Westward Ho!

After about a bizillion hours of planning and preparation the mighty Redmond Stake Youth Conference Trek is over. In a few words it was awesome. I heard some of the kids say it was the hardest thing they have ever done and the coolest thing they have ever done.

The first day it was kind of cool. We got up there, loaded handcarts, pulled them 2 miles. Along the way we had rest stops where they were given different vignettes that were pioneer stories. I was the first one and mine was about "Grandma Nellie." Her parents joined the church when she was 6 years old in England. Their dream was to come to America, travel to Salt Lake and raise their kids and build up Zion. Along the way both her parents died and were buried in snow drifts. She was in the Martin Handcart Company and by the time they were rescued she had frosbitten feet and legs that were so bad they had to be amputated to save her life. So with no anethesia or pain killers she was strapped to a board and with a saw and butcher knife her legs were amputed below the knee. They never healed properly and for the rest of her life bone stuck out of the bottom of the stumps. The story told about how bloody her stumps were many days after she had worked scrubbing floors. So we had me bandaged up to look like I didn't have legs but I did have bloody stumps. As I was telling the story I looked over and a couple of kids were crying. That was tame though compared to when they had to pull that handcart up a couple of steep hills the next day.

The next day it was close to 90 degrees and they walked and pulled a total of 12 miles. At one point two men on horses came and took the boys away for the Mormon Battalion and the girls had to pull by themselves. The boys had to stand on the side and watch but couldn't help. I think it was harder on the boys than the girls. They really struggled with that. Then after they got the young men back and walked a few more miles there was a final steep hill that was almost impossible for them to get up. So we "angels" come out of nowhere, guys in white shirts with white a white tie around their hats and without saying any words they stepped in and helped pull the handcarts up the hills. The kids and the "Ma's" by then were so tired some of them started to cry. It was pretty touching.

The next day we did 8 pioneer games and one of them was pulling taffy. It was awesome.

I can say though I have had my fill of wearing the same pioneer clothes with no shower for 3 days. Thanks heavens God put me in the generation that didn't require that of me. I couldn't have worn my mascara and makeup for heaven sakes!! That just wouldn't have worked.

We lost our good photos for some reason but here are a few we took.



The area near Enumclaw where the trek took place.

Our "Taj Mahal" tent which was a little walk from the biffy! I actually quite enjoyed the camping though. It isn't bad with an air mattress and warm sleeping bag.

It is pretty rough camp ground when you were tripping over stumps in the middle of the night. After a while it is easier to find a bush!

The first of the trail when the kids didn't think it was going to be so bad. Little did they know!

President Tanner gave a little "Way to go talk" at the top of "Heartbreak Hill."

We are finished! Time to tear down the handcarts.

There is nothing as fun as being at home in Grandma's bed watching cartoons with the grandkids!