Prep for trip

Checking to see if this will work better than Nimer News on Shutterfly. I like the blog in that I am able to upload pictures that people can see without them having to download them.

So it seems that the picture thing works. This is one of my favorite travel pictures so hope you like it as well.

A Spoonful of Sugar

This was a great week at Cove Fort. We continued to try to squeeze as much into every day as possible. A lot of our time was spent in the office doing computer things. Stephen updated their data worksheets and built formulas for their spreadsheets for next year. I on the other hand spent my time burning picture DVDs for all of the couples of all the pictures used in the yearbook as well as several hundred others. It didn't seem like too big of a project, except that Sis. C said to only burn enough for those that wanted them. We put out sign up sheets and people continually added their names. Every time I finished and thought that I was done there were a few more to do. As it wound up everybody wanted a copy of all of the pictures -- what we are all going to do with 1700 pictures of Cove Fort is beyond me. I promise you that we will not be showing all of them in a slide show anytime in the near future.

We had several great tours this week with people who wanted to know more about the church. One of the groups I took through was a couple from England. We took two hours to look just at the inside of the fort and to answer their questions. One of the other unusual situations this week was a lady who was planning to write a children's story about something that happened at Cove Fort in the 1960's. Evidently one of the people working across the street, Granny Stone, was out in the morning opening

up Cove Fort and sweeping the walks. While doing that she came upon a small hummingbird that was lying on the ground. She put it in her apron pocket and took it back to the store where it stayed for the day. It flew away when it was rested and revived. Sounds like a cute story and she had come to the fort to see it so she could illustrate the book accurately. I was able to show her around some of the outlying areas and go through old photographs that I had available. It will be interesting to see if she gets this published.


I spent my time on Tuesday getting the clues all set for the activity that evening -- a REGNEVERT Hunt.  Perhaps some of you may remember hunting for this elusive creature many years ago in Clovis. The hunters at Cove Fort were no more successful at this activity than the Clovisites. The missionaries that came had a good time enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.

Stephen opted to celebrate my birthday this past week in St. George, Utah. He had bought tickets for us to see Mary Poppins at the Tuacahn Theater which is an outdoor amphitheater located in Snow Canyon. It is a beautiful area with lots of red sandstone cliffs. We had been hearing all summer from the visitors to the fort and the other missionaries (as well as from the Stokes in the past) how great this theater and the plays they put on were. The sets were probably my favorite things as they moved things around and "magically" changed things. It was nice to watch Mary Poppins flying overhead but the fireworks at the end was a complete surprise. We were very glad that we went. The temperature was perfect sitting out at night in just a long sleeved shirt without a jacket. We were lucky since the next day a cold front came in and the temperature dropped dramatically.

While we were in St. George area, I looked up my internet genealogy buddy that I had met and with whom I had traveled to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Illinois several years ago. I was impressed that she was still so involved in the work. Even more impressive was the genealogy room she had included when they had their home built a couple of years ago.  An entire wall of books on one side and a closet filled with shelves covered with binders for every family. I was amazed. It was good to visit with her again and to finally meet her husband. Thought that I would share a plaque that she had hanging in her room-Genealogy -- Life in the past lane."

We were also able to take in a session at the St. George Temple. It was our first opportunity to see the new film. As usual, Stephen and I had different opinions on it, but it was definitely a timely improvement.

On our way back to the fort we made our third attempt at seeing Kanarraville Canyon. The weather was beautiful with clear blue skies and occasional breezes. We met a couple at the end of the road who told us that the falls were probably another hour on real trails. I was afraid that Stephen might balk at this, but he was a trooper and went all of the way. I hadn't realized that it would be part of a slot canyon which was like a bonus for me. We actually had to cross the creek twenty-four times each way -- lucky for us we were wearing water shoes. The water was a little brisk so on the way back we tried to take the higher trail but it didn't seem to keep us from crossing the creek any less. The falls were wonderful. They are not extremely high but being in the slot canyon made them loud. To get up beyond the falls there is a old tree that they have built a "sort of" ladder on top of and then they have ropes on the right to hang on to. I climbed up the ladder and went past another smaller falls, but had to turn around to meet back up with Stephen. It was definitely a great way to spend my birthday.

The weekend was busy as we attended the Women's Broadcast on Saturday night down in Beaver. I was surprised at how few people were there at 5:00 and the fact that they only set tables for 120 people. By the time the broadcast began the chapel was about half full. They were not watching it over the television lines but were streaming it from someone's iPad I think.  Anyway -- did anyone else have their broadcast stop and start. It was a little annoying to watch it that way. The funny thing was when the congregation stood to sing the intermediary song. We would be singing away and then the broadcast would freeze and then unfreeze -- it was great trying to follow the conductor and stay with the choir. There were sixteen of the missionaries at Cove Fort that attended. It was fun to show up as one large group.

Last night there were about a dozen couples that drove to Fillmore to listen to a stake fireside featuring Glenn Rawson. Here is a clip about what he does. "Following the completion of The Joseph Smith Papers TV series, the same team that produced that series began work on the History of the Saints. Season one began airing October 10, 2010 on KSL-TV." He is a very good speaker, but doing what he does it figures that he would be. He basically told stories from LDS history for 75 minutes. It was great. I'm very glad that I went and am looking forward to listening to more of his programs.

Yesterday was Fast and Testimony meeting. Elder C had planned for our Sunday School lesson to be canceled and allowed the testimony meeting to extend for another hour. As it was it went for another 90 minutes. There are eight couples leaving in the next two weeks so he wanted to be sure to give everyone an opportunity to bear their testimonies. It was a glorious (one of the sister's terms) meeting. It is amazing how in six months you can form a very tight knit community. We will be sad to leave our new friends and the opportunities to serve others at Cove Fort.

Adventures Galore

Libby wrote last week and wondered if we were beginning to count down the days left on our mission. The answer for me is "No". I am trying not to think about having to return home in just a short time. But we do feel the pressure of running out of time to do all of the things that we want to do. Because of that we seemed to cram as much as possible into the week as we possibly could.


On Tuesday we had one of the best adventures that we have had all summer.  Stephen asked Elder Finlinson (a retired Institute instructor, that lives in Fillmore and serves two days a week at Cove Fort with his wife) if he would be our guide to some of the hard-to-find spots in Millard County.  He agreed to do that so the Taylors, Lows, and us met him in Meadow for an exciting afternoon and evening.

Our first stop was to the Lava Tubes. We were able to actually walk through the tubes which meandered all over the open fields. We even walked in one side of the tube and walked out on the other side of the road. I think Stephen was rather surprised to see me surface from a completely different area than I went in. The tubes are a popular camping spot for the Boy Scouts.

From there we drove a little further south until we came to the crater of T. Compared to the cinder cone that we climbed a few weeks ago over near Cove Fort, this one was huge. We climbed up as high as we could go, but it was so windy I wasn't eager to stay there for very long. The road out to the crater was VERY rough.  I loved Elder Finlinson's description of it when he said that it was "so rough that it would shake the rivets out of your Levis."  It is very fun to listen to him talk and share stories about the area.

Then it was on to the Devil's Kitchen. We got out and climbed in "the kitchen" for awhile -- finding routes from the bottom to the top. I can see how kids in Millard County could be easily entertained by all these areas.  There was also the Devil's Bathroom and Devil's Bedroom where some geocaches were hidden but we were running out of time so we will have to save those for another time.

One of the main destinations that we'd wanted to see was the famous "Lace Curtains". They are on the backside of one of the extinct volcanoes. From a distance they don't look all that impressive, but when we got closer they were worth the trip. They look a little like melted wax that has dripped down the side of the mountain.  Very unique.

From here we had choices -- Elder Finlinson was ready to take us anywhere we wanted to go.  He offered Fort Deseret, Old Stoneface, Clear Lake Springs, or the hieroglyphs in Fillmore Canyon.  The group voted for the hieroglyphs.  They were supposedly written/drawn by Moroni when he was searching for gold to make into plates.  The spot is up a very steep road and really only accessible with 4 wheel-drive vehicles or on foot.  The forest service has put up a couple of plaques giving a little history about the hieroglyphs and some of the people involved with them.  As Elder Finlinson said, he will wait until National Geographic or the Smithsonian discover them and determine what they really are. He said he was not going to be taken in by anything like Mark Hofman's Salamander Letter from the 1980's. The sun was setting as we drove out off the mountain and night was on us as we arrived home to our trailer park.

We were up bright and early on Wednesday morning as we were picked up at 7:00 by the Christensens for the drive down to Zion National Park.  There were four couples -- the C's, the Taylors, the Ences, and us who went for the adventure. The Ences introduced all of us to the thrill of riding the park shuttle up to the end of the line with our bicycles hooked on the front.  From the furthest point, we rode back to the visitors' center. The best part was it was mainly downhill. We did the run twice before it was time for us to leave and head home. I'm hoping that we will have the opportunity to do this again sometime in the future. It was nice being able to be closer to nature and be able to go at your own pace.

Our group split up and we drove home with the Christensens who wanted to go up to Cedar Breaks National Monument which is to the east of Cedar City.  It is at 10,350 foot elevation so Stephen had not been too eager to drive up there with the Prius plus the fact that some people had described it as a smaller version of Bryce Canyon. It has a beauty of its own.  It has the colored stone of Bryce but the area is deeper and does not allow one to walk through it as we did in Bryce.  Elder C was describing all of these great hikes in the area which I would love to take, but will probably have to wait to do until Cory's boys are old enough to go with us. The aspen trees were beginning to change colors so that was an extra bonus.

Friday we had organized an early morning hike to "The Ruins". There is a small pile of rocks that sit on a volcanic shelf not too far from I-15 which one of the locals mentioned was where an archaeological group from BYU came down and excavated. That morning there were eleven of us that showed up for the hike (one of our oldest missionaries, Elder Burr was there as well as Sis. Stees who can barely walk but rode up the hillside with her husband on an ATV). The ruins really weren't ruins, but it gave us a destination for our adventure. It was so good being out in the early morning with a group of friends who were just interested in having a good time.

Only in a small town in Utah

Yesterday we went in early and got off early so that we could go to the Circle 4 Farms community picnic. I thought that we were going to see real pigs, but I still enjoyed their exhibits. We sat and ate our pork chop dinner while we listened to Muddy Boots, a band from the area that we heard earlier this summer.  When it was over we drove further north to visit the town of Milford which was the home of the Union Pacific RR. I wanted to go to Frisco, a ghost town off to the east, but I knew that Stephen wanted to be back in time to see the BYU vs. University of Utah game that was showing at the directors' house.  The kick off wasn't until 8:15 so it was after 11:30 by the time we got home.  I like him to go watch the game so that I have time to work on the internet in the back room.

Stephen spent some time this week in the shop helping make the spinner toys for next year.  It is like a little toy workshop in there. I even went over to help for a little bit which was fun -- felt a little like Tim the Toolman Taylor.

This morning Stephen and I both had to speak at Sacrament Meeting.  He has spent a month preparing for this talk.  He did a great job covering the subject of the Holy Ghost.  I had been asked to speak on baptism which I thought was a little hard to talk about to a group of missionaries. I liked being able to throw in some Cove Fort references during the talk -- if I gave that talk at home no one would get what I was talking about. It was great to have it over with.

I also put together another Shutterfly book -- this time about the grandkids. Stephen's children book about the fort came in on Wednesday and by Thursday I was making edits and placing an order for 16 more for the other couples here at the fort (free shipping and 50% off).

Well, it is time to put an end to this.  I hope your week was as much fun as ours and that things are going well for you.

Story Time

            We have had some really good talks and lessons at church this week.  One of the stories that was told was about a carrier pigeon in WW I.  The pigeon’s name was “Cher Ami” meaning “Dear Friend”. 

"Cher Ami" was a registered Black Check Cock carrier pigeon, one of 600 birds owned and flown by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France during World War I.           

He delivered 12 important messages within the American sector at Verdun, France. On his last mission, "Cher Ami," shot through the breast by enemy fire, managed to return to his loft. A message capsule was found dangling from the ligaments of one of his legs that also had been shattered by enemy fire. The message he carried was from Major Whittlesey's "Lost Battalion" of the 77th Infantry Division that had been isolated from other American forces. Just a few hours after the message was received, 194 survivors of the battalion were safe behind American lines .

 On October 3, 1918, Charles Whittlesey and more than 500 men were trapped in a small depression on the side of the hill behind enemy lines without food or ammunition. They were also beginning to receive friendly fire from allied troops who did not know their location. Surrounded by the Germans, many were killed and wounded in the first day and by the second day, just more than 194 men were still alive. Whittlesey dispatched messages by pigeon.^[2] The pigeon carrying the first message ("Many wounded. We cannot evacuate.") was shot down. A second bird was sent with the message, "Men are suffering. Can support be sent?" That pigeon also was shot down. Only one homing pigeon was left: "Cher Ami". She was dispatched with a note in a canister on her left leg,

We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven's sake, stop it.

As Cher Ami tried to fly back home, the Germans saw her rising out of the brush and opened fire. For several moments, Cher Ami flew with bullets zipping through the air all around her.^[3] Cher Ami was eventually shot down but managed to take flight again. She arrived back at her loft at division headquarters 25 miles to the rear in just 65 minutes, helping to save the lives of the 194 survivors. In this last mission, Cher Ami delivered the message despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, covered in blood and with a leg hanging only by a tendon.

Cher Ami became the hero of the 77th Infantry Division. Army medics worked long and hard to save her life. They were unable to save her leg, so they carved a small wooden one for her. When she recovered enough to travel, the now one-legged bird was put on a boat to the United States, with General John J. Pershing personally seeing Cher Ami off as she departed France.

"Cher Ami" was awarded the French "Croix de Guerre" with Palm for his heroic service between the forts of Verdun. He died in 1919 as a result of his battle wounds. "Cher Ami" was later inducted into the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame in 1931 and received a gold medal from the Organized Bodies of American Racing Pigeon Fanciers in recognition of his extraordinary service during World War I.

"Cher Ami" is on display at the National Museum of American History, Behring Center, in the exhibition "The Price of Freedom: Americans At War."

Another person mentioned a quote from Mother Teresa -- “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” 

Today’s Sunday School lesson was about saving those in need of help. They shared the story about Nellie Pucell Unthank who came across the plains with the Martin Handcart Company.  She lost both of her feet and lower legs to frostbite. While reading the lesson I remembered seeing a statue of a lady on the Southern Utah University campus who had her legs amputated.  Lo and behold it was the lady from the lesson.

ELLEN (NELLIE) PUCELL UNTHANK Ellen (Nellie) Purcell was born November 6, 1846 in

Tintwhistle, England. At 9 she, with her parents and sister Margaret (Maggie), 14, began the trek from Iowa to Salt Lake Valley in 1856 with the Edward Martin Handcart Company. Early snows overtook the company, both Nellie's parents died on the trail. Nellie's feet were frozen. On arrival in Salt Lake Valley, she was strapped to a board. No anesthetics were available. Both her legs were amputated just below the knee with a buthcher's knife and carpenter's saw. For the rest of her life she moved about on the painful stubs of her legs. At 24 in Cedar City she became the plural wife of William Unthank. His income was small. Beginning as a wife in a one-room log house with a dirt floor, she kept her home spotless. Nellie took in washing, she knitted stockings to sell. She gave birth to 6 children. Her Bishop and Relief Society occasionally brought food to her family. To even the score, once a year she and her children cleaned the meeting house throughout. Nellie died at 68 in Cedar City -- A noble representative of the rank and file of Mormon Pioneers.

Last Sunday, a Young Women’s group from Kanosh held their Young Women in Excellence in the program in the evening.  It was so great seeing the fort all lit up at night.  Their advisors had made these nice window blocks with a vinyl cut-out of the Manti Temple and lights for each of the girls. I’m thinking that this might be a good project for this fall after we get home. It was a nice evening.

Stephen convinced me to go to St. George for the day so that he could visit the doctor. It was a long drive, but at least he had his mind reassured that all was well. We were a little early for the doctor so we stopped

in Silver Reef (a silver ghost town), Leeds (site of a CCC site), and at the Brigham Young home. All three of those places were interesting and nice places to get out and stretch awhile. 

We were supposed to go hiking the waterfalls in Kanarra Canyon but they had a “flash flood warning” posted so we decided against that. I’m still hoping that we can do that before we leave but who knows if that will happen or not.

We are closing in on our goal of having all the missionaries over for a meal or activity. Only four more to go. 

We were able to get two Shutterfly books finished and sent off this week.  Stephen made a cute one for the grandkids about Cove Fort. The surprise was how quickly they can produce them since they said they would be to us next week.  I can hardly wait to see them. Luckily they are not too large so we should have room to bring them home with us.

It has been very rainy this week with lots of afternoon thunderstorms. Our site directors were allowing the missionaries to use their cabin up at Fish Lake, but everyone backed out because of the weather reports. It was supposed to rain all day, but Sis. C encouraged us to go anyway so we did. We had such a great time up there and not a drop of rain. We were able to go out on the lake with their blow-up kayaks and get a close-up view of a beaver lodge.  The next morning we were able to hike up to see three beaver dams.  It was nice to open the windows and watch the sun come up over the lake and see deer walking in front of the porch.  I am SO glad that we went. 

Friday night we hosted a Bad Luck Pot Luck for the missionaries at the Twig. We stole the idea from Cory’s ward. We had a lot of good food, but I think the activities for the evening were the best part. We had asked the FM missionaries to move things around in the fort and then the rest of us had to take flashlights and try to see if we could find what had changed.  It was great fun to be in the fort at night. Then two rounds of Jeopardy – this is probably the only place that we will ever be able to play Cove Fort

Jeopardy.

Time is becoming more and more precious here at the fort. We are all starting to fight (not really) to be able to take the visitors out on tours. We hope all is well with all of you.