Trek 2015

Our Stake had the fabulous opportunity to go to Martins Cove for Trek this year. It took a long time (1.5 yrs) to plan and pull together and was an awful lot of work for those in charge. But it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime chances that I am so thankful my girls had. Curtis is a counselor in the Stake YM presidency so he was involved in all of the planning/preparing. The girls and I were pretty good procrastinators and left our sewing/preparing to the last minute. But we pulled it all together and off they went to Wyoming in June. They left on Tuesday morning (23rd), early, and returned VERY late on Friday night/early Saturday morning. There were photographers assigned by the stake to take pictures. I sent disposable cameras with my girls and Curtis had his phone, but I ended up having to pull pictures off the Stake Trek website. I was thankful that they took so many photos and made them accessible to everyone.

Curtis and Bro. Veach at the Stake Center on the day that everyone dropped off their stuff.
It was quite the process to label and transport everyone's bucket and bedding. 

After the last bus fiasco for a stake youth activity, they hired these chartered buses. 

Each person was given this wagon wheel necklace.  I like the saying they lasered into them…
"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven."

They spent time at Martin's Cove and Rocky Ridge/Rock Creek Hollow

Martins Cove

This monument is at Rock Creek Hollow

The group burial at Rock Creek Hollow, includes Jens and Elsie Neilson's son, Jens,
and Bodil Mortinsen, who was traveling with them. 

There were quite a few pictures of my 'mountain man' Curtis. Our original plan was for me to go with them and be part of the cooking crew, but as the time grew closer I didn't feel good about leaving my boys. I know Shiala and Ford would have taken good care of them, but it just didn't feel like the thing to do. When I told Curtis I was going to stay home, he told me he'd been having the same feelings. So I stayed home with my three boys. (Actually, we had our own little trek to St. George to spend time with the Crane family :))

Curtis enjoyed talking to the missionaries that work there….

Some of the stake leaders

Everyone thought he grew his beard (and hair) for Trek, so they were all awfully surprised when he didn't cut and shave after Trek was over…. 

walking up into Martins Cove

Curtis wasn't too sure that it was a good idea to go to the expense of transporting the youth of the whole stake clear to Wyoming. He thought that the same objectives could be met doing something locally, perhaps down in Bluff. But the Stake President was pretty set on making this happen so he did his part. After he got home, he told me that he loved the whole thing so much that he hadn't been ready to come home. I was happy to see that it had been a good experience not only for the youth but for him as well. After we went to Martin's Cove as a family in 2007 and feeling of the spirit of the place, I have wanted my children to have the opportunity to go with a church group if possible. Cambria was eligible to go this year as well, but an opportunity for a good summer job came along and she decided to take it instead. I'm sorry she missed this chance.

Square dancing. Love the hat! He said it helped keep the bugs out of his face better that way.
Looks like a sombrero…I keep hearing Mexican hat dance music…..

Each youth was supposed to choose an ancestor to 'trek' for. They didn't have to have been a handcart pioneer or anything, but just someone who was one of the first in their family to join the church. We are lucky in our family to have ancestors in both the Martin and Willie handcart companies.
Hannah 'trekked' for Sarah Crossley, who was a member of the Martin Handcart Company. She is Hannah's 4th great-grandmother who was a plural wife to Peregrine Sessions and mother of James Crossley Sessions. She joined the church in England as a girl, when Peregrine Sessions was a missionary there. After getting to Utah, he asked the Crossley family to let one of their children live with his family and Sarah was the one who went. She says she loved Elder Sessions from the time he helped convert her family and was thrilled to be married to him after getting to Utah. I appreciate how our families were put together and am thankful for those strong women and men who lived  the 'Principle' but boy, I'm sure glad that polygamy is no longer practiced in our day. Don't think I could do it.

Sadie 'trekked' for Catherine (Katrine) Jorgensen, her 3rd great-grandmother who was Jens Nielson's 3rd plural wife. Katrine didn't come to Utah until later and was living in Cedar City when Jens became a member of the Hole-In-The-Rock/San Juan group. She was not healthy so stayed behind with her 3 young children. She died a couple of years later and her children went with friends by wagon to Bluff where they were raised by Kirsten, Jens' 2nd plural wife. The life of a pioneer was never easy, and often incredibly hard. So much loss.

This is Hannah with her 'family'.
She is in the pink shirt and green floral skirt there on the far left. I'm sure the pioneers had pink sunglasses. 

I got this text from Hannah's 'ma' a week or two after Trek. I so appreciated her kind words.

There's not much out on the high plains of Wyoming except sagebrush…and wind.

Hannah and some friends...

Crossing the Sweetwater River….(Hannah in front pulling)

Sadie on far left with yellow shirt

Sadie did a good job of avoiding the camera. In fact, I was starting to get pretty sad, after going through 1000s of pictures without finding one of her. But then I found these. And I love them, because they tell such a good story about her….

Here Sadie, in the white shirt/blue skirt at the back of the handcart, notices some spear grass growing by the trail….

Here Sadie bends to pick some spear grass growing by the trail….

Here you can see Sadie and Ashton scheming to throw the speargrass at the boys pulling the handcart…Hoping to get the speargrass to stick in their clothing and irritate their skin…. stinkers :)

Monticello Stake Leaders

Curtis at the far right of the group photo...

The whole group-not sure where the girls are...

I liked this group photo taken at Rock Creek Hollow as they listened to some pioneer stories and spiritual thoughts. 

I know that we don't have to walk the roads of Israel to have strong feelings for the Savior. Likewise, we don't have to go on a handcart trek to learn from the pioneers. But there is a very tangible something that you feel when you walk in their footsteps. There is a strong spirit that can touch hearts and change lives in those sacred, hallowed places where some gave their all for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love, honor and revere my own pioneer ancestors, as well as those not related to me who walked though this refiner's fire. They left big shoes to fill, but each day I try to live in such a way as to make them pleased with my efforts.