October 21st through October 27th

October 21^st through October 27^th:  Monday I finished hanging the 5 sets of bi-fold doors and installed the last few pieces of base board.  Chris spent the day at work being a therapist. In the evening, we drove down to American Fork to go to dinner and celebrate Campbell’s birthday a few days early.  We then went to a pumpkin patch/farm with James and Kirstin’s family.  The kids really enjoyed it.  

 Nana helping Campbell ride a horse.

Rigby being cool on the slide.

Emme wasn't sure she wanted to be with the goats.

James even did the slide with his munchkins.

Tuesday Chris went to work and I got a ride up to Deseret Mills in Kaysville with another ward member.  We had volunteered to fill our assignment at the mill.  When we got there, we were told that it was closed for maintenance and that they were sorry that the word did not get to us before we made the drive.   We figured we would be blessed just for showing up.  Wednesday we did our shift at the temple and then packed the car and drove to Kaysville to our good friends, Paul and Liz Belnap’s home.   We put all our bags into their car and we headed to Rawlins, Wyoming.  We have had this little trip to Wyoming and South Dakota planned for a few months.  We got to Rawlins in time to check into our motel and then go to dinner.  Thursday morning we left early so as to arrive at Martin’s Cove when the visitor’s center opens up at 9:00am.  The church owns the property where the Martin Handcart Company was camping when the rescuers arrived to save them from starving and the early winter blizzard.  Between the Willie and Martin handcart companies and two wagon train companies that were with the Martin Company, more than 250 died along the trail.  That is about 20% of the 4 companies.  You really get a sense of the sacrifice that these early saints made to come to Zion, Utah.  The 250 made the ultimate sacrifice, but all of them were willing to sacrifice everything to join the saints in Salt Lake.  

The 4 of us at the visitor's center at Martin's cove.

Martin's cove is up near the base of these hills.

This is Devil's Gate which is really close to the visitor's center.

This was taken from the parking lot at Martin's cove. You can see how close Devil's gate is.

We next drove to Guernsey, Wyoming to see the wagon and handcart wheel tracks that were carved into the stone by so many wheels rolling over the same track.  This was a place where the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Pioneer Trail were the same.  

The wagons were not all that wide

You can see how deep the wagon and handcart wheels cut into the rock.

We next visited “Register Rock”, where many of the early pioneers carved their names and dates into the soft rock.  Then we went to Fort Laramie, where the Willie and Martin companies tried to buy supplies, but it being so late in the season there wasn’t really anything for them to purchase.  We then drove to Casper where we found our motel and went to dinner at a nice steak house.  

Mom points out a name from 1872.

At Fort Laramie in front of the surgeon's home.

Friday we got on the road at 7:00am and drove to the monument of Crazy Horse, one of the Native American chiefs. It is an amazing project that will take another 50 years to complete.  

The Crazy Horse Monument from the visitors center.

This is what the monument will look like when it is finished.

The visitor's center at the Crazy Horse monument is dedicated to telling the story of the Native Americans.

They still have a lot of carving to do.

We then drove to Mount Rushmore.  This was what all four of us wanted to see and the real reason for our trip.  It did not disappoint.  We all thought it was incredible.  

Mount Rushmore from the visitor's center.

Mount Rushmore.

We then took the scenic drive through the Bad Lands National Park.  It was very interesting and impressive.  We ended up at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota.  It is really famous, but not all that interesting, just a real tourist trap.  We then drove to Spearfish, South Dakota where we had hotel reservations.  

The Bad Lands in South Dakota.

This guy was right next to the road.

Looking down on the Bad Lands from the road above.

It was truly a beautiful day.

This guy was just outside the gate as we left the Bad Lands.

Proof we went to Wall Drug.

Saturday we decided to drive straight home because there was a snow storm on the way and we did not want to be driving across Wyoming in a snow storm.  We made it home after a 9 ½ hour drive.  Thanks, Paul for doing all the driving.  Sunday we had a nice day at church and at home resting up from our trip.  It was a great trip and really nice to be with Paul and Liz who are dear friends. I went to high school with both of them.  We had a great time and saw some amazing, beautiful and sacred places.