High on a Mountain Top

We are officially full-time service missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are 106 missionaries this year. About half of them are new, the rest served last year and loved it so much they returned.

We arrived at camp on Monday, April 21st. The camp is about 2 1/2 hours from home. Our coordinates are: N 40 degrees 28.661, W 111 degrees 16.365. The camp ranges in elevation from 7500-10000 feet above sea level. Our cabin sits at 7825 feet. The camp covers 8600 acres but only 600 acres are currently developed. We live a little over 4 miles up the mountain from this sign.

These two pictures show part of the camp uniform. The shirt is actually green. We wear blue jeans. Yeah!



We arrived to winter weather. Here are some pictures of the landscape:

Looking west out our bedroom window

Northwest view...Operation Manager's trailer

View from north bedroom window

Looking SW toward administration building

Our cabin

Reed at cabin

Neighbors' cabins

Southern view from front door

Looking east from front door

Our accommodations are quite nice and comfortable. We have about 400 square feet plus a room upstairs for storage. I am sure happy we are not in a trailer. Other than two trailers in camp (administrators), all the other motor homes and trailers are parked in the Heber Rodeo Grounds (a.k.a. "Cowboy Town"). There is too much snow to move them to the mountain for a while. They are having problems with freezing pipes. It has snowed since we've arrived. Recent temperatures have been down as low as 7 degrees. The camp has only 8 missionary cabin units. Here is what the inside looks like:

Kitchen

Front door, dining area

Dining/Living area...we're taking a loveseat

Our bedroom, north wall

Bedroom east wall. Left to right--clothes closet, laundry closet and bathroom door

Bedroom west wall

Bathroom--it has a shower stall too

Laundry closet

Jacob's ladder--folds down to gain access to upstairs room

Upstairs--storage, furnace, water heater, guest suite (ha, ha)

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in spiritual training. We listened to many speakers including the agent Stake Presidency, the Group Presidency, Camp Directors, Heber Valley Camp Young Women Presidency, an Area Authority, Elder Rasband of the Seventy, Sister Cook of the General Young Women Presidency etc. Each couple also introduced themselves. We went to a session at the Salt Lake Temple, saw the Joseph Smith movie at the Legacy Theater, and ate at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. During a break we walked around Temple Square. It is a whole different season there! I can't wait for spring on the mountain. Here are some pictures:

The rest of the week we had interviews, service projects, then training on the different camp assignments. These include support services, administration, safety, trail building, cabin construction, maintenance, camp hosting, running the waterfront and challenge courses etc. We also got training on bears since they frequent the camp. We haven't seen any of them but have seen lots of deer. We saw moose last fall when we visited camp. Supposedly there is a large elk herd there as well. If we receive a church assignment, we will probably be called on Sunday. We should find out our work assignments on Monday. I don't know when they will tell us what day we have off for Preparation Day each week. No one knows what to do in regards to all the snow; we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. Most of the campgrounds are still inaccessible. We are looking forward to approximately 70,000 campers this summer. The camp open house is Saturday, May 17th from 1-4 p.m.

Reed (kneeling with back to camera) is assembling a trailer in the maintenance shed as a service project.

January - February 2008

Brandon purchased a dental practice in Logan and moved in with us while Jill remains in Herriman to sell their home and the four kids finish the school year. The older we get the less we like winter. We went southward on a six week journey to get out of the snow and cold. It was great while it lasted but tough to return. We spent one night in Herriman, seven nights in Las Vegas, one night in Yuma, AZ, seven nights in Oro Valley, AZ, one night in Odessa, TX, six nights in Trophy Club, TX at Marcia Sperry's, flew to Tampa, FL, spent seven nights aboard a cruise ship in the Western Caribbean, flew to Dallas/Fort Worth, stayed another night at Marcia's, spent six nights in Jenks, OK at Jodi's, one night in Albuquerque, and three nights in St. George. We put about 5300 miles on our car. I drove the vast majority of the miles while Reed was the chief map reader and master navigator. We didn't have an agenda; we just wanted to relax while getting out of shoveling snow and enduring frigid temperatures.

Las Vegas, NV

Attended Las Vegas Temple

Went to four movies...usually we see about one a year

Hot tub

Lazy River Pool

Buffets

Outlet Malls

Ate and visited with cousin, Kathy Prigmore Kingsley, at her home

We didn't even take the free shuttle to the 'strip.'

Didn't take pictures

Yuma, AZ

On the way to Yuma we checked out Quartzite, AZ as a possible place to spend winters. No way! It was a trailer city, some just parked in the sand and sagebrush, while the rest were in trailer parks. There were flea markets and craft fairs. It looked like a bunch of nomads peddling their wares. The most exciting part of the drive that day was when Candace called us and told us she was expecting a baby in September. What a surprise! Good for them! In Yuma we looked up the trailer park where cousin, Karla Broeder, lives in the winter. She wasn't home. I called and left her a message, she returned the call, and we visited a few minutes. We thought Yuma was a nice place.

Oro Valley, AZ

We ate at La Parilla Suiza at the recommendation of Kathy Kingsley. We went to a new, active senior, Saddlebrook Community and toured the beautiful model homes. We read books, enjoyed the hot tub, went to a movie and rented a video. We were able to watch President Hinckley's funeral on our laptop. We enjoyed Oro Valley. We went to several other places which are represented in the pictures below.

Biosphere II

Arizona Landscape



Mesa Temple
Desert Museum




Odessa, TX

Odessa was just a stopover on the way to Marcia's house. On the way there we passed Kent's motel in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We would have liked to cross over the border at El Paso to see the Juarez Mexico temple but didn't know exactly where it was or if it would be a hassle crossing the border and back.

Trophy Club/Dallas, TX

We stayed at Marcia's and enjoyed her hospitality and good cooking. It was 87 degrees when we arrived! Marcia had friends over to eat, we ate at a Hibachi grill, a Texas Barbecue place, Babe's and at one of her friends' homes. We attended the Worldwide Training Meeting on Families. One day we drive to Fairview, Texas to meet and eat with Reed's friend, Gordon Wold, and his wife. They had driven up from the Houston area to meet us.

Marcia Sperry's Home

These pictures are of Marcia's home and a small portion of her huge Hummel collection.

JFK Museum

We went to the book depository from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy. The building is now a museum. We walked through the displays relating to that fateful day. The "X" on the road marks the spot where the car carrying President Kennedy was at the time of the assassination.

Dallas Temple

Western Caribbean Book of Mormon Cruise

Finally, our first cruise. We were a part of an LDS group from all over, even one couple from Jodi's ward in Oklahoma. Scot and Maurine Proctor of Meridian Magazine gave Book of Mormon lectures on days we were at sea. Our ship was the Carnival Legend and is on the right in the picture below. The next picture is of the swimming pool and some of the upper decks.

Grand Cayman Island

We went to Stingray City. We swam with and fed the rays. I like the soft, rubbery, wet chamois feel of them. You can see the groups of people in the water between the boats in the picture below. The next shot is of us pulling away from Grand Cayman Island.

Cozumel to Tulum, Mexico

We disembarked at Cozumel and traveled quite some distance to some ruins. We had an LDS Guide named Helaman. He was very personable, interesting and knowledgeable. The only souviner of our whole trip was purchased from Helaman. It's a glyph representing Lehi's Dream of the "Tree of Life." The following grid shows some of the pictures taken at Tulum. Click to enlarge.

Belize

In Belize we took a speedboat ride down a twisty, curvy river to see the Lamanai ruins. Surprisingly, no one is actively excavating the old, buried cities. There are vegetation covered mounds or little hills all over which are actually ruins covered with plant growth. We climbed a massive, steep, ancient temple. A rope down the middle helped us go up and down the huge steps. When we got to the top, people on the ground looked like ants.

Roataan, Honduras

I liked Roataan better than the other ports of call because it was not large, commercialized, touristy or modern. It was a little more native, unspoiled and rustic. Our main activity was an Indiana Jones Adventure. It consisted of a series of zip lines, cables, boardwalks and rope courses. It was physically challenging especially for someone like me with short arms and legs. I felt like I was on "Fear Factor." It was fun.

Later we went to a beach then ended our visit at an LDS church house. The doors and woodwork were being refinished. The chapel had a tile floor. There were no benches, just chairs. The tour company we went with used to stop by with humanitarian supplies and donate money to assist the poor people. We were told there was very little crime on the island so I have no idea why the property was gated and fenced and topped with razor wire.


Oklahoma

We finished the cruise in Tampa, flew back to Marcia's for a night, then drove to Jodi's house in Jenks, Oklahoma. This was our third visit to their home. We have our own guest suite upstairs! We had the coldest temperatures of the trip while there. Reed was Mr. Handyman and worked on Jodi and Ty's toilet, dryer and dishwasher. We ate out a bunch. We enjoyed playing with Owen and Miles. Owen calls us 'Mama' and 'Papa,' and he really takes a liking to 'Papa.' Jodi and Ty have a new Honda Odyssey van. When I saw it I jokingly asked her if the van was an "announcement." She replied that it was! I got to go to Jodi's ultrasound appointment with her and found out she would be having a baby girl in July. Wow, three kids in just under three years. This baby will even us out again...eight grandsons and eight granddaughters. Candace will break the tie a couple months later. With Ty so busy at work and being in the Bishopric, Jodi will join the busy 'Church Widows' Club' with Melissa Adams and Rachael Walker. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures at Jodi's.

Oklahoma City Temple

Albuquerque

We stayed in Albuquerque on our westward trek towards home. We are very appreciative of Candace who is able to set us up with Marriott brand hotel/motels at very reasonable rates. When we left Albuquerque we decided to take the smaller roads through the Indian reservations in Arizona. We saw a lot of desert landscape dotted with hogans and tiny shacks for homes.

St. George

Marcia joined us in St. George. We hunted unsuccessfully for the grave of Reed's Great-great grandfather Ransom in Virgin City. We toured Brigham Young's winter home, went to the St. George Temple and went with one of Reed's Thiokol friends and his wife to dinner.
Zion National Park

Jacob Hamblin's Home

Postscript:

On the drive home we took the roads less traveled. Some were gravel, some rutted, and at one point we had to turn around due to deep mud. We checked out the general area of our 5 acre "ranch" in Iron County. Our meanderings took a couple more hours, but it was enjoyable; we weren't in a hurry to return to winter. Snow banks 2 - 4 feet high and about 18" of snow on the ground greeted us at home. A few days after we got back we went to have an oil change. A technician came and got Reed from the waiting room to show him something and then Reed came and got me. The inside of the front passenger tire was chewed up really badly...right into the steel belts. I thought back to the 5300 miles we just put on the car---we traveled in congested traffic, at high speeds on the freeways, and on the roads out in the middle of nowhere. I am so very thankful for the protection and safety we were blessed with. I shudder to think of what could have happened if that tire had blown.