WE'RE WINDING DOWN!

The past few weeks have been full of preparations for the winter, 

finishing up little projects we did not have time to do during the summer.

The Lorimers hosted a ground-breaking event here at Martin's Cove for the Brigham Young Family Organization and the Joseph Smith, Jr., Family Organization.  These two groups have not always seen eye to eye about the events following Joseph's martyrdom and the subsequent migration west, but now many members of Joseph's family have been identified and are hearing about the gospel for the first time.  Martin's Cove was neutral ground for both groups, and they had a marvelous tour by the Lorimers and lunch in the Gathering Room.

Two of those who attended were Michael Kennedy and his family, and then Gracia Jones, probably the first member of Joseph and Emma's line to hear the gospel and join the church.

A delicious "Rib Party" replaced our normal "Break the Fast" on our final Fast Sunday.

 BYU fans held a Tailgate Party outside at Ranch 66 and planned to watch the football game there . . . until the wind and rain broke it up.  

BYU won anyway.

Sister Butler, Sister Mueller, and many others created beautiful quilts to give to charity, and some to give as prizes at the annual MHHS Christmas Party.

Sister Butler quilted the last one.

 Chinking continued on the log structures at the Homestead.

 Elder and Sister Ames taught a pie making class that was well-attended by the missionaries!

 School Groups continue to come for their Fourth Grade Wyoming History.  

They seem to love it here, and we love having them come!

 The Laytons and the Stimpsons sanded down and refinished the two wooden tables in the Gathering Room that had been deeply gauged and damaged.  They look beautiful!

We had planned to go with all the missionaries to one last fireside with President and Sister Lorimer at Winterbrook, their beautiful home in Riverton, but that night it SNOWED!!!  

The Lorimers graciously postponed it for a week, which worked out well, because the following week was sunny and warm with no wind - a perfectly delightful evening!

President Lorimer showed everyone the magnificent bookcases he made and filled with his writings about the Second Rescue 
plus the acquisition and history of Mormon Handcart Historic Sites.

The missionaries got to see his woodshop plus her amazing sewing room .

It was a lovely evening, and missionaries found places to relax and even play the "Hook the Ring on the Nail" game by the children's playhouse.

 Finally everyone gathered around the Lorimers' gazebo with their lawn chairs . . .

 . . . and for the next hour and a half President and Sister Lorimer talked to us 

and answered any questions.

It was the perfect way to end our series of firesides this summer! 

LABOR DAY WEEK

The big news this weekend is that we could finally announce the name of our new Director and his wife.  They are:

 ELDER BLAINE AND SISTER MARGENE BUSHMAN!

No one could be better qualified or prepared!

They are beloved by all and will be wonderful in this new calling!

Sister Bushman is already taking her new responsibility very seriously . . .

. . . and Elder Bushman is too . . .

. . . although occasionally he has been known to have 

a little bit of an identity crisis.

The summer may be almost over, but we are far from finished with things.

So . . . what could be more fun on a Sunday afternoon than having a tour bus full of people from all over stop here to use the cleanest restrooms in the world and come to visit us??

TWO TOUR BUSES!!

The first bus (the red one) was full of Asian tourists speaking mostly Mandarin, Chinese, and simplified Chinese.  The white bus was full of Germans and Russians.  We gave them our last two Russian Books of Mormon.

Many of them have no knowledge of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and we were happy to tell them about Him, to tell them about the Restoration of the Gospel, and to give them some literature in their own languages.

We had Books of Mormon and other Church literature on hand as well as God's Plan For the Family playing in the theater room in Chinese.

They were fascinated with the stories of the handcart pioneers.

They enjoyed seeing the displays inside the Visitors' Center 

and the beautiful grounds and views outside.

On Labor Day we had a real treat - Alyssa and Bud Larson and Chris and Emily Snow came to visit us with their darling children:  Jessica, James, Jack and Kate Larson, and Will, Katherine, Jane, and Anthony Snow.

After taking a tour of the Visitors' Center and pulling some handcarts around . . .

. . . they decided to get serious about trekking.  They helped Bud get into a rickshaw (and let Alyssa pull him, of course!) . . .

. . . and then they headed out on the trail.  We took a rover (I still cannot walk very far on my healing ankle) and met them at the Statues.

 They then took a quick trip to Independence Rock, 
and then off they went back to SLC!

We were also blessed to see many former missionaries from previous years.  
Here we are with the Childs, the Glasses, and the Mattisons.

We also got a nice little visit with the Grahams.

The Baileys and the Wards from Sixth Crossing came too, but they slipped away before I could snap a picture.  What fun it was to see them all!

Then it was time for the beginning of all the formal goodbyes.  We had a farewell dinner in the Barn for the three winter missionary couples who have served here for the past 18 months:  the Bushmans, who will return in January to serve as the new directors, and the Cherrys and the Thomases.

There was a game called Truth . . . or Not!  and each couple got called up to explain some of Elder Taylor, Jr.'s misconceptions about them.

Then Elder Miller, our local Sheriff, arrived in his official vehicle . . .

 . . . complete with siren, badge, and multiple citations to issue!

 Elder Petersen played Goin' Home on his harmonica which brought tears to our eyes, and then each couple had the opportunity to speak.

They were given a print of one of our favorite handcart pioneers, 
Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson. 
The original painting hangs in the Trek Center where we hold Sacrament Meeting, and after looking at her for 18 months, she has become a dear and inspiring pioneer friend to all of us.

 The four couples who stayed the winter made one last trip together to Martin's Cove where we remembered the good times . . .

 

 . . . and they were ALL good times!  We have truly grown to love each other, 
and we will miss that wonderful, close association.

Farewell . . . until we meet again!

SIXTH CROSSING TRAILS and WINTERBROOK

Last week the Martins, the Jensens, the Bushmans, and the Moenches spent a pleasant day on the trails at Sixth Crossing. 

We wanted to see what it would be like if we trekked those trails going clockwise instead of counter clockwise.

That's actually the way the trails were designed, and we have no idea when or why that was changed, especially since that is the direction the pioneers actually took when them came into the Willie Meadow to take refuge from the wind and the storms.

It was an absolutely perfect day, and we ended 

right by the Petersens' "Mansion" at Flagg Ranch.

Back at the Visitors' Center we were able to see how Elder Tippets put a curved wooden background behind the statue of the Christus so that it would stand out and visitors could see it more easily.  It is beautiful - he did a wonderful job!

We made a little trip into Riverton to Winterbrook,
the home of President and Sister Lorimer.

What a beautiful "estate!"  Sister Lorimer is originally from Kentucky, and we could see her influence everywhere on the grounds from the white fences to the beautiful pond, gazebo, and maze in the lawn. 

One of the most amazing places is inside this building . . .

. . . where President Lorimer has his woodshop (which is immaculate) . . .

. . . and Sister Lorimer has a sewing room that is enormous!

They have made a world map showing all the places their children and grandchildren have served or are currently serving, and then they have a little "Future Missionary" name tag for each of their younger grandchildren.  What a great way to encourage them all to serve a mission!

President Lorimer has built a darling playhouse completely furnished for the little ones, and hanging on the outside is a "Hook the Ring on the Nail" game that keeps the teenagers (and many adults) busy trying to accomplish the task.

Inside their gracious home are ornately carved bookcases that President Lorimer made himself to hold all the books he has written over the years documenting the history of the sacred and historic sites where we serve.  Without him there would be no Mormon Handcart Historic Sites!

Before leaving, we boldly asked if they would consider giving one last fireside to all of our missionaries - perhaps at Winterbrook so they could all see this amazing place. 

Happily and readily they agreed, and we will be returning here next week.

What a delight is was to visit with them at their beautiful home!

SO . . . IS THERE LIFE AFTER TREKKING?

Even though regular trekking is over for this summer we still work hard all day long and have hundreds of visitors, but in the evenings we are beginning to enjoy the many "end of summer" activities.

  

The Martin's Cove missionaries had their Family Home Evening Talent Show,

and we were treated to the Fabulous Blues Brothers . . .

. . . and Sister Ames doing a reprisal of last years' chicken song, plus

Elder Taylor, Jr., playing his beautiful clarinet solo . . .

. . . and the Dir-Trek-FM Sisters with their rendition of Count Your Many Wrinkles. 

 We heard from the Bushman's district as they sang parodies of Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam and When We're Helping We're Happy . . .

. . . and from our dedicated Bug Sprayers 
(to whom we are all indebted for a nearly bug-free summer) 
plus Sister Grover's animated retelling of The Mitten by Jan Brett 
and songs written by Elder Bushman during his Prison Days. (I think that was a joke!)

 We also had a Chili Cook-Off and the winners were:
Sister Judd for her Rib-Ticklin ' Red Chili, 
Sister Young for her White Chicken-Lickin' Good Chili, 
Sister Bingham for her Rip-Roarin' Mouth-Burnin' Stomach-Churnin' Chili,
and Sister Erekson, who won the People's Choice Award.

We had lots of fun on our Girls' Day Out in Casper . . .

 It had to make Christopher & Banks happy
that they opened their doors at 9:00 am for us!

Then we went to Guadalajara's for lunch - delicious!

 Look how cute their chairs are!

 But we paid for our day of fun, as the power was out for 16 hours starting that night, and the next day it poured all day long!

 It hasn't rained on us this much since we've been here,
and we worried that the buildings would flood.

 Happily it all cleared up and warmed up,

but sadly the Martineaus left us to go home for health reasons.

We can always find a reason to get together to visit, laugh, and eat (of course!)  
Thursday night the Ames made delicious pizza crust dough 
and we "Homestead Missionaries" made our own gourmet pizzas. 

We've both gained so much weight that when it is time for US to be released 

they will just take us to the top of the Continental Divide, 

give us a push, and we will roll all the way home to Salt Lake!

And this is just the beginning of the end!