Family Camp 2022 - Sydney Valley/Cedar Mountain

The top pic shows everyone who was there (Supe, Beacher and Jem came up a couple of afternoon/evenings) except Brynnli and her boyfriend Ryan.  They are pictured below.  Derek's new wife, Kelli, came up Friday evening, but I got no good pics of her unfortunately.  We missed Kaebri because she's on a mission, and Tavin is away at school/work and couldn't make it.  

 

It's been a tough year to get this camp figured out!  At least we're not dealing with Covid and cancer anymore though!  I had reserved what seemed like would be a great spot over by Barker Lake in the Escalante area.  After snow melt Paul and I drove over to check on it and found it to be totally inadequate for the size it said it would hold.  We looked high and low over that way and found another really nice group site, but it would have meant a date change which would not work.  So, thank yous go to Juge and Lance who are taking charge amid the confusion left over from Covid, Ferf being in the middle of a divorce and Derek's marriage.

We did it...and it was GREAT! Juge and Lance found such a good spot and they and the Randalls went

up and parked their camp trailers early in the week to save the spot. They sent out a pin sowe could all find it. We barely had any dirt road (which was very good) to drive on before we gotto the spot which made it good for those without high clearance vehicles. We all arrived sometime on Wednesday afternoon/evening and got the kitchen area set up with 4 awnings over that and the eating/game playing tables.  The weather was very cooperative, with just a smattering of rain each afternoon that cooled things down, but didn't drench anything.  We had a mix of camp trailers (Lou, Juge and Ferf) and Derek in his big trailer.  Moss and Christie stayed in a condo in Brian Head and it was a short commute for them.  The rest of us were in tents (some of the camp trailer kids stayed in tents too).  Everyone seemed happy with their choice of accommodations.  We missed Tavin and Kaebri, but everyone else made it up at least some of the time.  Supe, Beacher and Jem, Brynnli and her boyfriend, Ryan, and Derek's new wife, Kelli, each came for part of the time when they could.  It was a very good turnout.  As usual the food was superb!

One thing that was so fun and completely new was 9-Square, a new sort of game that's really in right now.  Juge and Lance were able to borrow the game parts from some neighbors and we had a total blast playing it!  Between that and the regular table games and lots of badminton we all had plenty of fun on the day we just stayed in camp.  Our out of camp adventure day was to go to Yankee Meadow Reservoir with 13 kayaks, a canoe and 2 paddle boards!  We pretty much had the lake to ourselves (sort of ran off most of the fishermen). The weather there was perfect too!  Derek brought the lunch makings so we could eat there.  After that some people got dropped off to mountain bike back down to camp from Brian Head Peak.  They had a great time and no one got hurt! There was plenty of time to just relax and visit too!  Clean up was efficient with everyone willing to help out!  

Beating the heat on summer walks!

When it gets to be so hot in the summer and we want to take an evening walk, we head for the golf course!  It's a perfect time - after all the golfers have gone home and the sprinklers are on. The grass and water together make it so nice!  It's peaceful and beautiful as well.  Sometimes we have played hand golf - just find a golf ball laying around or bring our own (we even have some glow in the dark ones) and toss them instead of hitting them with a club!  It's pretty fun!  But mostly we just talk, listen to a talk or just enjoy the peace and cool.  

IT'S A GIRL!!!

 A few weeks ago Supe and Beacher shared their good news of another little one on the way for them...due on Christmas Day!  Today they got their ultrasound that shows that this one is a baby girl!  Couldn't be happier for them! Jem will get a little sister and Supe and Beacher a daughter.  There may not be others, so I'm so happy they will have one of each!  July 11th, 2022 is a very wonderful news day!!!  I don't know how they can tell from this, but here she is!  #27 is on the way and doing well!  Not sure what to call her at this point...maybe I'll just for now call her little Noel!

The Biggest Ponderosa in Utah!

 We had such a fun day finding a new place the day after I got home from camp!  I found directions on-line about the supposedly biggest Ponderosa tree in Utah.  It's up by Beaver.  We packed a backpack lunch and went up there.  The place you park is by a really cool old barn which we explored after we got over being startled by a deer that came crashing out of it when we walked up to it!  Then the we followed very good directions to hike up a very steep mile and a half hike to the tree.  And it is BIG! We were the only ones there and enjoyed hiking around the area to see what else there was to see after enjoying the tree and our lunch and a short nap!  We didn't much like the deer flies that found us when we found some pretty dried up but still some water in them ponds above the tree.  And we found another trailhead and little trail down to the tree also.  It was a lovely day in a beautiful and new adventure place!!! It was a great way to relax and spend time together after the stress of Girl's Camp and being away from Paul.  

Girl's Camp - Trust in the Lord

 I got called to help with Stake Girl's Camp this year.  It was nice to be needed after having had to be released from a prior calling that didn't work out because I was still struggling through chemo and its effects.  I was pretty down, and Sister Orchard, who I have served with in Stake Primary and YSA and gone to Wood Badge with asked for me to be able to help her.  I did all I could to be a support and take care of the things she assigned me to do.  And it turned out to be a really great camp!  It was a little hard for me because I came into it late and people already knew each other. It was also a little hard at camp too because of the same reason.  But I did get to know and appreciate some new people even though big group gatherings of people I don't know, and even ones I do know, aren't really my thing.  But I looked for ways to help all I could.  At first she just wanted me to help with the hike, but it expanded to much more and I was able to serve as needed.  I learned some new things that I'm glad for.  I don't think I want to do this again, but I'm grateful I did get to serve.  

We had what I like to call the 'campsite miracle'.  By the time Sis. Orchard was called it was very late to get a campsite.  They like the girl's to go to Pine Valley, but there was only one group site left then.  She got it, but we just kept worrying about how small it was and how crowded everyone was going to be there.  We pondered and visited it and rented other nearby single sites in the next over campground, but it just wasn't right.  We kept working on everything else and moving forward.  I was a little discouraged and one point and wondered if we should just cancel after the camp host made it sound like we couldn't put tents anywhere but on the one designated tent site in each little camp.  There was no way we could fit everyone then.  But Sis. Orchard just kept moving forward with her "trust in the Lord" attitude and one day she just checked the reservation site and suddenly the group site next to ours was no longer reserved during our time slot and she got it reserved right then.  And that made all the difference in us having a wonderful, comfortable and convenient camp!  Lots of things worked out and people to help were found where we needed them.  And she was called right in the middle of it all to be her ward RS president.  She was an awesome example to me and everyone of really trusting in the Lord and keeping a positive attitude through it all.  

The top picture is of the girls from my home ward.  The two girls on the climbing wall are from my ward and I had both of them in kindergarten!  I helped with getting the climbing wall to come to camp.  I had been in charge of getting it for Cub Scout Day Camp for several years and knew the people to call to get it set up and how to help with it there at camp.  I was in charge of the hike and took them to our favorite waterfall in Pine Valley.  The middle shot is of Sis Orchard and another stake YW leader and her husband.  The girls in red were waiting (leader with a curb pillow) for their turn on the climbing wall.  Below is a picture we took of all who came on the hike.  I'm on the back row with the black straps across my chest and a visor on.  

We encouraged the girls/leaders to come up with a haiku about the hike, but I don't think any did.  But Paul and I did one on a pre-hike we took and I came up with one after another pre-hike.

Spring torrents rushing, Forcing passage thru' jammed logs, Splashing down the stream

Delicate stars on stems, Glowing white, tinged with purple, Columbine glories

Another one from me:  Divine creations, Nature's glorious details, Showing us God's love

I found one to go along with our camp theme:

Why do I worry, God says I will be with you, So I put my trust in Him

Something new I learned was where to get some shirts printed for the best price in town with really nice people to work with.

And I also learned how to transfer pictures onto these little wood slices in a very simple way!

The Birthday Hike - Mill Flat

 The Mill Flat birthday hike (#67) was beautiful, really rough, sad and wonderful all at the same time.  We started in the morning and got out pretty late.  We hiked till we found the old mill parts and then broke for lunch.  And then we had to decide whether to continue on to the old campsite at the flat.  We opted for it and then started the really rough part where we had to basically get into the stream and rock hop and scramble for the next hour and a half because the trail is pretty much gone there now having been eroded away to steep dirt walls around the stream.  It got a little iffy a few times, but we kept at it.  We got pretty scratched up when we were out of the rocks because lots of raspberry bushes have now taken over the unmaintained parts of the trail that you can still find here and there. And there were so many downed trees to climb over from the fires, erosion and avalanche damage.  We got SO dirty!  But we finally made it to the the valley and to where to old campsite used to be.  It has gone through a fire and you can't even find it now.  Young aspen trees are growing up everywhere in the area it used to be.  It is sad to lose this old trail.  Lots of hikes and memories have been made there, but we both decided that this was the last time we'd do this trail unless the forest service decides to redo it in the very near future.  I would never want to go up it to camp carrying a loaded backpack now.  It's just too rugged.  Other people familiar with it have all said the same thing.  It's just one trail that is no more.  I'm very glad we did it so we could see for ourselves and kiss it goodbye.  

June birthdays...after Madi's & Father's Day

 

Lance - #44!  Derek - #45 And for Moss and Me I got no pictures unfortunately. Paul and I went for a hike to Mill Flat on my birthday and Moss, Christie and family were busy celebrating.  I got my gift and Moss got his at a family dinner after the fact up in Cedar.  Ferf brought Paul's Father's Day gift from everyone over that day.  We both enjoyed nice phone calls/messages people on those days too!