Trip to Kennicott Copper Mine

After the Pioneer Day Parade the four of us drove up to the Kennicott Copper Mine - hey, today was free so why not join the croud and take a good look. I've always wanted to see that gigantic hole in the earth and I was impressed with the size of the operation, but I still don't like what they've done to the mountains. However, they do have a plan to reclaim all the mine tailings and are doing it right along as the operation moves along. They operate those huge trucks and scoops 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and with the price of copper and gold as high as it is today, the operation is making a pretty good profit. We were lucky to be standing by the railing when they blew up a section towards the bottom of the pit. They drill their holes 50 feet deep, pack them full of explosives, stop all traffic and set 'er off. Talk about a dust cloud!!

Pioneer Day Parade

July 24 is Pioneer Day so we enjoyed the parade with missionary friends from their 2nd floor balcony. The parade route went right down the street in front of our apartment complex so we had a great view and it was in the shade! Thousands of people camped out all along the route the entire day and night before the parade in order to get viewing spots under the shade of trees. The parade lasted two hours - what a fun experience!

Sister Johns Is Going Home

 After struggling for several weeks with various health issues, Sister Johns' doctor advised her (strongly) to terminate her mission and move into an assisted living apartment where she can be looked after around the clock. We will miss her and her positive attitude as she has set a high standard of dedicated service for all of us these past several months. She's been the mission's matriarch and is loved by all - she's 85 years old. Shown with us are Elder McMurtry and Sister Hawkley

Mongolian Language Team Leads

We were invited to dinner with our Mongolian Language Team Leaders, Brad and Jagga. They have a beautiful home and five beautiful children.

Eileen Visits Mom in St. George

Eileen wanted to spend some time with her mother to make sure she was doing fine and taking care of herself. They spent a week together making a quilt for Camilla, trying out local restaurtants and visiting non-stop. Camilla's favorite color is pink so her quilt is........pink!

4th of July Weekend

It cooled down about 10 degrees over the long weekend so we decided to take a trip to the Golden Spike National Monument at the north end of the Great Salt Lake. I can only imagine how miserable those rail road workers must have been working in this desert heat as the raced to lay the transcontinental track.

We arrived just in time to see both engine replicas brought together as they appeared for the photo session commemorating the rail road's completion.

Not quite ready to return home, we decided to take the short 1 1/2 mile hike along the old rail road bed to see some of the obstacles the 'graders' faced in this part of their effort. The two companies actually 'graded' parallel beds (they got paid for miles built) for 250 miles before Congress decided where the west and east would come together at Promontory Point. Here is the 'Big Fill' that the west bound crews built next to the wooden trestle that the east bound crews built. When all was said and done the 'Big Fill' route was selected as the safer route and the trestle was left to deteriorate.

If you look closely you can see where the crews drilled into the rock and placed dynamite to blow up the rock as they worked to build this cut for the track.

Barry & Diane Drop in for a Visit

     Every year for the past 15 or so years we have gotten together at the cabin with our friends from Texas and Nebraska. This year, because of our mission call, Dock lined up a time-share in Park City and both couples were planning to visit us in Salt Lake. However, Dock's office manager left the company for another job leaving them with no alternative but to stay home and look after their business.
     Barry and Diane drove up to Mizzula, MT for a few days of fishing and relaxation, and on their way home swung by here for four days of good visiting, laughing and telling tall tails (like how many fish Barry said he caught vs. how many he really caught).
    We got to show them around our 'campus' and explain every thing we have been doing for the past nine months (where has that time gone?) First we walked around the little Brigham Park and then across the street to Temple Square so they could see the temple cut away in the south visitor's center. For dinner we went to the Garden on top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and got seated next to the windows for a super view (looking right into the setting sun over the Great Salt Lake). On Sunday they drove down and met us for the Tabernacle Choir performance (Music and the Spoken Word) and walked around the Square until it was time for us to leave for our Sunday meetings.
     On Monday they drove back to Salt Lake for another afternoon and evening of touring, visiting and a nice dinner at Thai-phoon. After a rather warm walk back to Temple Square we took a horse carriage ride up to Memory Grove - what a neat way to spend an evening with good friends.
     On Tuesday we drove up to Park City in the afternoon and walked up and down main street of Olde Towne Park City. Barry treated us to a nice fish and steak dinner and then it was time to say good bye for another year. Hopefully Dock and Debbie will be able to join us next year - we missed them a lot.