May 6 – We arrived!!!!! The snow banks were removed – all be it was pretty sloppy muddy going – and we had all utilities by the end of the day. By the time we arrived, the snow banks had diminished to two feet deep of rock hard drift, certainly enough to keep anyone other than a dozer from getting through.
There are snow banks everywhere on the lee side of every hill and anywhere else that broke the wind.
The antelope are about, as are the ground squirrels and jack rabbits (BIG ones that stand nearly a foot and a half tall). Not to mention the many birds – LOTS of different ones.
There are several large stock ponds close by that always have ducks paddling about and we can hear the frogs croaking in the marshy spots. We’re going to have to get busy and study up on these birds so we can identify them.
I found the garden located on the west side of our ‘camp.’ It is snuggled against the south side of the tool shed. The garden gate has a title bar across the top that proclaims, “The Garden of Eat In.” Cute and creative!!!! The soil is too wet to work yet, but I have plans and I did remove dried vegetation and uprooted some weeds. In the garden, I found multiplier onions and rhubarb plants just sprouting and something else yet to be identified. The garden is fenced to keep big and little critters out. Little ones still find ways to get in, I’m told. Hopefully, we’ll get enough warm dry weather soon and I’ll be able to begin getting things organized for an attempt at high elevation gardening.
May 7 – Just to the NW of our “camp” is an old shearing shed used many years ago for shearing sheep.
The wood is beautifully aged. What a blast it would be to make picture frames out of the old boards. North of us is the old “Depot” building which was moved from the Wahsatch siding (right next to I-80) onto the property. What an interesting old building it is – high ceilings, tall windows and an interesting hipped roof. We hold our meetings around a big table in the building which is warmed by a wood stove. Oh how I enjoy wood heat!!!!
Also at our ‘camp’ there is a small bunk house (used in the fall for Elk hunters) and a pavilion (dirt floor with siding on just the windward side with some picnic tables) where we can seek shelter from the summer sun. Wonder how much time we’ll have to enjoy the pavilion?
We went to town yesterday and today for various supplies required to get things prepped for the summer. I thought Evanston was a pretty big town, but it is a small town! A big Wal-Mart and a whole heap of eateries supported by the freeway traffic is about it. We’ll have to go to Park City for ink cartridges for the ‘church’ printer.
Today it blew and rained, not enough rain to measure, but enough to send us scurrying indoors a few times. And, the wind blew hard and gusty enough to blow out the pilot on our water heater even though it is in a vented compartment under the trailer. Interesting!!
May 8 – Arnold and I took a walk last night along the little ridge south of our Camp. The ground was damp from the day’s rains and the soil stuck to our shoes until we were walking on an inch of mud that had stuck onto the bottom of our shoes. We could easily imagine what the trekkers will experience when a rainstorm comes through.
On our walk the previous night we spotted a HUGE jack rabbit over near the shearing shed. The rabbit must have been a good foot and a half tall as it sat on the ground. It had its back to us and didn’t notice our approach until we were quite close. WOW it was big!!!! Bigger than the bunnies I used to raise. Arnold teased that he thought he saw antlers but realized we’re still in Utah and Jackalopes only grown in Wyoming so it couldn’t have been one of those legendary Jackalopes. Giggle
We think we have solved our problem with the water heater. We troubleshot the situation via phone and internet with Miller’s in Spanish Fork. Together we eliminated the possibilities of air in the line, insufficient pressure, a malfunctioning thermocouple and bad gas. In the end, we reverted back to our first guess and erected a windbreak (while maintaining proper ventilation) and the pilot has not blown out since. Now comes the task to make the wind break more permanent and looking less like a collection of junk.
Today we cleaned the Depot building. The Depot contains our meeting room, laundry, computer room, a lavatory complete with shower, a kitchen for group dinners and that oh so nice wood stove to warm ourselves around. I went over to the Depot early this morning (before our 8am meeting) to finish tying a quilt, so I had the fun of building the fire this morning. By the time our 8am morning meeting convened the place was comfortably warm. I haven’t lost my touch!! Grin.
This evening after dinner, Arnold and I filled the wood box beside the stove, filled a 5 gallon bucket with kindling and removed the ash accumulation from inside the stove. Then, we took a walk down the road and along the power line to the east. We discovered some sprouting plants whose leaves look quite like those of a Hyacinth bulb. We’re going to watch the patch to see if they are Sego Lillies. I’ve never seen one growing, just pictures of the flower.
May 9 – Today I set up and organized the computers. Tidied up the hard drives, and got the printers hooked up and the copier running. I also built some documents for the lead couple.
Arnold and Elder Hawk did a lot of organizing on the GPS business. They have been instructed to use these walkie-talkies that also contain a GPS device. They are gathering the necessary co-ordinates for each of the various trails the trekkers will take and will give the list to the trek’s trail boss to help keep them on track.
Took a long walk this evening around Shearing Hollow Pond (a bit over 2 miles around). Shearing Hollow pond lies to the south of our camp. We saw a heap of birds, lots of wildlife scat and some white and yellow belly flowers in bloom. (Belly flowers are tiny, short things. You have to get down on your belly to really get a good look at them – hence the name) We decided to start a list to keep track of the flora and fauna we’ve seen. Tonight, not long before bed, we heard some noise outside. I opened the trailer door to hear better. A coyote or two were yipping not far away. This place is awesome!!!!!
The wind blew today – rained a little – sideways, no less. Arnold’s wind baffle for the hot water heater is working. The pilot didn’t go out today, in spite of the wind. HORAY!!!
May 10 – This morning we walked the part of the Corral North Trail that goes cross country from the Corrals to The Barn. The Corrals can be seen from I-80 east of where we’re camped. The barn is north east of the Corrals about 2.5 miles. There was lots of coyote sign all along where we walked this morning.
We learned that one cannot take a handcart up a hill that’s sloped sideways without putting great strain on the down hill wheel. So the trail boss must pick the most level pathway through the sage to keep the carts from breaking. And, we also learned that crossing rutted cow trails with the handcarts puts a great strain on the wheels, too. A wheel that’s taken too much strain will ‘blow out’ (the spokes come loose from the hub in the middle). They have a blown out wheel hung on the ‘pavillion’ here at camp. When a wheel goes it really looks nasty. I suspect we will use that as a visual aid when we do a Route Review with each group’s trail boss.
As we drove about the ranch this morning, we saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes, LOTS of antelope and a Prairie Falcon. While on our ‘trek’ this morning I found a large fluffy feather which Arnold now sports from his hatband. It must have come from a quite large bird as the feather is a good six inches long.
In the evening we discovered fresh coyote tracks in the mud which a melting snowbank left behind – which snow bank melted off only yesterday. The snowbank and tracks were in the ‘front yard’ of the depot where we have our early morning meeting. Had no idea coyotes would come that close, but that must be where they were when we heard them yipping last night.
This afternoon, Arnold busied himself with some sheet metal and made a more permanent wind shield for the hot water heater. He created the thing so it can remain in place even when we’re towing. It’s worked wonderfully and the pilot has remained lit. So nice to have that hot water for a shower after a dusty day!!!!!! We are very thankful the problem was so easily solved. It could have been something much more drastic.
Tomorrow we go to church in Evanston. Each couple has been assigned a ward to attend on a regular basis. All the wards meet at 9am. After church we return here to the depot for a group dinner. We are each assigned a portion of the menu (main dish, vegetable, starch & desert) to prepare and the assignments rotate from Sunday to Sunday.
The trek groups are usually organized into families – one family per handcart. A ‘ma’ and a ‘pa’ have been assigned 8-10 ‘children.’ Trough the course of the trek they do become like a second family to each other.
As I’ve tidied up the files on the computers and the files in the ‘office,’ I have come across story after story of the wonderful experiences some have had. Though we may never know if the people in the trek groups we assist have such great experiences, it is a honor to know that we are helping Heavenly Father. This is His stage. We are just back stage hands (for lack of a better description). We do the behind the scenes work necessary to prepare the arena and we may never get to see the ‘performance,’ but, it is an honor and a blessing to know we are doing things to help Him get His work done.
May – 11 Our day in church was quite eventful. One of the bretheren passed out on the floor just at the beginning of Sunday School. One of the other brothers had been some sort of a nurse and quickly took over the situation. The stricken brother obviously wasn’t getting enough air, so a very elder sister who had her portable oxygen there and offered it. His color came back to normal quite quickly. When the brother awoke he asked, “What am I doing on the floor?” The paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital. We all hope he’s going to be OK.
In Sacrament Meeting four graduating seniors all spoke. What a spectacular bunch of youth they are!!! We were really impressed!!!!
The wind is blowing a warm gale from the south – the trailer shakes from the gusts. I expect a good storm in the next day or so as always happens here in Utah.
Love & Laughter
Elder & Sister Young
