One of the blessings that Gary's parents came home from Nauvoo with was a great group of eternal friends. Nauvoo has a great number of senior couples and Gary's parents loved the group which they served, worked, and played with. They gathered yearly for reunions from many many years until most had passed away or too ill to travel any more.
The pandemic has interrupted that process a bit for us since we served remotely for 6 months and even after we got here, we had to be cautious in gatherings and much of our interactions were still by phone, emails, and Zoom meetings. Slowly that has been changing and we are loving the relationships we are building with the sweet people we serve with. We have had people over for dinner and games, we have gone out to eat with other zone leaders, and be invited over to others' homes for food and conversations.
One special opportunity happened on September 10. The Twelmeyers (Linda and James from Ohio) picked the three of us up and we headed up American Fork canyon to join the Youngs (Joan and Mel from Holliday, Utah) at their family cabin. Youngs and Twelmeyers (along with Sister Elizabeth Audenart from Canada--she is still there because of Covid restrictions) serve as assistant zone leaders in our zone. We have grown to love them and know that we will have an eternal bond with them--in this life and forever.
Views from the deck overlooking the valley
Have Hat--Will Travel. I love this hat that Gary often wears outside.
Here some of us on the deck--not the best picture of people but the only real shot with the cabin in it.
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Elder Young on the left; Gary in the back, the top of Jena's head, Elder Twelmeyer
and the blond hair of Sister Twelmeyer.
Sister Young was inside preparing a delicious soup for dinner and insisted that she would do it herself. |
Gary decided to take a picture of me taking pictures--silly boy!
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| Now you can see Sister Twelmeyer... |
Aren't the greens of nature stunning?
and the yellow....
This is an earthen dam which was recently fortified so hasn't grown back some of the native plants yet.
The spillway and the small stream below---
Elder Young, who is a historian and story telling, is telling us a bit of the history of the area.
Their cabin is located in the Tibble Fork area. The area is restricted to the general public so it is a quiet place to enjoy the sounds and sights of the mountains.
This is Tibble Fork Pond--created to prevent flooding downstream and to provide irrigation and water to the valleys below. It is down to the ongoing drought. We saw many dead fish which people said were related to the increase in the temperature of the water due to how low it was. The pond is public and there were families and others fishing along the banks.
Mountains after mountains---made me think of the poor pioneers as they tried to reach the valleys in the west--one mountain to climb after another.
Okay---ducks' ends in the air makes me smile....
We took a hike around the lake. The first half was paved and we got to cross a bridge at the top of the pond.
That is Elder Young posing on the bridge....
Before we crossed, a group of bikers headed across to take the trail up and over a nearby mountain peaks.
Rock throwing--a must when you are near rocks and water of any kind.
Our selfie---my hair is going crazy as usual!
Elder Young led the Twelmeyers and me on a more "natural" trail to complete the loop of the pond while Gary and Jena headed back. Wise decision as it became a bit more tricky than we expected.
But it was beautiful!
We finished the loop around and headed back to the cabin for dinner and great conversation. Sister Twelmeyer said at one point, "This will be one of my treasured memories from our mission." I agree. It was a perfect evening!
The world is beautiful and to share it with friends and family is the best!
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