Final Countdown Before Trekkers come Preparation is over

Memorial day was a wonderful celebration with the missionaries all day long. We had a fun breakfast at a place called Jodies. We have eaten there three times now. They serve breakfast there all day long. Evanston was a major railroad town and the trains still run through town, they have an old roundhouse that has been restored and is beautifully done and we had a nice tribute to all those who have served our country. Elder Call and Elder Howard were able to carry the flag in for the Army. Elder Howard was in Vietnam and is a Purple Heart recipient. We had a nice tour around the round house and other buildings with Brother "P" as he is known. They have restored many of the buildings and the roundhouse turntable and have a three million dollar grant to restore more of the buildings. We then walked the Bear River Trail to the state park , getting our exercise since we start trekking next week. Pizzas were made by the Elder and Sister Peart on their neat pizza cooker, and the Stake /Presidency and wives paid a visit and ate with us and delivered flower pots on all the trailer porches.

Memorial Day Breakfast  at Jodies

Evanston Stake Presidency wife's Dornne Platt, Chris Lester, Jodie Smith

The flower pot from the Evanston Stake Presidency to be put on our porch, it's nice to have some beauty in all the dust 

Elder Call and Elder Howard carrying the Army flag at the Memorial Day Patriotic Celebration

Sister Howard, Elder and Sister Ekins, Elder and Sister Higginson at the Memorial Day  Roundhouse

Elder Call with the Army Flag

The beautiful beams and wood work at the Roundhouse

One of the original coal cars from the mines 150 years old

Looking down from the balcony at the roundhouse

Outside the roundhouse

Walking the Bear River Trail

The rest of the week was busy with projects, and since we are on spraying weeds on all the roads we trek on we did that every day for at least part of the day, if not all the day. Once we start trekking we are done spraying.

Elder Call filling the weed spraying tank from a 200 gallon tank on the back of a  farm truck, using this you don't have to go back to the missionary compound to get water each time, then we mix in the weed killer.t

One day when we were out spraying on a beautiful afternoon and the antelopes were running Elder Call said the song Home Home on the Range has a whole new meaning, where the dear and the antelope play, and the skies are not cloudy all day. It sure describes our place here.

Mike Meek the Ranch Manager presented a power point presentation for us all about the ranch, The cowboys live by Woodruff which is about 30 miles away on the ranch. It was great to learn the key initiatives of the ranch and how it is managed.

President Hinckley on why the church has Ranches

Mission of the Deseret Land an Livestock

After his presentation all the missionaries introduced themselves, Elder Ekins said we have been here 40 days and almost 40 nights, Wow where did the time go. It seems that everyday fly by and is evaporated, with us saying slowdown we have so much more to get done.

Elder Cowan and Elder Call had fun once again shooting at potguts, if the potguts are around  then the badgers come. Boys will be boys and they love this.

The antelope are having their babies right now and some of them are having twins. It is so fun to see them with their moms. One missionary couple saw a mom running with the twins and she stopped to look at the 4 wheeler and the twins ran into the  back of her and went tumbling.

One morning we had to get gravel from our little gravel pit up above our compound and Elder Call got to run the little front end loader. He had a great time doing this. We then took many loads to fill in some trails, shoveling it out of the back of the trucks.

Elder Call with the front end loader filling the back of the truck

Filling in the low spots on the trails and badger holes

One day we were out spraying and we wanted to finish the road, since many of these roads are so far away from camp. They sent the Pearts out to find us since it was so late. This week dinner has been about 8:00 every night with all the projects we have going on.


Sister Walker had her 80th birthday and so I made cupcakes for her and all the missionaries, and some of her children that came to stay the night. I also decorated the outside of her trailer.

Friday June 3 we had an all day outing with the Moon's, This is a mother and daughter who are both school teachers and lived here most of their lives, they take the missionaries out every year. We started at Fort Bridger for a few hours. We have been there before but a lot of the missionaries have not.

Fort Bridger 

Fort Bridger

Sister Walker on her 80th Birthday reciting her cowboy poetry.
There was another couple who was sitting and listening and though we were tour guides at  Fort Bridger

Hanging out with some of the missionaries

Sitting in front of what is left of the Mormon Wall

Elder Call and Elder Howard looking at the Army exhibits at Fort Bridger

Sister Call at one of the Exhibits. Just glad I don't have to wash like they did

Elder Howard and Elder Cowan enjoying the guns

We then had lunch by the Mormon Trail and found the port-a-johns that were placed on the Guild Ranch for the trekkers that come along there. I said we need pictures of the Sisters coming out. So we got some. (It was like wedding pictures with all the cameras going off from all the Elders) We do have a lot of fun.

All the Sisters at the Port-a-Johns
We will be loving port-a-johns for the next 9 week when we are out on the trail,
 it will be better then having to do cowgirl stops in the sage brush

Lunch by the Philo Dibble marker
A beautiful sunny day

We then hiked up to the Filo Dibble Jr. engraving up the canyon and saw the trail where the pioneers came down over some really huge rocks, how they got down there with wagons is amazing.

The missionaries hiking up the hill to the Philo Dibble Jr engraving

Philo Dibble Jr. engraving it says "Philo Dibble Jr Nov the 24 1857"
While hiding out from Johnston's Army he carved his name in this rock.

Mormon trail marker, how they got wagons down is a wonder

Further up the trail

Onto a trail culvert, The road was build up by the Chinese to build the railroad they moved the railroad tracks and it is now a dirt road. This culvert was a piece of artwork all made out of beautiful stone work. Sister Cowan got a picture of us crawling out

Gaylene crawling out of the culvert.

The train culvert that the Chinese made , beautiful workmanship

The last stop was the Needles. This is where Brigham Young stayed the night at the base of them when he was sick with Rocky Mountain Fever.

the Needles where 'Brigham Young camped at the base when he was sick with Mt Fever

Sister Call and Austin and Colleen Moon and Elder /Call
Tour guides for the day and new friends for life

Late night dinner at Jodies once more and back to camp late at night. Another full day, like every day at the Ranch.

Our resident antelope that decided to adopt us

Pay Sisters Pay a visit

Monday May 23, was our P-day and we drove to Rockport Reservoir, that is really close to where we are staying and we are going camping there over Labor Day with the Call Family, We then went to Park City and had lunch on Main Street and found this tree where there were shoes, and ski boots hanging all over it.

That night for family night the Walkers were in charge and we had a fun Cowboy poetry night, and tall tales night, and fractured fairy tales. We laughed and had such a wonderful night.

Tuesday May 24, the Elders had their lesson on filling the Water-buffalo's and cleaning them out, and put the chemical T-clore in and drove them to make sure they get all sanitized. The Sisters wrote on all the walls of the Port-a-Johns the instructions for the Trekkers, and had a lesson on T-clore and what to do for the the water-buffalo drivers. We have to make sure the trekkers have clean drinking water. We brushed linseed oil on the handcarts, had a bread making demonstration from Sister Hutchings, and painted some posts that are placed in the fields for the trekkers to follow. Elder Call helped with making more handcarts.

Sanitizing the Water Buffalo's

Sister Call painting Linseed oil on the newly finished carts.

Elder Howard mounting the axle for the wheels.

Just finishing up on another (number 11) handcart.

Wednesday May 25, our job was to power wash the port-a-johns. There so many trailers of them, it took all day to do this. After they are power washed we have to take all the plugs out and fill them with water to activate the chemicals in them, and then put the plugs back in them. It was not the warmest day and our hands and feet were really cold by the end, and it made us appreciate the pioneers a little more and the sacrifices they made walking in the bitter cold. We really are spoiled. Then they are taken down to staging at all the different places where the treks start.

Port-a-Johns at Fox Hollow staging, one of many staging areas

Some of the Port-a-Johns ready to take to staging area

Wednesday night we had a wonderful night with Joann Pay Baird, and Dorine Pay Lloyd, who are Marjorie Pay Hinckley's sisters. They are known as the Pay Sisters and in their family there are 5 girls and one brother. We had dinner with them and all the Stake Presidency and what a treat this was. After dinner they did a fireside for us and it was amazing. Words can not describe what a most enjoyable evening it was. They are so cute and spry and spunky for their age. They shared a cute saying at the first of their talk that goes like this.

I know just how ugly I are
My face ain't no bright shining star
But I really don't mind it
Because I'm behind it
It's you folks out front gets the jar

Then they told of the story of their grandparents Richard Pay and Mary Goble. The Sisters have been to England and all the places their grandparents traveled to get to Salt Lake. Their story was very touching and their dad was the 13th child and their grandparents suffered much and lost many of their children. Then after their story they showed us a grave marker of Edith Goble. It says our baby Edith Goble born Sept 23, 1856, died Nov 4, 1856. The story of how they got it was wonderful, truly a miracle.  If you want to read more of the story it is in the book "Tell my story, Too," with the Hunt Company.

They go around and speak to groups all the time and one young man at Martins Cove where they presented the story, broke down in tears and said wow this makes it so real, these are not just stories, it brings them to life.

The Pay Sisters

They sang their song.

This grave marker was found floating in a puddle in Idaho.

I was a board from the side of a wagon.

Thursday May 26, we were in charge of Pray meeting the scripture an pioneer story again and what a treat to share with the Pay Sisters.  Then we traveled to the Guild Ranch that is out by Fort Bridger, it is 35,000 acres and been in their family since 1869 and is now in the 7th generation. We were treated to the day with Wendy Peterson who runs treks on the ranch for the last 6 years. They have about 6,000 come through each summer, and they do their own trekking. This is on the actual trail. We saw the rust on the rocks from the handcarts, Brigham's Arrow where the advanced party of Brigham Young and Parley P. Pratt came out of Fort Bridger and made a course correction and put this large arrow in the ground of rocks so all the saints will turn at the arrow. We drove and saw where they went down a big hill and on to the muddy. The muddy is a river they crossed. We had lunch at the muddy and all the pioneers came through there. We thought of our Pioneer ancestors that were in this same spot as we sat today. We went and saw some pioneer graves. What a special day.

On the Guild ranch just south of Fort Bridger.

All of us listening to Wendy Guild Peterson tell about the Mormon trail that crosses their ranch.

Pioneer Graves

Brigham's Arrow

Mormon Trail Marker

Lunch at the Muddy Camp crossing.

Muddy Camp all pioneers crossed here at the muddy.

Marker for the Mormon camp site and crossing.

Pioneer Grave in the middle of a field.

We left to go to Kelsie Nicole Sabin Bonnett's high school graduation from Orem High.  Kelsie is Sharley and John Bonnett's daughter. Gaylene's grand daughter. That is what is nice about this mission is that we can leave for special events.
Kelsie graduated with honors and will be attending BYU in the fall on scholarship.

Friday May 27, we returned to the Ranch and finished another handcart and put linseed on two more.

Saturday May 28, We finished another handcart, so now that makes 11 that have been made this year and Elder Call has helped with all 11. In the afternoon we spayed weeds on a trail and went through   gallons of weed killer. There are lots of roads to spray still. A fun dinner night with Elder and Sister Ekin's and then playing Rook, we are keeping score over the summer and so far played 12 games. It's been fun to play since it's been so many years since I used to play it a lot with my grandmother.

Here is a finished handcart. Ready for use this summer.

We used "Wormy Maple" for the box.
It's beautiful when the Linseed oil is put on.
It's a very hard wood and should last a long time.

Sunday May, 28, after a wonderful day at church and planned potluck lunch that is always so tasty we went with The Ekin's and Howard's to walk up to the water tank. (BTW is 7012 feet, that is why it is so cold here.) When we went to leave for the walk we heard some screeching and two badgers were fighting by the corrals. The badgers are mean and do a lot of damage here so we are not happy when we see them. We see wild life every day here.

Two Badgers that just finished fighting. One limped away.

Taking a walk up to the water tank with the Ekins and Howards.

This antelope spent the day right around the compound.

Canadian Honkers that landed next to the compound.