Lily took out her endowments a short time ago in the San Diego temple. She invited us all to join her at the Mt. Timpanogos temple for a session. It was so wonderful to be in the temple with so much family. That's not an experience I get to have very often.
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| Lily's seminary teacher and his wife, Grandad, Grammy, Clark, Di, Jonny, Lily, Erik, Di's mom, Shanelle, Di's dad, me, Ashley, Hailey |
Lily is such a lovely girl.
I had the wonderful opportunity to pick up my dear friend Kristin DePew at the airport. She was coming to pick up her son at BYU. She has been such a wonderful support for me.
Jalen has been fascinated by rocks every since we studied a geology unit in science. He thinks that every rock is a geode. So when we found out there was a geode bed in Utah, we had to go! Grandad drove us and Asher joined us.
While we were driving, we saw signs saying we were in a wild horse refuge area. Jalen used his eagle eyes and spotted a herd. Grandad and I thought they were cows, but we decided to get a closer look. Jalen was right!
I was so disappointed to not have my zoom lens because the pictures weren't as good as I would have liked. But we were excited just to see them. We ran into a photographer who said we were very lucky because most people don't get to see them - or have to hike miles to get a good look.
We also saw numerous signs and monuments to show we were on the pony express trail. We have two ancestors that rode for the pony express.
There was even a recreation of an express station.
Can you see the bird?
Across the road there was the ruin of a home built by a man using the stones from the original pony express station. He built the home for his new bride, but she died in childbirth before ever living there.
Jalen made us pull over because he saw this treasure.
We finally made it to the geode pit. We weren't sure what to look for, but we set out to find treasures.
Grandad and I dug and searched while the boys just picked up rocks they found laying around.
Turns out the boys had better luck than we did. They found TONS of geodes. Grandad and I broke them open. It was hard work!
On the way back, we were shocked to come across the horses again. This time they crossed the road right in front of us! It was even closer than before. They were magnificent. It was an amazing experience.
I missed the beginning of this altercation, but was grateful to catch at least part of it.
It was amazing to see so much open space. Such an amazing vista!
We saw sego lilies everywhere. It is the state flower because the pioneers ate the bulbs to keep themselves alive when they were starving. I don't think I had ever seen them growing before.
Close up of the day's best treasures.
Asher taught the kids the pleasures of thrifting. They were both excited to discover great finds at Deseret Industries.
I had always wanted to go to the Golden Spike National Monument, but had never made it. Erik, Shanelle, and Asher joined us on an expedition.
This is the spot where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met, connecting the railroad from coast to coast. When they joined, they drove in a golden spike.
Connecting railroad cards was very dangerous because they could get crushed.
Replicas of the original engines.
Original railroad tie - the last one laid.
Engine room of the Central Pacific's Jupiter
Engine room on the Union Pacific's No. 119
Jupiter Engineer
119 Engineer
Close ups
The wheels were almost as tall as the kids.
In the middle of it
Damsel in distress
With a replica of the golden spike.
On the rails - this view is much as it would have been when the track was finished.
Reenactment.
Monument to those who built the railroad.
On the way home, we stopped in Roy at the famous Burger Bar as features in Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. Their burgers with homemade buns are fabulous and the shakes were scrumptious!
Baylie and Jalen had buffalo burgers!
I had the opportunity to visit my cousin Chris and his girlfriend Donna - who is also my client. She has lost 50 pounds and looks amazing!
Chris's "toy" - a 1964 Shelby Daytona Coup.
A slightly less fancy vehicle.
His Harley Davidson
We were able to get in a baptism appointment early one morning.
Afterwards, we went to Waffle Love for breakfast.
I ordered waffle toast with avocado and it was stupendous.
Baylie and Grandad continued their reading battle. They are running neck and neck.
When we first got to Utah, we learned that David's sister Casey had been in a very bad scooter accident. She wasn't going fast, but she wasn't wearing a helmet. She hit her head on the concrete and split it wide open. She had to have two different surgeries to stop brain bleeds. They didn't know if she would survive. David and I were able to visit her a few times in the hospital.
We didn't know what her recovery would be like and we worried that she may not be able to speak or walk the same again. We were shocked at how quickly she recovered.
I was able to take her back to her apartment shortly before returning to South Carolina.
I was grateful that we were in Utah and able to help her during this time.
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