We're Now in the Rockies

Well, we are now in Salt Lake and are enjoying a respite in our time share at Snowbird Ski Resort. We have enjoyed a wonderful trip thus far with no adverse mishaps except a flat tire which I'll explain in a moment.

Far West - After Nauvoo, we enjoyed some more Mormon history at Far West, Missouri, Adam-ondi-Ahman, and Hauns' Mill (which really wasn't much to see except beautiful scenery) where we said hi to a large turtle in the middle of the dirt road. After shaking hands, we relocated him to the side of the road and continued on. It was fun to see the places we had read about so many time before. We also visited with some friends (spent the night, actually) we had known in Tallahassee (Roger and KayDe Hale) and enjoyed reminiscing.

Winter Quarters/Omaha - When we left Missouri, we went up to Omaha where Winter Quarters is located (Mormon History on their trek to Salt Lake). It was a beautiful visitor's center and we went into the temple to do some initiatory work. Again, it was great to put the scenery with the stories.

Nebraska - Going through Nebraska was nice. The Great Plains are truly great.

Wyoming (flat tire) - The Honda dealership in Tallahassee said our tires were ok so with trust, we hit the road. However, I kept getting a prompting to get a second opinion which I ignored because it was never convenient (when will I ever learn). Well, near a small town (population 150) called Fort Laramie, Wyoming (not Laramie which is much larger), we blew the rear tire. Needless to say, we took everything out of our trunk to get to the spare and jack, limped into Guernsey (population 750) for the night where a new friend (I'll call him an angel) got us in touch with a local auto repair who put on a retread so I could get to Wheatland to buy some tires.

Wyoming (Ruts) - With new tires in place, I went back to Guernsey to get Marti and mom and we found out that there was a Oregon/Mormon Trail Historical Marker just outside of town (which we would have missed if we hadn't blown the tire) so we went to look. It was incredible. Two ruts carved out of rock (we'll send pics) as a testament of the sheer numbers of wagons who traversed that rock.

Wyoming (Independence Rock) - We continued on up to Casper and headed back south for some more Mormon History sites. We saw Independence Rock which is a momentous rock formation which is important because anyone traveling on the Oregon or Mormon trail needed to be at Independence Rock by the 4th of July or they may end up in adverse weather before they reach their destination. Hence the name.

Wyoming (Martin's Cove) - This is the location which marks a great suffering by a Mormon Handcart company who didn't leave Iowa until the end of July (way too late). It's a long story which, if you're interested, you can read about on the internet. Anyway, it was especially memorable for us because normally, in order to see the actual Martin's cove, you would need to walk about 1.5 miles from the Visitor's Center. Obviously not possible for mom. However, when the guides saw how we really wanted to see the site and especially since it was mom's 93rd birthday, they put us on a small motorized cart and drove us over to the site. It was incredible. There were deer and antelope all around us. When we got to the site, Marti and I took a moment and walked over to the edge and just looked at the scene below us. It was a very emotional moment for both of us as we tried to picture the horrible suffering that took place there. Many died of both exposure and starvation. However, many more lived to document the experience. They all proclaimed that through their suffering, they found God in a way that you can't any other way. I can't begin to understand the depth of what they experienced.

Wyoming (Mom's birthday) - Anyway, we continued on with our trip through Wyoming on mom's 93rd birthday which, if you tried to call, our cell phones didn't have much reception, so we wished mom happy birthday for everyone. We'll do a proper celebration when we get to Rexburg.

Wyoming (Fort Bridger) - After spending the night at Rawlings, we took a few moments to visit Fort Bridger. It was fascinating.

Snowbird - Well, here we are and we'll be here for a week. I'll update more later. Needless to say, we're going to rest for awhile.