holidays 08: Mormon Battalion Trek

Dec. 25th 2008

With every step, mud squelches between my blistered toes.  The straps of my packs & blanket are cutting painfully into my shoulders.  My bayonet wags uncomfortably every time I move my left leg.  My musket is slipping in my right hand,

 leaving red dye residue and moving old musicians' finger calluses to my palms.  Under my raincoat/poncho/trash bag I am hunched over; trying to hold up my waterlogged pants and skirts wit

h my free hand.  With every drop, I see rain creating ripples in the red lake that has invaded the desert.  I try to stay away from the knee deep patches.  I see only shrubs, mud and endless

 rain in all directions.  I ripped my jeans on the barbed wire we crossed years ago--or maybe this morning.  The rationed crackers and cheese seem like years ago too.  Water is dripping from my nose.  merry christmas.  

Dec. 26th 2008

Waking to a drum roll, I was surprised to see the sun had risen after monstrous storms at night.  The ground is once again hard, cracked and dusty (I wish my shoes could dry like that).  We made biscuits this morning for lunch in the dutch oven along with our cracked whea

t breakfast.  There are now rocks to diversify the trail; we have come upon hills and

 mountains.  In fact, we are in a forest, a saguaro forest.  It is unlike anywhere I have been or anything I have ever seen.  There are all kinds of cactus--tree & teddy bear cholla, hedgehog, barrel and of course the saguaros.  I ate 2 prickly pears today.  Kevin and Peter even pulled out a four-wheeler to drive Becky, Jane and Grams when there strength waned!  we sang and danced down the trails.  We feasted on stew, Grams's rolls and watched the stars appear across the wilderness.  We listened to Mormon Battalion stories by our three experts for 'date night' family home evening.  What faith those men must have had.  I am so grateful that I can honor them through retracing their steps.  I miss doing music things all day and eating fresh food (out of non-larded tin!).  

Dec 27th 2008

Nights are so cold here.  I am wearing 8 layers, in a 'Cat's Meow' sleeping bag that I cocoon myself in (except fro a 2'' diameter breathing whole.  There are blankets under me and on top of me, I am wearing 2 thick socks, hats and gloves.  and I am Freezing!  This morning, 2 families joined us to walk the day out.  As I furiously clapped my hands and feet in front of th

e fire (my rubber soles are melted in several places), I saw the newcomers walk in through the fog.  They were dressed in lovely pioneer dresses, clean and coiffed.  I am suddenly vibrantly aware of my appearance: my hair has been braided for several days now, mudded down in place, and enough hair has come loose that I have grown a halo of frizz.  I'm sure I smell horribly as I've been sitting in the fire most of the last three days.  about half of my layers stay on permanently... at least I've been able to wash my face.  someone calls my name and I look up... there is Sarah Lyman (good friend in my ward and dinner group the last semester).  We both burst out laughing.  What are the odds! our families are both crazy enough...?  Needless to say, I felt our walk was even more enjoyable today.

Dec 28th 2008

Today is my birthday.  Grams saved some dough last night and made cinnamon rolls in our dutch ovens.  It must be a special day  It is the sabbath too, and I say an extra long prayer of thanks to my Heavenly Father.  We drove to a little branch to worship.  The chapel is slightly bigger than our kitchen... but there is running water.   !   We 12 smoky bodies (doubling the  attendance) walk in, thinking we are early, and realize that they are closing their sacrament meeting.  We stay for the second hour (provided by us trekkers telling stories) and I forget how much we smell of smoke.  The Branch President offers to let us have our own sacrament meeting and we enthusiastically accept.  It is so beautiful.  I wanted to sing 'How Great Thou Art' over and over again.  at least they had me lead the music.  God is Gracious.  

Dec 30th   We finally arrived home.  Everything is so clean and beautiful.  there is my piano.  and my violin.  and a shower.  Adam cooks a dinner that we are all drooling over: mahi-mahi spinach sauce over rice.   and I have a bed to sleep on.  There is hot water without warming a kettle over fire.  I can change my clothes.  I have shelter from the wind.  I can turn on music in a stereo.   I can write music on my laptop.  I have a pillow.  There is beauty all around.  and I am again closer to my family.  

last pleasure-travel for 2008

Although I am obsessed with museums, lookout towers, historical monuments & other touristy things; my favorite thing to do while traveling is simply to walk around town. The architecture, the people, the roads, the street vendors, the animals, the lights, the cars.  Somehow, I feel as if I have taken a part in the culture of the new town.

We recently got back from touring NYC, Boston & Lexington, MA, Dartmouth, NH and Sharon, VT. The art museums that I got to spend hours in made my eyes& heart overjoyed and the airplane ticket worth it (MFA & Gardner in Boston, MET & folk in NYC--Gardner, although smaller, was perhaps my favorite). The historical walking tours in NYC, Boston, and Harvard made it an educational experience as history was made alive and I could be more appreciative and enchanted with the cities around me. The cathedrals, churches, and temples made me want to worship all the days of my life.

... but apart from those fabulous touristy things to do, I will always remember walking in each city.  gobbling up everything I could see, hear, smell, touch...

NYC. I have been here several times and always loved it. this time, it reminded me more and more of Europe with it's smell of smoke, urine, and gorgeous architecture piled together. walking alone down Broadway in the morning, the lights of Times Square, Columbus Circle, the eternal construction, the markets, the vendors. I spent a day with Grams (finishing up her mission there) going to the local markets, running up and down streets through the poring rain, diving through metro stops, exploring danger-zone-convents, and giving away a French Book of Mormon. On our last day there, Peter and I spent a while walking up and down 5th Ave and stopping at the Lindt, NBA, and street vendors.  mmmm.

MA, NH, VT.  One morning while staying in our Lexington B&B, I got up early to walk around for an hour or two.  The peaceful morning was refreshingly sweet with dew... I realized how much I love and miss the greenery in the grass, trees, hills, forests.  California and Utah are a little dry.   Boston is clean, open and inviting for a city.   It was wonderful walking up and down the commons, the gardens, making way for ducklings, and supporting the Friday market (I think we bought 7 cartons of blueberries), and the seafood :) The greenery and the colonial-style architecture was so blatant and different from everywhere I've lived but I loved it.  It has its own charm and unique spin full of history and I would love to come back.  

and Bookstores.  I forgot how much fun it is to curl up in a little nook and read.  and I loved the organization for Harvard's COOP: "Old, Curious & Cool," "Summer pleasure reading," "kids books for adults..."

Yosemite

Over the 4th, we went backpacking in Yosemite. The family on this trip consisted of Mom&Dad, Jane & I, Abe, and Hannah & Rebekah.  We dearly missed Adam and Peter... and the weight they could have carried.   In my opinion, the best part about it was the time we spent together and

 the beauty of being in nature.  

As expected in camping, sleeping quarters were cramped.  but after a restless night, I was not expected to wake up to a 'quick! you've gotta check out this bear!'  yes... he must have been the one walking around in the middle of the night.   As far as other animals, we saw 2 brown bears, 1 black bear, a handful of deer 

and ground squirrels and only a very few humans.  

Many of our trails crossed huge patches of burnt trees.  The only really beautiful thing about this was that the undergrowth in each of these patches was taking over splendidly.  I am so glad that God builds his ruined places and will heal all hurts, and in some cases, given two-fold.   

I loved being submerged in nature and with time to reflect and praise God.  It also gave me quality time with each 

of my siblings where I could discuss things from repentance to prayer to Lord of the Rings to controlling thought patterns.  

As we all do when out of our element, I learned several things about myself or at least was reminded of a few.  1. I love climbing on rocks.

 Abe, Hannah and I dropped 

off our bags a few times to scramble up to the top of different rock outcroppings.  2. I don't mind playing in mud and being dirty, but I love having clean hands.  3.  I love water!  ... another thing that I take for granted far too often.  Finding streams always raised the morale, and when the water supply ran short, we were all 

grumpy.

 4. A view is always worth the hike.  Nature brings so much peace.  I love being immersed in it.  

Cockles and Mussels 

In Dublin's fair city, where girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone as she wheeled her wheel barrow through streets broad and narrow, Crying Cockles and Mussels, Alive Alive Oh!

She was a fishmonger, but sure 'twas no wonder, for so were her father and mother before and they each wheeled their barrows though streets broad and narrow, crying Cockles and Mussels, Alive Alive Oh!

She died of a fever, and no one could save her, and that was the end of sweet Mollie Malone; her ghost wheeled her barrow through streets broad and narrow, crying Cockles and Mussels, Alive Alive Oh!