On The Road Again - Family and Friends June 2021

Mount Rushmore, USA

I have waited most of my 65 years to travel to The Black Hills of South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore.  When I was a little girl my Aunt June and her family traveled there for a vacation and I have always wanted to go after hearing about their trip.  We had planned to fly to Minnesota for the graduations of our grandchildren, Eric and Abby from High School.  Emily and her family wanted to attend as well and so we decided to make it a ROAD TRIP!  Flying is nice, but you miss so much between the destinations.  This was going to be my chance to fulfill a dream.  This was going to be a grand adventure and not just a get in the car and go until we get there kind of trip.

Matin's Cove Wyoming was our first stop.  This is a historic site along the Mormon Trail located about 55 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming.  It is adjacent to the Sweetwater River and is a nook in the side of the Granite Mountains that provided shelter for the Martin handcart company and their rescuers in the fall of 1856.  

During Summer months, groups come to participate in trek reenactments.  

Logan and Preslee enjoyed the exercise of walking the loop with a small handcart.  It was a humbling experience to read the stories of those who traveled with handcarts in 1856.

From November 4-9, 1856, the Martin handcart company, about 500 Latter-day Saint emigrants from the British Isles, made camp in the cove because the cold wind and snow made it too dangerous to proceed to Salt Lake City, UT - still 330 miles away.  They were met by a small rescue party with food, supplies and wagons.  They crossed the bitterly cold Sweetwater River and set up their tents at this place that would later be called, Martin's Cove.  Many died in Martin's Cove but many more were rescued.  They arrived on Nov. 30 in Salt Lake City.  Below is a sculpture depicting crossing the river.

Prove Herewith

"the water was deep and very cold and we drifted out of the regular crossing and we came near being drounded the water came up to our arm pits poor mother was standing on the bank screaming as we got near the bank.  I heard mother say . . .some of you me help my poor girls". 

                                     Patience Loader, 1856

We were greeted by Elder Brownlee from Idaho.  He and his wife are serving a 6 month mission as tour guides and workers at the sight.  It was so fun talking with them and finding out they were from the Twin Falls area in Idaho and knew my Parents.  It will be a busy summer season for them with all of the tour groups and Treks.

I did a lot of research on Mount Rushmore after hearing many experiences of others who had visited.  I knew it needed to be a destination and not just a drive by.  I knew I wanted to see it at night as well as in the day time.  We timed our trip to arrive at dusk and be there for the evening program.  That is a must if you are going to visit.  Words can't even express the beauty and feeling I felt as we saw the mountain for the first time.

You enter at the Parade of Flags.  That is beautiful just seeing all of the 50 States Flags with the Mountain background.  Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln directed the work on the mountain that was completed in 1941.  We attended the program offered by the Park service and it was so well done.  It was Patriotism at its finest.  The Park Ranger shared a letter by Thomas Jefferson to his grandson.  We need to study the lives of these men beyond their time framing the Constitution - their ideology and beliefs changed over time as they matured and experienced life - just like each one of us.  The 60 foot high granite faces depict US Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.  

This is an experience I will never forget.  I think I appreciate it more now than I would have earlier in my life.  It was magical as they turned off all of the lights at dark and presented the program in the theatre directly in front of the monument.  And then the lights come on and you see it in its majesty and glory.  It is a great work of art and also represents the building of America.  I am grateful for this history and those that prepared the way.

We spent the night in Keystone, just a few miles from the Mountain.  Just FYI - eat dinner before you go to the program.  They have some fun restaurants in town, but by the time the program is over they are all closed and we could only find a gas station with Pizza - it was not too bad.  

We spent the morning driving through Custer State Park and the Black Hills National Forest.  

There were several herds of Buffalo and they ruled the road.  A few times we had to wait while they decided to cross the road.  This picture is a large prairie where they graze and a great place for pictures.

Preslee loved the wild donkeys.  They originally were used for trail rides and about 15 years ago were turned to the "wild" and now enjoy being fed by the tourists and the good life.

Part of the highway takes you to through the Needles.  The rock formations are called needles.  There are three tunnels that only cars can go through.  They are not wide enough for large trucks or buses.  

We came upon a Mountain Goat and people had stopped to see it.  It was right at spot they call The Needles Eye.  It is very narrow and you cannot see the other side to know if cars are coming through.  The lady in the gold T-bird kept trying to go through and would have to back up because of cars coming the other way.  We watched her back up four times and by this time she was getting mad.  She starting yelling at the cars that were stopped to see the mountain goat and said they were causing problems.  They really were not, but she thought it would help her get through by yelling.  We followed behind her and made it through.  They really need a light system to help the traffic flow.  We were glad it was 

not a busy time with more traffic.

They say it is about a 45 minute drive to take the loop through the park.  It took us about 3 hours.  It was worth the views and seeing new sights.  

We stopped at the famous WALL DRUG in South Dakota.  Built in 1931 that built its reputation on offering Free Ice Water and signs on the highway for miles in the old Burma Shave fashion.  It was a good stop for lunch and an ice cream.  

Last stop before arriving in Farmington, Minnesota was the SPAM Museum in Austin, MN.  We had been driving most of the day and I had this last stop planned.  It is one of my family in Minnesota's favorite places.  I got a lot of groans and moans, but we took the 25 minute off the highway diversion and stopped.  It turned out to be the highlight of the trip for the kids.  Logan said it best to the workers when he left - "I am a changed man, I came in not wanting to be here or liking SPAM and this experience was enlightening."  They loved his enthusiasm and sweet spirit.  

The museum displays were so fun and enjoyed by all.  One of the highlights was the recipe section and being able to SPAM email recipes to friends.  

Everyone also liked the mock assembly line and tried to beat the 12 second time for processing a can of SPAM.  We all learned more about this product and of course had to leave with a few cans of product - especially the flavors that are only available at the plant and not in stores.  

War Facility in 1942 and nearly 1,300 woman were hired to work in the production lines to help meet the demands of a hungry and rationed public as well as our countries operations overseas.

Because of rations and lack of tin, sugar and other products, many products were not able to be manufactured.  

By 1944, more than 90 percent of the canned foods produced by Hormel Foods were used for Government operations.

By 1945, 65 percent of all products produced were sent to troops in Europe and the Pacific.  As a result, they continue to be used by the military and also sold all over the world.  Each country has their own special flavor and it is the #1 food  sold in Hawaii.  

We finally arrived at the Zuis household and fun times with family.  The cousins do not see each other very often and it is always nice to be together.  One of the highlights is the great food that comes out of Jaime's kitchen.  

Eric's Graduation Day.  We are so proud that he graduated from High School.  Three of his teachers came to his Graduation Party.  That was special as they spent a lot of time with him in elementary and middle school.  They helped to make this day possible.  With the name of Eric Maximillion Zuis he was the last graduate.  The crowd cheered for him (so glad it was over) and he was a star.  He was more nervous about being the first one to leave the stadium and lead the whole class out.  It was a fun night for this very quiet, shy young man.

Abby graduated from the On-line Connections Academy the next week.  She attended On-line school since 6th grade.  It was a great experience for her and she graduated with honors.  She worked for the last three years as a child caregiver for a family.  It was a blessing to all of them.  She started her first adult job on Thursday at Proto Labs - watch out World - she has a bright future.

Ian and Logan flew back home to Utah - we had more adventuring to do on the drive back home.  We asked Emma (age 12) to come back with us and spend a few weeks in Utah.  

Another one of my long time desires has been to go to Long Pine Nebraska to visit the cemetery where my Great Grandparents are buried and the village where my Grandmother Haney was born and raised.  In the past few years I have had a very strong desire that I needed to go.  It is not a place you pass through for any destination.  It is three hours off any main highway in the middle of Nebraska.  That was part of the intrigue.  How did an immigrant from Sweden and another from Berlin, Germany end up in this place and ten years later marry and raise your family there.  I wanted to piece together some of the story and add to my family history.  We drove for about three hours on little country roads - no towns, toilets, gas - only miles and miles of grazing land and farms.  Beautiful Country.

Grandview Cemetery

Peterson Family Plot

Timing is everything.  Two years ago someone took an interest in their little village and organized the Long Pine Heritage Society to update and spotlight the historical places in the village.  I was thrilled to find the Town Marker that gave a wonderful history.  The Cemetery had also been updated and had been indexed and catalogued.  They said about 60% of the grave markers had been photographed.  We were amazed at how well the cemetery had been taken care of.  I started putting all of the information together and the 1900-1940 Census and filled in a lot of the story we did not know.  I felt so close to my family as I stood on that hallowed ground.  I am now more excited than ever to put all of the pieces together.  There is so much I could share about the experience, but I will spare the reader the details.  I will say that for over 50 years we had tried to locate my Great Grandmothers parents and while we were serving in Germany, a family moved to Freiburg who worked for Ancestry.com. He offered to help me with the German records and after two weeks found the records for my great great grandfather and grandmother.  That was a miracle that has opened up additional records for our family.  This visit was very special for me.  

Bank

Old School

The only store and gas station was only open

Railroad Museum

from 10 am to Noon each day.  The Church is now a home and the museum was closed.  We drove around town trying to get a feel for where my grandmother grew up and where my father visited when he was 7 years old.  These people are becoming very real to me and I hope I can pass on to my family a little bit of history.  

We returned home just in time to welcome home Elder Sam Olson whom we served with in Vienna, Austria.  It was so fun getting together with the old Vienna Zone and party together.  It was so nice to meet Sam's family and share our love of serving with him.  We are actually neighbors and look forward to seeing them again.

We have attended Home Comings, parties, weddings and hosted dinner gatherings with many of the young missionaries that we have served with.  Our circle of friends continues to grow! We are being so blessed.

Finally after 4 months the glass arrived and the shower is completed.  This has been a big project and we are so glad to have it done.  We love the bathroom and the shower is just what we wanted.  We have a guest room and bathroom and our home is always open for visitors.  

We enjoyed having Emma with us.  She and Logan (the same age) got along really well.  It was fun to see her laugh and have fun.  She also made friends with a couple of girls in the neighborhood.  

It was time to take her home so she could attend Church Girls Camp and we were planning to fly with her home.   Brins's children, Will and Nora were performing in a program on Wednesday and invited us to come and see it.  We had a plan to take Emma home, return to Dallas and visit Josh and family and then fly to Wichita Kansas to see the program and then return home on Thursday.  It was going to be a whirlwind trip but seeing each of our children would be nice.  The schedule was in place.   That meant flying from Salt Lake to Dallas and then to Minneapolis.  It was a very busy Monday and continued rain in Texas.  We waited all day at DFW to get on a flight to Minneapolis just to have two flights canceled.  We started looking for options and there were not many with the flights being delayed or cancelled in Dallas.  We looked at flying to Wichita and then driving half way and meeting Jaime in Des Moines Iowa to drop off Emma.  We checked the flight and we had 30 minutes to get to the gate and make the flight - only problem, our bags had been checked through to Minneapolis.  We sent pictures of our bag tags to Jaime and she went to the airport on Tuesday morning before driving to Des Moines and got our bags.  A trip to Wal Mart for a toothbrush and PJ's and we were set for the night.  We had a nice 5 hour drive to Des Moines and met up with Jaime and Abby.  We had lunch together and were both back on the road.  We returned to Wichita for a good nights rest and ready for the program on Wednesday.  We missed seeing Josh and family because of the change of plans, but we will visit when it stops raining in Texas!

William was the great showman!

Nora kneeling with boa

They are both great entertainers and it was such a fun show about Grandparents and finding things in their attic that tells about their younger days.  We were so glad to be there to see them perform.  Community Theatre at its finest!

June was also the beginning of Parade season in Utah.  Preslee marched with her cheer squad in the Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days Parade.  It was a beautiful morning and fun to be a part of small town Utah.  

Birthday Wishes

It was also Birthday time for Preslee.  10 years old.  We are loving being a part of their special days.  She said she was so glad to have Grandma living here so she could have a homemade birthday cake!  Oh, the things we do for our kids!

We also celebrated our 46th Anniversary.  Since it also fell on 

Father's Day, we celebrated with a nice dinner together as family.  The best 

way to celebrate a marriage is with family and all that is important to us.  

We live on the beautiful Murdock Trail.  We

New Electric Bike

have wanted to start riding bikes, but I did not have one.  One problem, at my age how was I going to make it up the hill to get back home?  Electric bike to the rescue.  Great Anniversary Gift.  We have been on a few rides this past week and are loving it.  Russ has to walk his bike up the hill - I see a change in bikes for him in the near future.  The best 5 miles on our last ride.  Our next goal is to Provo Canyon -  10 miles round trip.  Slow and steady but loving the ride!

We ended the month attending The Draper Philharmonic & Choral Societies performance of GEORGE WASHINGTON Ordained of God.  

my Sister, Pam

What a wonderful way to prepare for the 4th of July.  The music was so well done and the artists were fantastic.  We had such a fun evening with my Sister Pam.  We shopped for new bathroom flooring for her and then had a great dinner and off to Abravanal Hall in Salt Lake City for the Performance.  

We returned a few days later and installed her new bathroom flooring.  So glad to be so close that we can help and enjoy our time together.  

June was filled with family, friends, celebrations and Culture.  We started the month with visiting Mount Rushmore with the majesty and beauty of that historical place.  We ended with a tribute to George Washington and his experiences of his divine destiny in the shaping of America.

He said, "I have been chosen to lead the Continental Army.  It is destiny thrown upon me.  I could not refuse."  After several defeats in the fall of 1777 Washington encamped his men at Valley Forge for the winter.  He plead with The Lord to know what to do.  Men were leaving and Congress could not supply the help to keep them alive.  Men were dying, others missed their wives and their families.  They miss the homes they have built and the land that they plowed.  

"Thou hast preserved us for some purpose.  Will we stand with Thee now?  There is purpose in what we've done, how far we've come.  Thy hand hath brought us here for our freedom, our religion, our peace, our wives, our children.  How can we prevail?  Will we stand with Thee?  I never sought this role but Thou hast placed me in it.  And I have worked each day to do the best I can.  Will it be enough?  I cannot do it alone."

THE LIBERTY TREE

By Thomas Paine, 1775

In a Chariot of light from the regions of day,

The Goddess of Liberty came,

Ten thousand celestials directed the way, And

hither conducted the dame.

A fair budding branch from the gardens

above, Where millions with millions agree, She

brought in her hand as a pledge of her love,

And the plant she name The Liberty Tree.

From the east to the west sound the trumpet

to arms, Through the land let the sound of it flee,

Let the far and the near all unite with a 

cheer, In defence of our Liberty Tree.

The fame of its fruit drew the nations around,

Discarding all malice, they came.  With one 

spirit endured, they one friendship pursued,

And their temple was Liberty Tree.

But hear, O hear, 'tis a tale most profane, How

all the tyrannical powers, Kings and commons, 

lords of men, are uniting amain to cut down 

this guardian of ours!

Come, taste its fruit and find eternal joy and

peace from this Tree which sets us free.  

We will stand for independence, God-given rights, 

the right to worship when and where we 

please.  Give our thanks to God and sing! O,

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

I look forward to July - Let the celebrations begin.

The Grimmett's