Pioneer Trek

Chon and I had the wonderful opportunity to go with our Church Young Mens and Young Womens group to the Martin's Cove Pioneer Trek. The area is where the Martin Handcart company was stranded on their trek to settle in the Salt Lake Valley. They literally froze and starved to death; however, they many of them were rescued by heroic volunteers and did finally make it. The trek is an opportunity to learn and get a tiny glimpse of what they went through. We heard many stories of the people of the trek and were able to walk the paths they walked. One person said "No tongue or pen can tell the sorrow.." I believe that is true. We will never really know what they went through but it was amazing to gain a better appreciation. I went as the nurse and thank heavens we didn't have too many problems since really all I know how to do is deliver babies and not fix broken bones and cuts and scrapes. The youth (and leaders, I might add) were amazing. I truly can't remember hearing one complaint from anyone.

"Ma and Pa" Choi....yup we really can pull a handcart.

OK so we really did get a little R&R too.
Our "Family"...we were responsible for a group of people and as a group we had to push the handcart over the trails. We had to make sure we were all looked after.

Our silly "son" Kobe who actually did push the handcart a lot, decided to take a little rest.
Women's Pull. This was one of the most touching parts of the trip. All the men and boys went to the top of a steep, sandy, rough hill and stood there watching and the women and girls pulled the handcarts up. It was a short distance but let me just say, it was extremely difficult. The reason we did this was because many pioneer men were gone to battle and doing other tasks, leaving the women to do a lot of the work. This truly made me gain an appreciation for what these women and men did. From what I understand from the men, it was equally difficult standing watching as we struggled up the hill. I saw tears in some of their eyes.

You can see the men standing an honoring us as we struggled through.
Dan's Cove. This was a very sacred and reverent spot. We sat and pondered and listened to stories of what happened there. It was very powerful.
Now for a little fun...we were "scheduled" to go to a Square Dancing event and to be honest we weren't especially thrilled about it. We ended up having the best time! It really was so much fun (not to mention the workout we got). I was so surprised at what a great time we had.
And Do-See-Do your partner...
After we got done square dancing and we were walking back to our campsite, I snapped this a shot of this absolutely gorgeous sunset. The picture doesn't quite do it justice but you can get an idea of how pretty it was. It really topped the day off!
Fuel for the walk...a little Diet Coke. My good friend, Jen and I had to take a quick break to enjoy our beverage of choice...cheers!
Independence Rock. This is a spot that all the people passing through would stop at and engrave their names into the mountain. I didn't get a good picture of the mountain but it is a huge hill full of names. Everyone took some time to hike around the mountain.
These are some plaques explaining and commemorating the Rock.
Ok, wipe that drool off...While Jen and I spend the drive home chatting, the rest of those in the car took it as time to catch up on some much needed sleep. I say we definitely spent our time much more wisely...sleep is overrated!!