Research and Rewards

Things have definitely slowed down at the fort this past week.  We feel lucky if we break a hundred visitors each day.  We were surprised by a visit from Stephen’s youngest brother on Sunday.  It was only the second time that we’d been invited to someone else’s for dinner and just after we’d sat down to eat we got a call that someone was at the fort to see us.  It was a little awkward but it all worked out just fine.  It was nice to see Darwin (who was taking the picture) and Trish with two of their kids and to get to visit for awhile.

Tuesday we drove to Cedar City to look around the city since we’d not been there yet.  It is the home of the Shakespeare Festival at Southern Utah University.  They actually have a full-size replica of the Globe Theater.  We waited until the evening and watched the Green Show with Elizabethan performers on the outside stage.  It was a fun show with people sitting on the grass enjoying the singing and performance.

While we were there we also got to visit another state park – the Frontier Homestead.  It was very interesting with lots of carriages and vehicles.  My favorite part was the display they had on the hotels and workers at the hotels in the area.  They had some audio recordings of the Saturday night programs they used to produce, pictures from the time period, and the uniforms and dishware.  I could have spent a lot longer there, but I didn’t want Stephen to get too long of a nap. 

The other thing we were able to do is spend some time at Southern Utah University.  I was doing some research on Cove Fort and looking for some other resources.  I managed to find my way downstairs to the Special Collections. The ladies down there were very helpful especially when they read my missionary badge and realized that I was related to Cory.  It was really nice to hear them raving about how great he is at what he does. I was a proud mama.

This weekend we were able to flee from our mission and drive up to Provo to spend time with Cory’s family.  Alex, our oldest grandson, was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday. We were glad that we could be there to share that special occasion with him and his parents. I got to spend some quality time with Cory on Saturday afternoon as he guided me to and through the resources at the BYU library. The library was closing at 6:00 so we rushed to find several documents about Cove Fort. I was amazed at what we found in just that short time.  I’m so glad to see that our money was well spent on his education and that it was finally able to benefit me.

I just thought that I would include Ira Hinckley's picture this week since he is a main reason for us spending time at Cove Fort on our mission.  He was an amazing man and I'm glad that we have had the opportunity to get to know him and his family during our time here.  I love the fact that in one of his patriarchal blessings he was promised that he would be the progenitor of apostles and prophets.  It is so nice to be able to see the fulfillment of those patriarchal blessings when we are faithful and obedient.