WIND - SNOW - COLD - BR-R-R!

2014 is closing with a blast of winter!

 

Each morning the Sisters walk around our "track" in the Barn and listen to audio books.

The Elders, however, are TOUGH and they walk outside no matter what the weather. 

They are the five tiny dots along the road by the tree.

They usually head out to the west and go about 1 1/2 miles before turning around and coming back.

 They frequently see deer and other wildlife along the way . . .  

. . . and if there is a beautiful sunrise, they take pictures.

We have had tons of snow, and because of the wind and the drifts, snow removal has kept everyone busy all day long.

There is just a narrow path between the Office and the Visitors' Center . . . 

 . . . and the snow is this high.

Last night as we turned out the lights to go to bed the temperature registered - 34 degrees!

That's the coldest we've had since we've been here, but who knows?  It could get worse!

We decided to see what would happen to the bubbles we received at Christmas if we blew them in these freezing temperatures.

They froze in mid-air, and when they landed on the snow they froze hard until they eventually broke like glass, but still stayed in their rounded shapes.

For New Year's Eve we celebrated with a Progressive Dinner that started with appetizers at the Jensens' apartment.

Even the cat wanted to join in and kept looking through the kitchen window.

Then we had salad at the Moenches' . . .

. . . followed by yummy rolls and homemade jam at the Grovers'.

Then we hiked through the "Devil's Gate" dug out through the snowbank on the side of the entrance road and climbed the hill to eat our main course - vegetables and roast - at the Petersens' and the Christensens'.

We were tempted to sleigh ride back down the hill for dessert at the Mellors'.

Then we went to the Gathering Room for a rousing game of New Year's Pictionary.

Soon we were joined by Jeff and Trinity Seely plus Wyatt, Tap, and Sam who were all on their way back to their new home in Nebraska.  We have missed them!!

The evening was rounded off by Bart and Louise and Jonie Stephensen joining in for the games . . .

. . . and a concert by Trinity.

It was a wonderful way to say goodbye to 2014 and welcome 2015!

 

CHRISTMAS 2014

OUR LAST CHRISTMAS

AT MARTIN'S COVE

 

We missionaries have been celebrating Christmas all month long!  Each day we got together and read about the Savior and His life from an advent book, and we also opened a little gift so kindly prepared for us by last summer's missionaries.

 

Some were practical . . .

 . . . some were tasty . . .

 

. . . some were funny . . .

 

 

 

. . . and some brought back childhood memories!

We tried to send a Thank You picture to everyone!

 

Between all of us missionaries there were nearly 30 Christmas DVDs, and each night we watched one of them.

 

On Christmas Eve day the Grovers shared their traditional Christmas craft activity with all of us from the newly polished rocks that Elder Grover had just completed. 

Each sister got to make a pendant necklace and a refrigerator magnet . 

Each elder made a neckerchief slide or a bolo tie slide.

That night we had a lovely and delicious turkey dinner together.  Then Elder Moench read the Nativity story accompanied by Christmas carols so beautifully played by Sister Petersen.

 

Christmas morning we woke up to a raging blizzard, much like the conditions were when the Martin Handcart Company arrived in this area in 1856. 

 

After a delicious Christmas breakfast . . .

. . . we decided to visit Martin's Cove to see how that would have been for them.

 

Of course, we wore our warmest snow gear, including heavy duty boots and warm gloves . . .

. . . and we arrived in rovers.

It was sobering to contemplate their desperate situation as they sought protection and tried to stay alive. 

Even though the wind still blew and the snow still fell, we could definitely feel the protection of the sand hill and the surrounding mountains.

This will probably be one of our last visits to this sacred place. 

On our way back we stopped to remember the "Valley Boys" . . .

. . . the brave young men who so kindly helped the weak and starving pioneers cross the Sweetwater River . . .

. . . so they could take refuge in the cove. 

We also stopped to look at the icy Sweetwater River

 - nearly frozen solid.

Then we returned to the warmth of the Gathering Room, and an afternoon full of warm wassail, turkey sandwiches and other leftovers, and another Christmas craft from the Grovers . . .

 . . . a little luminary of Mary and Jesus . . .

. . . like the ones in his own little luminary set.

 

The Freemans sent us a beautiful Nativity jigsaw puzzle and decided we'd better get started on it since there were 1000 little tiny pieces.

We will continue to work on it during the month of December, but that's all right - it will help us remember Christ and His birth each day!

 

 

Today - December 15, 2014

We watched the snow fall all day long yesterday,
and this morning we woke up to a

Winter Wonderland in Wyoming!

 

It's always hard to tell exactly how much snow has fallen because the wind blows it around so much, but on the Grovers' front porch is a bench where we could measure it at its deepest.

 

 10.5" !

 

 Devil's Gate looks much as it would have when the handcart pioneers were in this area . . .

. . . and Independence Rock might have looked like this . . .

. . . or this . . .

 

Even the sagebrush got covered with snow and then froze, making each plant more like a boulder.  I can't imagine having to pull a handcart through it! 

Our dear pioneers were amazing! 

 

We still invite you to come and see us here . . . 

. . . but you'd better hurry! 

Exactly one month from today our mission will be completed, and we will be heading back to Salt Lake.