It is Time: Martin's Cove

This might be my favorite picture of the whole trek

I planned to blog this right after it happened, and then I planned to blog it in November since that is the time when the Saints really traveled to Martin's Cove. Then I planned to blog it this month on the 15th, since that was the one year anniversary. So we'll just pretend that I am 12 days behind...not a year behind.

And it has been very fulfilling to look back and go through the memories of the trek all over again. I hope you can enjoy some of what we experienced. I won't lie to you, there will be a LOT of pictures. LOTS. And then when it is all finished and you think, WOW, that was a lot of pictures, just remember it was only a third of what I took out there.

Let's begin:

We drove up there with our plethora of children. Pearl was just a baby, but I figured we might never have an experience like this again, so we were going, regardless of number or ages of children. I also realized that this trek was for me...and Tyler. June and Robyn might have some memories but the other three would probably be too little to get much out of it. I needed to know that I could do a small slice of what the pioneers endured. And one of the huge lessons I learned from the trek was that what the pioneers did was hard. Not just harsh weather and not so much food hard, but burying children and losing limbs along the way hard. And of course, we traveled in exact opposite weather conditions, and didn't lose any people along the way. (Phew.) Oh, and we were well fed. Extremely well fed. I was a little surprised that we stopped for snacks often, and then ate hearty meals at night, but I wasn't going to complain.

Wait, let's go back to the car ride up. The kids were pretty good. (At least I can't remember the drive being that bad.) The best part was bringing Walkie-Talkies and traveling in a caravan. We joked and played twenty questions and the adults kept each other entertained the entire way there. (And back.) I highly recommend this method of travel. I do remember stopping once or twice to feed babies and such, but it was a fairly straight forward trip of over 6 hours.

We arrived in the late afternoon, and set up camp. It was basically a large field that was near the river trail. There were bathrooms and sinks nearby. (Not exactly roughing it, although still not complaining.) We set up our large tent and watched as the kids played on the hand-carts.

Tyler, Aubry Macbean, Ethan, Bob Emmons

Hannah Fairbanks, Ivory, Brigham Adams, June

I should mention that the hand-carts were very handy for moving luggage from the car to the campsite. They could be a little dangerous if not used correctly, but I believe only one person was run over and they weren't seriously injured.

Pearl was chipper.

Sweet Baby P

She was such a good baby the entire trip. And especially at night. That first Thursday night, it was cold; uncomfortably so. I didn't sleep well, and I spent most of the night worried about Pearl waking up and needing to eat. But she never woke up. In fact, she slept through both nights we were there. This was unusual for her, since she had still been getting up regularly during the night. But even when we got back, she had a couple nights of waking and then she slept all the way through the night after that. Every. Night. (I would be a fool to think that this was not a blessing we received from taking our whole family on this trek.)

The next morning, we packed up for the real deal. Our first trek experience wasn't nearby, so we drove to the site. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The kids were excited and chasing each other around.

Don't use up that energy yet

Robyn and June

The Spives

There were several groups already walking the trails. You can tell that they were very organized there.

And there were already hundreds in use that day

I believe that missionaries are called to staff the Trek experience and they are very prepared people. (No doubt, they all would have made it as pioneers. Me?...I'm still not sure.) I took my camera almost everywhere we went. (I know, shocker, isn't it?) And if you haven't noticed, all the pictures are in sepia. I think it gives them a more pioneerish feel. Here we are getting ready before we were to watch a video and have some instruction about the trek. Everyone was in high spirits.

Sloane Cross and Hunter

Ivory, June, and someone's legs

I would like to tell you that the video was very inspirational, but I was outside with Pearl, so let's just pretend it was. I was actually outside thinking, Come on, let's get on with it. But soon enough, everyone was outside and assembled.

Not a bad looking group

Authentic Pioneer Camera compliments of Bro. Bohn

And then...we were trekkin'.

I think Tyler could have made it as a pioneer

Our Vineyard 2nd Ward family

I admit that I let my kids ride in the wagon almost the whole way. If we went again, I would probably make them walk more, but I was packing the baby in a carrier and the camera, so it was nice to have them corralled somewhere and in a place they were less likely to complain.

June, Ivory, and Teancum

Robyn's bonnet

See how good they were at wearing the bonnets

The scenery was beautiful (for Wyoming) and the hike was pleasant.

Gotta love rocks and grass

We actually saw a few prairie dogs and a crane as well

Trevor and Nathan Fairbanks

We were supposed to travel in companies. We had a flag with all the last names of the families in our company. Someone prevailed upon me to do the writing, but no one mentioned there was a right-side-up. So, our flag was upside-down. Oops.

No laughing

It says Westward Ho at the bottom top

Honestly, our wagon ended up being the Nietes/Cazier wagon.

Pioneer Hunk

Bro. Nietes and Tyler pulled while I walked alongside and Balani pushed from behind.

Go Balani

The handcarts were heavy, but not unbearable. (Especially if you weren't pulling. Okay, I pulled sometimes. Remember, I was packing the baby.) This was what Tyler saw for a good mile or so.

Only a shadow of his former self

We didn't hike that far (in fact, I think the entire day was less than 6 miles), and we stopped for a snack.

Daisy was watching our flag, hoping to steal it when we weren't looking

Bro. Moses and Briggy (he was so little then)

We left our carts in an organized fashion and we did the longest hike of the day on foot. (So, my children did walk some, thank you.) We hiked into the actual canyon area that was named Martin's Cove. We reached the top where they told us inspirational stories about the men who came there, but once again, I missed a lot of it since I was given one of the only shaded sections (separated from the other area) so that I could nurse Pearl. I felt like I had found the secret show behind Martin's Cove. They had a phone and extra water there and they would call to have motorized carts brought up in case people had become dehydrated or needed assistance. They had individual sized carts for people who couldn't walk, but most people just used the larger hand-carts if they needed to sit down.

The day was HOT! In fact, I got sunburned on one leg since my skirt was at an angle. (Darn DI skirt that looked Native American instead of pioneer anyway.) We hiked back down from the Cove and rejoined our hand-carts. The trail was long and hot, but the kids were really good, and it was nice to be walking amongst friends.

Now imagine it with snow and that is what the pioneers saw

Mommy and Pearl

Gap tooth grin

Daisy and Emma Darrow

I am pretty sure that we had lunch then. (I wasn't kidding about being well fed.) From there, we headed for the big river crossing of the day. They were very good about having spiritual moments before each event, but once again I was at a loss to hear what was said. Firstly because I lost Ivory. She wasn't with the company when we arrived at the devotional, and I couldn't find her when I went back to the lunch area (which was now swarming with the next group).  I was honestly starting to panic when I found her playing in a pile of sand behind some hand-carts. That one never gets old; gets the adrenaline pumping every time. Secondly, by the time I got back to our group, Daisy was squirmy, so I stood in the back, so once again, you have to imagine some very spiritual story to go with the trek.

*Please note that although I did not get to partake in all the solemn moments, I still felt the spirit strongly as I walked in the footsteps of those who went before. The pioneers who crossed these plains and sacrificed to reach this state are truly heroes. I was privileged to see the trails they trod.*

I think we have just about enough pictures for one post, so I will leave the river crossing for tomorrow. Go drink some water. I know you are probably thirsty just reading this and if you made it all the way through, get yourself some ice too.