bonus for us.  And, no rain, that was different.

We are glad to be home and hope for more adventures in the

mountains before the snow comes.

I am off to Las Vegas tomorrow with my sisters and 

next week Jeff will be off hunting deer with his

muzzle loader.  This is retirement at its best.

August 19, 2015

August 16th was the Family Trek Day.  We had Morgan's 

family come, Zach's family, and Katie's mother, Pam and her brother 

Christian and his wife Mandy and children come.  What a fun time

they had running all around the Depot and area.  Lots of

fun for them.  They bought tents and camped on the lawn

in front of the Depot.  They were lucky enough to hear

coyotes calling and howling during the night.  On the last

day, Sunday as we left to go to Church the Greene family

was able to see a coyote right by the Depot.

Miah has on my bonnet, yep I bought Pioneer clothes

for Jeff and I.  Miah looked cute in the bonnet, Ruby 

looked cute in the skeleton jammies.

This would be a truck full of boys.  There were several

we had 12 children ten and under on the trek with us.

We had several families of the other Missionaries 

come and participate with us.

This is our crew and we took one cart.  With all

the little ones we needed all the adults we could find.

Katie carried Sully the whole time.  Morgan and Jeremiah

carried Ruby the whole way.  Zach had to carry Ollie

most of the way.  They wouldn't ride in the cart.

Our Sam actually helped push the cart a lot of the way.

He was a real pioneer boy.  He found it fun sometimes

and hard at other times.

Miah helped most of the time.  This is she and Mandy

pulling the cart into the Depot.  What girl power

they showed.

Morgan and Zach looked great as they took a turn

in the front.  What a memory that made for me, watching

the two of them together pulling the cart. 

Jeff was the cute one in the puffy shirt!  Notice how short

the sleeves are.  He had a great time showing off the

ranch to all of them.

This is Jeff, sitting on a bucket telling a pioneer story

to the trek group.

This is the King of the cart.  He had the best seat

and he loved being in the cart.  He had the control of

the speed and the direction we took.

Mothers on the Prairie would have loved a carrier

like Katie has.  Little Sully was pretty content.

Ollie was a in and out rider.

The rest of the kids spent their time running along

the trail looking for all kinds of things.  Finally they

discovered the magic of Bones.  That became their

obsession.  

The scary thing is, this is not the first time Ammon

has worn bones on his head.  Should we be worried?

This was a small portion of the bones they collected.

Morgan actually let them take the cow skull home

with them in the van, it was in a black plastic bag, 

I know weird.  

After the Trek we had games and activities for the kids.

Miah made pioneer cloth dolls for her and Ruby.  They

were fun to make.

We had some square dancing.  Miah really loved that.

Sam liked the stick pull game.  

After the lunch and activities we headed to a place

on the ranch to baptize Quinn. 

What a beautiful setting it was and fun for Jeff and

I to know this is where he was baptized.

The actual name is Saleratus Reservoir 2.

This is Jeff telling Quinn, "You are the only person

I know that was baptized in a lake." 

The proud and happy family afterwards.

The only bad point was the biting red ants that decided

to attend the baptism also, they were not invited!  

Jeff and I didn't notice them when we were scoping the

place out.  They went after those who had bare toes

and bare legs.  Miah was one of those victims, so

Jeremiah was holding her up off the ground.

Christian played his guitar to accompany our songs.

The last song we sang was "I Belong to the Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints", we sang it as

we quickly marched away from the BITING RED ANTS.

Little Sully was just glad to be along and he really

enjoyed the icing on the cookies Mandy brought to

share with all of us.  I think Morgan was photo

bombing without knowing realizing it.  Oh, that red

skirt of hers was covered with burr's and stickers.

We all took turns pulling them off of the skirt.

This would be all 12 of our little group, actually in

one spot at the same time.  Shortly after this photo 

Jeff discovered someone had locked the truck and his 

keys were inside the truck!  We had driven 3 trucks

down to the site so we all piled into 2 trucks and

drove back to the Depot and then Jeff and I

had to go to the Director and tell him we needed

a spare set of keys to get into the truck we had

borrowed from him.  Yes, we got a lot of teasing

from that one!  Again, we show how competent we

are!

One last photo moment on the gate as the Cowan's and

the Siggs left the ranch.  Deseret Land & Livestock

survived the visit.  

On Monday we drove up to Bone Hollow with Elder

Pratt and his grandchildren.  We took all the bones

our grandchildren had collected and we deposited them

along the trail.

Again we saw the magic of bones in delighting

the hearts of children.

They had so much fun adding to the bones that were

already there.  The teeth were a new addition to

this post.  We all thought it was rather cleaver looking.

Each one of the boys took a bone home with them

also.  Their mom wasn't to excited about the

LARGE PELVIS BONE they selected.  But,

being a great mom she relented and let them take 

it with them when they left.

Even Elder Pratt wanted a bone to take home.  This is

the one he selected.  I wish I could see it on his

desk, he is a Judge.  That should put fear into 

others hearts.  He should be called Judge Bone Collector.

Monday morning the sunrise was totally awesome.

Everyday we are amazed at the beauty that

surrounds us.

Can you doubt that God lives and that He loves us?

I know God lives for I see His hand everyday.