A little bit of home comes on trek

Monday July 17, what a perfect preparation day with the Elder and Sister Ekins, (from Hinckley, Utah) to Mirror Lake and Provo River Falls. These are in the Uinta Mountains about an hour drive from were we are. The Uinta's  are the largest east-west mountains in the United States.

The weather was so perfect and a lot cooler in temp up at Mirror Lake. We loved the trees and the beautiful lake. We walked around the whole lake and Elder Ekins would stop and fish every little while but didn't catch any fish, but we sure enjoyed the scenery and talking to people all around the lake and saw the fish they had caught. We had our picnic lunch at another shaded camp ground, and then on to Provo River Falls. These falls were amazing like someone had hand carved them like stepping stones stairs all the way down the mountain. We had a peaceful drive through a lot of little towns of Oakley, Marion, Peoa, and Kamas. Then a drive through Rock Port State Park, Elder Ekins had not been there before. The afternoon ended with ice cream stop before getting back to the ranch about 4:30.

At beautiful Mirror Lake, enjoying the trees, water and beautiful scenery

Elder Ekins fishing, he is in his element on the lake

Elder Ekins 

Elder Call found a fun dead tree on Mirror Lake

Still snow off the side of the road

At the top looking over the beautiful area below

The Ekins at Provo River Falls

The Calls at Provo River Falls

Family night was the Dennis Family. They were involved with the second rescue. When we came to check out this mission two summers ago on Father's Day they gave the fireside then, We never get tired of hearing their story and each time we learn a little more about it. The second rescue is where the Riverton Wyoming Stake embarked on a sacred trek of their own, a journey filled with miracles and laden with spiritual blessings. The faithful people worked together to provide temple blessings of the Willie and Martin handcart pioneers and for their immediate families. It's about their trials and triumphs in their efforts to build monuments and pave the way for others to experience the sacred sites associated with the handcart pioneers.

We had quite the storm during family night with lots of wind, when it was over we had a beautiful rainbow.

The Dennis family, 3 on the left are all going to serve missions the next month, grandparents and grandson.

Beautiful sky above our trailers in missionary village

Rainbow as we came out of our family home evening

Tuesday July 18, this was a normal port-a-john cleaning and planning with the McDowells (form Mesa Arizona) for trekking with them this week. Filling the water buffalo, ironing shirts, laundry and catching up on the never ending things that need done to be ready for Wednesday treks that are coming.

Wednesday July 19, we are with the Spanish Fork Stake this week on route 7, there are 231 people, and the theme is: "Hope on Carry on." We had 21 carts. When they arrived we heard lots of messages from so many people we have come to know and love in this Stake. Steve and Kathy Collings, they were over all the ushers at the Payson Temple Open House. We were on the usher committee, and because of serving on that committee we found out about this mission. Also Bishop Allman who's wife was Sister Call's shift supervisor at the Temple, also Bonnie Bingham's ward, Sister Call worked 12  years with her at BYU. Alberto Trevino's ward who Sister Call worked with him at BYU for over 10 years. So every night she would text pictures throughout the week to them. Also Jessie Ann and Israel Rahel who used to live in our ward in Spanish Fork. Sister Call got to walk with them and catch them up on a lot of the people in our ward.

Today was overcast and the best day all summer for trekking. We did over 9 miles and with the cooler temperature we had very little injuries, (Blisters) it was a great day. Cort and Donna Griffin are the ones in charge of trek and Pres Blanthorn was the member of the Stake Presidency. They had a Stake cart at the front pulled by two return missionaries that just got home from their mission the week before.

The Calls and McDowells, trekking with them this week

The Rahels, they were in our Canyon Crest Ward, so fun to catch up with them again and trek with them this week.

Trekkers walking by a lake

On the trial again

Gathering at the port-a-john stop

A pelican on the lake as we trekked by, over 190 kinds of birds on this ranch.

The pelicans took off flying, and have to make a big circle to get enough lift, they were amazing to watch.

A flock of geese that took off from the watering hole

A bird

Thursday July 20, the woman's pull is on this trail today. They had the men called out for missions. They had 4-5 girls on the handcarts and it was a really hard pull and very effective.The Stake young woman's president gave a really good talk to the woman about the Jens and Elsie Nelson pioneers and how his feet were too frozen to walk and said to leave him to die, she said no I will pull you, and she did for over a week, they also buried a son with 13 others at Rock Creek Hollow. The two return missionaries talked on the atonement to the boys. There was music playing when the girls came up. When the girls reached the top they told the rest of the story of Jens and Elsie and how they settled in Bluff, and Cedar City, and Panguitch, and other cities there, and he was a bishop for 27 years.

Later that night was another fun Hoe Down, we had Lucky Packer come for the third time this summer to call it, and we have such a fun time dancing with the youth.

The meeting before the Woman's pull

The men waiting for the woman to come up the hill

Woman's pull

Woman's pull

Sister Call enjoying the hoe down

Beautiful sunset tonight

Friday July 21, their trek song is wonderful and they sing it all the time called, "Remember the Journey." by Jenny Phillips. (Google it and listen to it, such a beautiful song. Also their theme is from President Monson's conference talk in Oct 2008, "Finding Joy in the Journey."

This day was a short 3 mile day and so we had a lot of fun games that they rotated through once we got to the next camp. Elder McDowell was Ephraim Hanks, and he did a wonderful job telling his story every 10 minutes as they rotated 8 different times. There was stilts, hula hoops, pioneer sign language, sack race, music teaching a song, and the game where you all hold hands and have to get untangled.

Elder Call did the pony express again on his house Sliver, and they had a letter from the Stake President that he had written to the youth about a month ago. Two week ago he had a stroke and can't talk so this letter meant so much to the trek families, this was another tender mercie.

Elder McDowell as Ephraim Hanks

Gunny sack race

Teaching sign language to the group

Singing the song with sign language

Lula hoop race to get it around the circle the fastest

Walking on stilts

The tangled game to get untwisted before the other group.

Elder Call as "Bob" delivering the mail to the group.

Elder Call and Cort Griffin, they both grew up in Downey, California, it's a small world.

Erica Nelson, I loved her trek outfit she reminded me of Mary Englebreit

Saturday July 22, today was about 6 miles to walk out so had to get an early start, we had a 30 minute vignette and we we stopped and they were getting all set up for it there was an antelope up on the top of the hill just watching us. He stayed there most of the time. One girl played the violin to, "Come, Come Ye Saints" It was beautiful she was amazing. They have a lot of youth in the Utah Valley Youth Choir and they would just start singing a capella at different times during trek.

The antelope up on the ridge that watched the whole vignette. 

The morning vignette, the antelope stood up on the hill and watched us the whole time, it was so amazing.

Playing "Come, Come, Ye Saints,"  she was very talented,

President Blanthorn, with the walking stick gift make by Elder Wilson, and Elder Call

Just having fun being the horse to pull the handcart.

One of the wonderful support ladies, Sister Munk from Ecuador, she always had on bright red lipstick. Loved hearing her stories and hearing her talk with her accent.

Elder and Sister Call, Char and Gary Blacker, over all the food, great friends, Elder and Sister McDowell

The poster that they all signed for the McDowells and Us

The bandanna, journal/song book, bracelets to write the name of the person we are trekking for.  

A wonderful thought from their journal/song book this week:

"The Lord isn't asking us to load up a handcart, He's asking us to fortify our Faith. He isn't asking us to walk across a continent, He's asking us to walk across the street and visit our neighbor. He isn't asking us to give all of our worldly possessions to build a Temple, He's asking us to attend regularly the Temples already built. He isn't asking us to die a martyr's death, He's asking us to live a Disciple's life." M Russell Ballard

Sunday July 23, we sang today in the Evanston 2nd Ward. The song all the missionaries sing is: "To those Who came before Me." by Sally DeFord The Barton's and Ekins talked about Trials by Faith. The Ekins had friends here for the weekend and Sister Ekins and her did a wonderful rendition of: The Night Before Christmas. It was so fun to laugh and see a different side of Sister Ekins I hadn't seen before.

Sister Ekins friend and Sister Ekins doing the Night Before Christmas rendition.