I lack words to tell you how enjoyable my time was in Utah. My family made every effort to be together as often as possible. Every evening was spent together in one activity or another. Loving/hugging my children and grandchildren and holding the babies were the best! Attending and participating in Cade's baptism was a privilege. Having John with me to chauffer me around was also enjoyable. Sharing stories, memories, thoughts and feelings made me so happy. Seeing returned missionary friends and many others made it memorable.
Because of the eye test the doctor wanted, I gained three extra days with my family. On Tuesday Jake, Shea and I hiked just under11 miles of the Great Western Trail. (See info at the end of the blog.) We parked Jake's car at Tanner Flat in Big Cottonwood Canyon and one of Jake's friends on Canyon Patrol ferried us to the top of Guardsman Pass looking over into Wasatch County and Heber. From there we took the trail over and along the crest of the mountains and back down to Tanner Flats. Along the trail we could look into Summit County on one side and Salt Lake County on the other. We ascended 2000 feet and descended 6000 feet. The trail is marked in red on the map.
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| Top of Guardsman Pass looking down into Heber |
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| Shea and Jake |
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| Coyote prints all over the trail |
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| Looking down into Brighton and Silver Lake |
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| Desolation Lake |
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| Silly stance |
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| Beautiful Flora all around |
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| Desolation Lake |
It was a spectacular day!! I can't tell you enough that we live in a glorious world. It was clear and warm but not beastly hot. I want to go again! Jake tells me he has several trails waiting for me when I get home next year.
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| Crystal clear stream |
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| The only critter we saw all day was this squirrel in the tree |
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| Sign by the road at Tanner Flat |
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| Looking into the Brighton bowl |
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| This historical marker (picture from the web) is located outside the Silver Lake Information Center in Brighton, Utah |
THE FIRST STATEWIDE PIONEER DAY CELEBRATION Was held in this basin July 23-24, 1857 Headed by Brigham Young, the company reaching here July 23d numbered 2,587 persons, with 464 carriages & wagons, 1,028 horses & mules, and 332 oxen & cows. A program of addresses, six brass bands, singing and dancing, was punctuated by salutes from a brass howitzer. U.S. flags were flown from two highest peaks and two highest trees, the flag tree in front of Brigham Young's campsite being 70 feet N.W. of here. At noon July 24, Judson Stoddard and A. O. Smoot, 20 days from the states, with Elias Smith and O. P. Rockwell, arrived with news of the advance of Johnson's army against the "Mormons". The company returned in orderly formation July 25th.
Tuesday it was fun to enjoy the evening with Mikala Anderson. She and my oldest granddaughter, Cicilee, had played Lacrosse (opposing teams) during their high school careers. Dessert at Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt topped off another beautiful day.
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| Utah sunset |
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| Cicilee and Mikala |
Wednesday I went to Bountiful to the doctor's office for the vision field test. Have lost a little peripheral vision in the left eye and the pressure was a little elevated. (Glaucoma) I was prescribed another eye drop.
Deanne, Jeff, John and I went to lunch and had sushi. Then we stopped by a donut place called Beyond Glazed to get dessert for dinner. Oh my! The pictures pretty much describe how they tasted.
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| Sushi lunch |
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| Sushi |
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| Beyond Glazed menu |
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| Yummiest doughnuts ever!! |
Rex's wife Tracy and their youngest son came home from New Zealand Wednesday night so I was able to see all of my family.
Thursday morning Jeff and Deanne, Tracy, and John and I went to breakfast. Thursday afternoon I was able to meet Kiri Jenkins, a former missionary, for lunch. So fun to reunite and catch up on what is going on in the lives of these terrific returned missionaries.
Thursday, John cooked dinner. Smoked, barbecued ribs with John's special rub, grilled corn on the cob with John's seasoning, salad, and French bread. John made fresh peach cobbler with peaches from our trees. What a scrumptious dinner!! Thanks John. Bus drivers really can cook. Now I need to explain that don't I?
John drove school bus in Las Vegas for many years. He likes to cook so he created recipes that friends and other bus drivers wanted. He compiled a cook book with original recipes, family recipes, and recipes collected from other bus drivers and friends. The title of the cookbook is Bus Drivers Can Cook Too.
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| Katie and Rory |
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| Rory |
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| My babies Rory and Reed |
Friday morning I took Judd to breakfast. I was happy that he got home from New Zealand in time for me to give him a hug and to spend a minute with him. I had a tearful time hugging my family goodbye and getting on that plane back to New York.
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| My breakfast - yogurt with fresh fruit and granola. Delicious! Better than Judd's French toast. |
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| Kristin and Rory |
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| View of my gorgeous mountains from my front porch. Until next year!! |
Friday night the sweet sisters who live upstairs welcomed me back with brownies. Gotta have that chocolate!!
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| Sisters Zambito and Mejia. They caught me hugging Fern. |
Saturday I unpacked, did laundry, cleaned up my apartment, went grocery shopping and tried to be ready for fast day and Primary singing time. I walked 3.6 miles and my knees and feet were killing me. I asked Jake how I could do the almost 11 mile hike in the mountains up and down and not hurt but 3.5 miles in the city killed me. He told me that moving over sand and dirt reduces the tension on your knees and muscles. Some experts say that as much as 50 to 75% of the impact is taken out on the trail. That's why there are numerous 100 mile trails runs/races and almost none on blacktop or concrete. I can't believe the difference. I was pretty cocky because I did that hike with little pain other than sore calf muscles but here in NYC, I can't walk 3 miles without achy knees and feet.
Enough complaining!!
I am happy to be back in New York serving the Lord on my mission. I made chocolate cookies for the elders and they were happy to get them. They told me they missed me but I wonder if it was me they missed or the cookies. Maybe both. Either way, I like to make cookies and I have to get them out of the house or I eat them all myself. So the elders are willing to sacrifice and take them off my hands. Gotta love them.
I know I said this last week and many times before but family is everything. I love them so much and deeply appreciate the love, encouragement, and support I feel from each family member. I am so proud of my children and grandchildren.
I celebrated my 49th anniversary on September 1st. Kay and I had the best life one could ask for and together we have created this eternal family. I look forward to spending eternity with Kay and my wonderful family. I am grateful that they love each other and care for one another. They care for each other's children as if they were their own. They share and give and take and enjoy being together. How blessed am I!!!
I love you my family and friends.
The Great Western Trail is a north-south long distance multiple use route which runs from Canada to Mexico through five western states in the United States. The trail has access for both motorized and non-motorized users and traverses 4,455 miles through Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. Designated a National Millennium Trail.
Origins of The Great Western Trail
In 1776, two Spanish priests, Dominguez and Escalante, camped with Paiute Native Americans at the base of the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona. The trail the Natives showed them, now known as the Jacob Hamblin/Mormon Honeymoon Trail, still exists, as does Beale's Wagon Road and the Moqui Stage Station. These sites and trails are part of the Great Western Trail and travelers can visit them on foot, All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), bicycles, horseback, snowmobiles, or a 4-wheel drive vehicle towing an off-road trailer.
Except for the fires, floods, and landslides that have occurred over the centuries, they are as they were when pioneers, cattle ranchers, and Mormon Honeymooners first ventured into Arizona: teeming with wildlife, exotic plants, and breathtaking rock formations that expose the history of the earth.
History of the Great Western Trail
Lyle Gomm, a former Intermountain Region Trail Coordinator, is the "father" of the GWT. His idea to create a long distance trail open to a variety of users began in Utah during the 1970s, and in 1985 he organized an inter-agency team including the Forest Service, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service to create the Bonneville Rim Trail to connect the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks. In 1986, Dale Sheewalter, a volunteer promoter of the Arizona Trail (Grand Canyon National Park to Nogales, Mexico), suggested the Arizona and Bonneville Rim Trails be renamed the "Great Western Trail."
In 1988, Simon Cordial, 26, from England, and James Mayberger, 29, from New York, teamed up to become the first to thru-hike the proposed GWT from Canada to Mexico. Their journey began June 1, near Priest Lake State Park, Idaho, and ended October 15, 1988 at the Mexican border a few miles east of Douglas, Arizona. In 1990, the Great Western Trail Association was incorporated under the provisions of the Utah Nonprofit Corporation and Cooperative Association Act. The Great Western Trail joins backcountry trails, dirt or gravel roads, and high speed highways, to create a system of routes that terminate independently or rejoin a main route. It was conceived as a 4,500-mile long network of preexisting trails that would traverse central Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming, and end at the Idaho-Montana border with Canada.
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