Cowboys and our best trek yet!

Monday for Family Home Evening we invited the ranch cowboys and their families for a BBQ and fun and games.  It was so fun to see lots of little and not so little ones playing and having a good time.  It was a bit windy (as it always is in Wyoming) so they had kites in the air, bubbles flying, and other fun activities.  One of our treks left these cute buffalo targets and bows made out of PVC and arrows out of dowels, pencil erasers, and duct tape.  They threw axes at a wooden stump and everyone seemed to enjoy the evening.  It was fun to watch the cowboys rope the little kids as they ran away squealing only to be caught by the foot and brought to the ground.  It brought back memories of doing the same thing with my Dad when I was young.

A 3 year old cowboy lassoing bubbles

Cowboy dinner

Tuesday found us getting ready for our trekkers.  One of the not so fun parts of this mission is cleaning the port a potties.  They are pumped on Monday and then we go in and spray down the walls and wipe them down..  Even though there is not stuff in them they still are in need of cleaning.  That seems to be the sisters job as the elders get the water buffalos ready to go.  I think I would rather do the buffalos!
Wednesday we were ready for our group to arrive at 10:30 but alas nothing.  We got a call that the "old" school buses they were coming on were having a hard time getting here.  They were overheating and would have to stop often.  While we waited Bob saw this little moose right in the area where the trek was about to begin.

Bob's moose at staging on trail 23

 This was also on the hottest day of the year so far and right after the death of a "Ma" on a trek in Oklahoma.  We did hear from many about that, and it was a very sad thing for them, but gratefully we had no major problems here.  It was very warm but they also had humidity to deal with and we do not.  The kids finally got here at 1:30 and it was worth the wait.  We trekked trail 23, which is one we have 4 times this summer.  They came from the Murray South Stake, and were very organized and prepared.  We had 9 handcarts with a Ma and Pa for each family with a handcart. They loaded everything onto their handcarts that were piled 2 stories high and headed out.  We made sure they stopped and drank and rested a bit about every 30 minutes.  It worked out well that cows were in their first day camp, Crane Hallow, so we stopped 2 miles short on day one but had to make it up on day 2.  These kids used big blue tarps instead of tents and it was very fun to see how creative they were in building shelters to sleep in.

Blue tarp city camp

The next morning we started out after each family did their cheer.  This was something they did at the beginning and end of each day.  They would make up a cute chant or song and do it for all the "families".  There is an area called "the Nordic drop" that drops about 250 feet in a short time and is a real challenge for the kids and the handcarts.  When I first saw it I said I would never take kids down that, but this is the second time we have done it and it was great.  The kids really learn how to work together.  We tie a large rope to the back of the handcarts and the kids pull back on both sides. There are only 2 up front to guide them down the drop.  To listen to the kids later it was one of the highlights of their trek.

The first part of the Nordic drop

We got into camp about 3 PM and then they did pioneer games.  It was so fun to watch and even participate in some of them.  They did stick pulls, leg wrestling, hoop game, three legged races, knife throw, bow and arrows, log cutting, a circle game on buckets, kind of like musical chairs.  All the trekkers bring 5 gallon buckets with their personal gear and then they sit on them at camp and for eating.  That night we had a hoe down and this was by far one of my favorite things to do.

Elder Call (L) Elder Barton (R) "sawing logs"

Bob even got up and danced.  These kids loved it and it was easy to see why the pioneers would sing and dance at the end of a long day of trekking, it truly lifts your spirit and energizes even old missionaries like us.  We stayed the last night at the Dairy Bowl, one of my favorite camps.  It is a big open area.  We had a great talk by the Stake President, President Childs, and then the kids were given an hour of solo time where they read their scriptures, wrote in their journals, prayed, and wrote on a Popsicle stick the sin or weakness they wanted to give up and remove from their lives.  They went off by themselves and there was absolute silence for one hour.  There was plenty of room in this large meadow and we even participated in the quiet time.  I think Bob mostly slept, but I filled my stick with things to change in my life.  That night they all threw their stick in the fire symbolizing how we can repent and give it to the Savior who has already paid the price for our sins and weaknesses.  Our last day out on this trail is one of the shortest.  We always love the kids and treks but we also like to get home a bit earlier than usual and this trail is one where that can happen, but they got notified that their "old" school buses would not get there until 1 or 1:30.  So much for an early out.  What they did, however was, they wanted to do a service project for the ranch.  Yeah!  we got shovels for them and they filled lots of badger holes with rocks and dirt.  It was fun to see the young ladies fill their aprons with rocks to throw down the badger holes.  It was great fun for them and great service for us.  One thing that made this trek so special, I believe, was all the music they used every day.  Music always brings the spirit to me and this was definitely a spirit filled Trek!

one of the many Sego Lilies in bloom right now

Today was Stake conference and it was a great meeting.  Much about missionary work, temples, and service, all things that mean a lot to both of us.  We had a great week and hope all of you did too.