YW Camp at Goblin Valley State Park

Goblin Valley

This is a slightly out of focus picture of the youngest girl at camp.

Way to go Sierra!  You are tough.

Hiking Little Wild Horse

Sierra

 It was so cute...Brother Foster helped teach the girls how to tie a bowline knot (since the rest of us leaders were clueless)

He taught the girls when they would use it and then showed them how to tie it around their waists.

He helped each of them one at a time until they could all do it correctly.

Then he had them all stand in a line and had them race to see who could do it the fastest.

We did it several times until each girl had a chance to win 

(laffy taffy was the prize.  They would have done it all day--at least as long as the candy lasted but we had to move on to more certification requirements!)

Here is the water station.  The jug on the bottom right is the water we brought from home.

The jug on the top left is the water that came from the pump.

Then on Friday morning, the pump went dry.

Water was out throughout the entire campground.

Which also meant no flushing toilets, no showers, and NO MORE drinking water.

 Summer had her guitar (of course) and her group came up with the most entertaining skit.

Sure wish I had video of that one.  Maybe I can get them to reenact their skit.

But I'm sure it won't be the same without the redrock and tents in the background.

 The theme for the first day was "stick with it" and Sister A (and Brother A) made hotdog roasting sticks for the entire camp.

Conveniently, hot dogs and s'mores were on the menu.

 I was in charge of the spiritual message and craft on the last day.

Our theme was Temples.

We made these temple blocks that have pictures of various temples and say..."I'm going there someday"

It's hard to come up with a craft that 32 girls can do and will do.

I think these turned out about 98% successful.

 This was the backdrop for our testimony meeting on the last night.

Summer hijacked the camera and so here is the one picture that there is proof that I actually attended camp.  

(As if the red tint to all of my socks, clothes, and bedding is not proof enough)

I got caught sneaking cookies out of the food trailer.

I'm sure that's hard to believe.

F is for Fredonia

This is the sign we saw when we left Pipe Springs National Monument.

The most important thing about Fredonia is that is the last drop of civilization before the Grand Canyon.

And that is important if you are a Grand Canyon River Guide.

There are several different companies that have warehouses in Fredonia as well as Kanab.

One of them is Tour West which is the company that Rick worked for when he was a river guide.

So, we had to take the long way through Fredonia to check out the warehouse:

Pretty impressive, yes?  the kids certainly thought so...not.

As we circled back through Fredonia on our way to St. George this sign caught our (my) eye:

So, we made a quick U-Turn (which was probably illegal)

(Which was OK, because we later found out that the reason Kanab and Fredonia both looked like ghost towns--many of the shops had hand made signs that said, "closed.  sorry for the inconvenience."--was because there was a big fire over by Cedar City and everyone in town was out fighting fires.  Sadly, with the water situation, this will probably be the case most of the summer.)

We pulled up in front of this little house.

Don't let the picture fool you.  It was jam packed full of awesome antique goodness.

The cute little owner was an encyclopedia of antique knowledge. 

She had a story, statistic, or fact for every single item in that little tiny house.

And if that we're enough, the building to the side of the house (on the right in the above photo) was also full of antiques.  She had to get the keys and take us over for a tour of that house, too.

If we would have had more time, she would have taken us on a tour of the 2 shipping containers out back that were full of antique furniture.

She doesn't have room in the house for all of the furniture, so if she sells something big out of the house...no problem.  She can just go out back and find just the right item to fill its space.

We totally recommend this little antique store in Fredonia if you are ever in the neighborhood.

You can't miss it.

It's right in the center of town where the highway makes a "T" intersection.

Look for the big ANTIQUE sign!

We did manage to make it out with just a couple of items...

I got this fantastic enamel pot.

And Rick chose this cool, old 7-up crate to go with his vintage drink machine collection.

This is how they look on the shelves in St. George

Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas

We are home from St. George.  A few more pictures to come, but for now...

Garbanzo Beans!

I pressure canned these lovely beans (or are they peas?) a few weeks ago.

It was a first for me to rehydrate beans and then pressure can them.

One thing that I was NOT prepared for was that they would expand, a lot!

I had to keep adding water and moving them into more pots.  Adding water.  And adding pots.

And the next thing you know, my kitchen was full of beans.

I was afraid I was going to have to fill the bathtub! jk

I only soaked about half of the 25 pound bag.

(I should have done a quarter of the bag.  Now I know...)

I soaked them over night, then the following day I pressure canned them.

It took 3 rounds of pressure canning.  I ran out of jars.

I did some in quarts and some in pints.

There were some leftover that didn't make it into the pressure canner--I wasn't about to go for 4 rounds of pressure canning.

And there was a jar that didn't seal.  So, we had plenty of extra garbanzo beans.

Rick used them to make hummus.

It was the best hummus I've ever tasted.

Probably because they were the best garbanzo beans I have ever tasted.

I'm so glad to have 38 quarts of garbanzo beans on the shelf.

You know, so that when the zombies come, we can enjoy a nice batch of homemade hummus.

Next up:  Pinto beans.

Pipe Spring National Monument

Another stop on our tour of the desert...

Here are some of the artifacts that we were allowed to touch.

Everything else was off limits...

The cute little table inside of the Fort.

The chairs were turned to the outside so that the family members could kneel for prayer before the meal.

I LOVE this redwork hand towel.  I took a pic so that I could remember it and possibly copy the pattern and make my own some day...yeah, probably won't ever happen.

 Rick wanted to take this sign home with him, but we were pretty sure that taking something that doesn't belong to you FROM a National Monument is probably a crime.  So, we left it.

I've always been fascinated by looms.

18 inch red rock "bricks"

These artifacts were from the room where the spring was located.

It was much cooler in this room, and therefore, a great place to store the eggs and milk, and to make butter.

The spring comes out at one end of the room and runs down the wooden trough.

It keeps the room very cool.

The water then runs out of the fort and into a big holding pond built outside the fort to be used to irrigation.

 Listening to the ranger talk about the functions at the fort.

 the fort

replicas of Indian dwellings

 The best part...

Pine Gum Salve.

It was $9 at the National Monument, but we bought it for $4.50 at the convenience store on the Reservation.  

Still waiting for it to cure my hang nails and acne.

But I smell like I just walked out of the forest.

When we walked into the Visitor Center, the cute little ranger with the blue bandana asked if we wanted a fiddle lesson.  Sierra smiled.  

Ranger Sue asked Sierra if she could play the violin and Sierra said yes.  and the fiddle.  

I saw a guitar and told Ranger Sue that Summer played the guitar.

Sierra picked up the fiddle.

Summer grabbed the guitar.

 And they played for 20 minutes.

K is for Kanab

We headed out on adventure on Saturday...

We ended up in Kanab, Utah.

Rick and I had not been in Kanab since we did a Grand Canyon River trip together...

and that was before we were married--18 years ago.  WOW.

We visited the Old Western Movie Set Museum.

Summer was pretending to pour the hot water into the tub so that Sierra could take a bath...

(Notice the Kindle in her hand.  Not really true to the time period.) 

This was a set from an old Clint Eastwood movie.

I still think Clint is pretty hot.

 I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sign that said "Do not touch the covered wagon."

Oh well.

 And then Cole decided that he needed to drive the covered wagon because he was the "man".

 This picture just makes me laugh.

Cole got hot and decided he wanted to find some shade.  or some lunch.

 So, lunch it was.

Nedra's.

I've heard Rick brag about Nedra's for at least 18 years.

We finally got to experience the food at Nedra's as a family.

I have to say...it did not disappoint.

I got a chile verde Navajo Taco (small).

Pretty tasty.  Sierra shared a little.  And I am certainly happy I did not get a large!!

The salsa is pretty much the best. ever.

So, if you ever find yourself in Kanab, go to Nedra's.

You can read the family history of the place on the menu...

  

Nedra was born in Kanab, Utah, in 1917, the granddaughter of a Mormon Pioneer who had settled in nearby Paria Canyon. Her mother, Jesiel Brown opened Brown’s 89 House in Kanab in 1940, and thus began a long tradition in fine Southwestern Cuisine.  Nedra opened her Café in Fredonia, Arizona, in 1957, and began serving her own style Mexican food one day week. Her reputation spread and a demanding clien-tele soon persuaded her to serve Mexican food full time.

For 40 years Nedra’s has enjoyed a reputation for having the best Mexican food around, and has been a favorite stop for countless movie crews and stars. Frequent customers have included James Garner, Vera Miles, Sidney Poitier and Clint Eastwood. Sen. Barry Goldwater was known to have gallons of Nedra’s special hot sauce flown to his Arizona ranch.

Expansion began in 1990 with the opening of Nedra’s Too in Kanab, Utah. Operated now by a daughter, Nedra Pauline, Nedra’s Café symbolizes a three generation tradition of fine dining.

Due to our central location among the scenic, and geological wonders of the Colorado Plateau, the Fredonia - Kanab area has long been a favorite filming location for Hollywood’s major motion picture studios.

More western movies and television programs have been filmed in this area than in any other single location outside of Hollywood itself.

for more information

Mountain Meadows

I have always been fascinated by this small event in Utah History.

I think it started when I was at BYU.

My senior course was a class called Mormon Women writers.

It was taught by Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, who taught this one class once a year at BYU.

She ranks right up there at the top of Church Historians on Mormon Women.

I think I did more reading for that class alone than all of my other English classes combined.

One of the books that we read from was a book about the Mountain Meadows Massacre written by Juanita Brooks in 1950.

I also bought this book which was published in 1961, also written by Juanita Brooks...

Juanita Brooks was born in 1998 in Bunkerville, NV.

She was married for less than a year when her husband died, leaving her with a newborn son.

She earned a bachelor's degree from BYU and a Master's degree from Columbia University.

She settled in St. George and became an English instructor at Dixie Junior College.

In 1933, she resigned from teaching to marry Will Brooks. 

Brooks was a widower, with four sons.

Within five years they added a daughter and three more sons to the family.

For many years she was on the Board of the Utah Historical Society where she devoted herself to finding diaries and records of early settlers and organized a Utah library of Mormon History.

Because of her close proximity to the location of the massacre and her study of diaries and journals, Juanita Brooks investigated the events thoroughly.

Brooks was a lifelong member of the LDS Church, but was discouraged from pursuing her studies of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.  

She never received disciplinary action, but did feel ostracized from her ward and from Church officials for her investigations into Mormon history.

She died in 1989, at the age of 91.

So, for years I have been fascinated by Juanita Brooks and curious about the details of this event.

I remember when the Church announced this memorial would be built.

It was dedicated by Gordon B. Hinckley in 1999.

It has been a sore spot in the hearts of the descendants of those who were killed for generations.

They want the Church to acknowledge and own up to the murders of 120 men, women, and children.

 The answers may or may not lie deep in the archives of Church History.

I don't believe that we will ever know EXACTLY what happened or how.

 But, after reading about this event, I do not believe that John D. Lee was entirely responsible and should not have been executed for the crime.

 It really is located in a beautiful place.

It's volcano country.  

I told Rick that it is not what I had imagined as we were driving there.

(It's located just 31 miles north of St. George on hwy. 18)

However, just a mile or 2 before you get there, it levels out and there are a few areas of green where the water runs through the valley.

The Church assumes responsibility for the care of the monument, trials, and parking area.

However, Rick was quite disappointed in the fact that this is the first Church historical site that didn't have immaculately clean bathrooms out in the middle of nowhere.  (or at least a port-a-potty--we didn't stick around too long because of it)

Well, I can now check that off of my list of things to do or places to visit.

5 generations of Dalton

This is one of the approximately 150 photos that I "borrowed" from my Aunt Dolores last year, scanned last fall, and passed out to my mom, siblings, cousins, and Aunt Dolores on Mother's Day.
When we initially sorted through these photos, we assumed this was an important photo.  However, when I was scanning this photo and labeling it, I didn't know exactly who it was.  I emailed the photo to my mom.  She had a hard time identifying the women in this photo.  She guessed that they were Daltons--because they obviously we NOT Nortons and because they had a "Dalton look" to them.
Well, I got an email from my cousin, Melinda a few days ago.  They had taken a closer look at the photos and were able to identify these 5 people.  It is a 5 generation photo and according to Dolores, they are...
Grandma Catherine Melissa Hulet Dalley, (my Great-Great-Grandmother:  18 May 1860 (Springville, UT)- 28 November 1856 (Joseph, UT; buried in Circleville))
Grandma Ida Marilla Dalley Dalton, (my Great-Grandmothe:r  10 September 1884(Summer, UT)- 30 April 1976 (Circleville, UT))
Iola Melissa Dalton Macintosh, (my Grandpa, Morgan Leon Dalton's sister:  26 February 1907 (Circleville, UT)Jan 1975 or 1973)
Wanda Fauntell Macintosh Riddle, (11 October 1925 (Junction , UT)-19 January 1973, (Antimony, UT))
and her baby Jeanine Riddle.


So, although not all 5 people in this photo are in my direct line, it is significant because as of now, this is the only picture that we have of Catherine Melissa Dally and Ida Marilla Dalley.
And we have very few photos of my Grandfather, Morgan Leon Dalton, especially pictures of him as a baby or a child.  
I am just sad that the photo is damaged.  I will have to do some research to determine the approximate date of this photo.
More photos and stories to come...
ETA:
my mom has determined that by the age of the baby (her cousin), this photo would have to have been taken around 1940,1941.  Still working on this...