My Pioneer Trek Day 11 and 12

 

Beautiful Lake Tahoe!

I set out Wednesday morning headed for Lake Tahoe, the place I refer to when asked where I grew up.  It isn't completely accurate but that's a better answer than "Oh, around"

Sonoma Height Elementary School

Since this report has been chronological thus far, however, I won't get ahead of myself.  I will admit that a drive across Nevada is not exactly the height of adventure.  At least not for me, I did stop in Winnemucca though.  Two of my 3 children were born while we lived in Winnemucca and I couldn't resist driving around to see what I could remember and what was still standing, etc.  It made me feel a little sad, though I'm not sure why.  First, of course, I looked up the house we lived in.  It is easy to find.  It is on the corner of Bell and Harmony - a musical address.  I didn't take a picture.  It was painted a truly horrendous color of green, obviously a DIY job.  The paint job was awful and there were several motorcycles and broken vehicles parked outside.  AND the yard was beyond dead.  I laid the sod in that yard myself.  I drove my sedan out to the sod farm and loaded up as much as the shocks would bear into my trunk, drove to my house, unloaded the sod and then went back for more until I had enough to cover the yard. Then the kids and I laid the sod down.  My husband was on a fishing trip.  He came home to a transformed yard. It is a very small, old house and I didn't really expect it to be a showplace but I really didn't want to preserve a picture of what it looks like now.  Pictured are some of our old haunts.  Anna and Brenda went to Sonoma Heights Elementary School.  Anna had a memorable birthday party at Round Table Pizza.  Brenda had a particularly memorable birthday party at the city park across from the house on Bell street but it was a golf course right next to the expanded hospital.  Guess doctors in Winnemucca don't have enough to do.
Most of our grocery shopping was at Raley's.  From the outside it looks just the same to me.  The pharmacy looks nearly exactly but they now have an in store cafe which I'm sure did not exist!

 For "emergency" needs and for the best chorizos you've ever eaten we went to Uptown market - one block away from home.  The owners were friends of ours but I didn't go in.  I can't remember their names right now and I'm not assertive enough to risk it. 

 From there I headed for Lake Tahoe.  The drive was uneventful, except gas in Reno was a shocker - a dollar more than I paid in Minnesota!  Here is a current picture of the High School I attended.  It is bigger than it was ;-)  I graduated in a class of 27.  We had 300 students in the Junior High and High School combined.

Day 12 - Billy hauled out pictures and I started scanning.  Mom talked and we reminisced.  It was really fun.  Tina is hard at work arranging flowers but Billy (my brother) worked extra hours so he could be off work while I am here.  I feel so loved!!

Pictured here is my sister Brenda and baby brother Billy.  circa 1965

My Pioneer Trek, Day 10

Tuesday, Day 10

 So, I arrived Monday evening at my aunt and uncle's house.  What a lovely place they have.  Darrel's ranch has belonged to his family for 5 generations! I had a room with a view and my very own bathroom.   Aunt Carol had a photo album with every picture labeled!  On Tuesday I spent 8 hours scanning those photos.  Carol even took framed photos apart so I could scan those.  The whole time I was commandeering the greatest portion of her generous kitchen table she was making sure I stayed well fed physically and emotionally.  Aunt Carol shared family stories and information nearly nonstop.  I could write a book!  SO much fun!

My Pioneer Trek Day 7, 8 & 9

Saturday!! Day 7
Well, my Dad was a really good sport about this whole mission I am on. Of course I started talking about pictures/stories as soon as I arrived on Friday night - while he was trying to feed me.  He kinda flapped his hands a little and I could see he had his reservations about this project but he rallied and dragged out a lovely pile of treasures. I've posted a few interesting pics that I will not explain at this point - "Keep 'em guessing" is my motto.  I got so excited that my eyes popped open at 4:30 AM and I started scanning photos. 

Dad and Diane pushed food and drink at me at regular intervals.  They were a great tag team for identifying faces, places, and stories.  My father shared many interesting things about himself and his parents and grandparents.  In the meantime they pretty much waited on me hand and foot.  I managed to scan more than 500 photos by noon. 

Then we went to lunch at Chuck-a-Rama.That was a lot of fun.  We yacked and people watched and I ate too much.  ;-)
 Somewhere in there I also managed to get my laundry done - Thank you kindly parents.  And, no I didn't let my mom do my laundry even though she offered. I'd have to give back my grown-up card!

Sunday, Day 8.
I went to church with longtime (seems almost a lifetime) friend, Sue Brown.  Sue and her husband Mike have been the kinds of friends who pick up where you left off even when you haven't had contact for years.  We occasionally "meet" on facebook but that is minimal.  We had a lot of catching up to do and being able to attend church and meet the people who are a part of her life was a great way to do that.  On the spiritual side of things I need to note that I had 2 purposes when I set out on my Trek.  The first was to gather family history, connect with my ancestors, and reconnect with family and friends after finding myself disconnected through distance and laziness.  Then the second purpose was to heal my bruised soul after having a very difficult winter.  At this point I can't remember the specific talks or lessons (except the Relief Society lesson but that is a blog entry for another day) but I do remember the calm feeling of belonging and acceptance.  Both of these emotions have been battered by circumstance and neglect over recent years.  It was indeed a healing balm - thanks Sue (and Sue's Ward).

Monday, Day 9
 




Monday morning I headed for Wendover. 

I took a few pictures - and if a picture is worth a thousand words you don't need anymore of mine.

Lunch at someplace the locals refer to as the "Metro" it was actually named something else but the food was amazing and the company better.

 Next we went back to the Draper's house for cake, courtesy of Jessie's talents.


Happy Birthday Sara!

 While the kids ate Smurf cake and watched some cartoons the adults went through photographs.  Of course I didn't take photos of the photo perusal but I think I should have.  It was a little like Christmas.  Everyone sitting around with their own little pile of treasures saying "Oh look!  What do you suppose that was about?  Do you remember this?" and "Wow! I didn't know that!"

After going through the pictures I drove to Rush Valley to see Aunt Carol and Uncle Darrell.

But that's a story for another day.

My Pioneer Trek Day 6

 This tale begins with a prime example of how the little frustrating things in life can turn out to be an opportunity.  I was jetting down the highway after leaving Paonia, CO, hoping I'd chosen the best road to get to Salt Lake City.  I discovered that stretch of highway has an 80 mile an hour speed limit so I was having some fun playing with the cruise control on my new car.  I was just considering that I should make a pit stop for the call of nature (old lady euphemism, I know) when I realized I was passing a rest stop - on the wrong side of the road, with a semi between me and the exit.  Those of you who would like to see me make it to my next birthday will be glad to hear that I missed the exit.  The sign said "next services 60 miles" as I barreled past.  So, I'm thinking "I hope I can wait that long." Shortly after that I also began to realize that this is a part of the country I'd never seen before.  How could I have lived my whole life in Utah and traveled around the west without ever seeing this part of it?  I was playing with the idea of trying to take pictures while I was driving when I saw a sign ahead! It said "Harley's Dome View Area" and I was just in time to make the exit - go figure.  As I pulled in, I realized it also had a bathroom . . .  of sorts.  The reality was that it was the non flushing type and it was filthy.  I won't go into details.  I will just say that anyone who needs to sit down to go would not go in there.

While I stood there debating I looked around. The view, just standing by the john (I'm sure there's a John Bytheway quote in there somewhere), was spectacular.  I forgot all about the outhouse and it's problems - there was a hill to climb and I intended to take a picture from the top.  Halfway up I had to pause to huff and puff but climb I did.  It was so worth it.  The best part is that I got to see the view; I can share it with you; and I can mark "exercise" off my daily to do list.  Go team Jan!

 Then, as I came back down the hill I was thinking "I wonder if there is a geocache near here"  Sure enough I had just enough juice in my phone to find that there was a cache hidden with in .2 of a mile to the spot I was standing - then my phone died.  If you are familiar with geocaching you will know that it is pretty hard to find a cache without the gps function on your phone.  What to do, what to do.  I know!  I'll sit in my nice air conditioned car and charge my phone just enough to go and find that cache!!

 While I was thus engaged - a nice man came and cleaned the bathrooms - thoroughly.  I also met a nice couple from Oklahoma.  They were on a family journey of their own.  Their 99 year old relative who lived with them had recently passed away.  This lady's request was for her ashes to be scattered in Colorado.  This friendly and gregarious couple shared that they had never been to Colorado before and they were sure having a good time.  Their plan was to go to California and see the "big trees" on highway 1 and then return by way of Lake Tahoe which they had also never seen.  By the time all this information had been relayed the bathrooms were clean, I was refreshed AND my phone was at 36% charge.  I found the cache with juice to spare!

That was such fun I had to stop at the next spot as well.

 The rest stop was green and well kept with flowers and flushing toilets and everything. 

The hill was steep, very steep, and not paved but I climbed it.  Then I walked along the ridge at the top and took pictures to my little heart's content.  I even had company.  The lizard in the picture (can you find the lizard?) accompanied me along the whole way.  Well, it may have been one lizard and 10 or so of his fast little friends.  I couldn't really tell.

 Next, I stopped in Price for lunch.  I was looking for the way out when it occurred to me that I was probably pretty near Mount Pleasant.  I have been reading a biography written by my great, great, grandfather, James Monsen. In it he records about his father's part in founding the town of Mount Pleasant.  He writes about what it was like to be a child in this part of Utah in the 1860s and beyond and he talks at length about the town and people of Mount Pleasant and Sanpete County.  So I took a detour.  The drive itself was a lot of fun. 

 The marker below commemorates the massacre of the entire Madsen family.  The Madsens were also among those early settlers.


I will be writing details from Grandpa Monsen's history in my blog Tell Me a Smith Family Story  at smithoel.blogspot.com in the near future so I won't go into great detail here except to say that I was having a great time looking for places he had mentioned and seeing what had become of the place he loved so well.

In addition - it was Pioneer Day!  There was a parade just breaking up.  I wondered as I was driving in where all the traffic was going.  People in Utah seem to be in a big hurry to get someplace - just saying.

Peter Mogensen also known as Peter Monsen's name is about halfway down.  His history mentions many of these names. 

These little gold plaques explain when the building was originally built and for what purpose.  Many of these buildings were built during Grandpa Monsen's childhood in the area.

I know that my Grandfather was watching my progress this day,  hoping to share some of the joys he experienced.  I'm grateful for his loving diligence in providing a written history to help me connect with our family's inspiring accomplishments.  I'm also grateful for this opportunity to become better acquainted with my ancestors.

My Pioneer Trek Day 5 - Udy's House

I have to begin this post with a clarification.  Brenda did not refer to herself as a firefighter.  She is a dispatcher who has had some experience in the field and hopes for more.  In my head as she talked it is a team effort and so I clumped the whole team together as firefighters because those who actually deal with the fire can't do the job without the other members of that team.  My sweet, honest girl wanted to be sure I don't misrepresent what she does.  ;-)

Cookie, overseeing my progress

Now - for day 5 of my Trek.  It was a quiet day.  I was able to catch up with some reading and some writing I need to be working on.  I had help.

 Daevius and I had a chance to hang out a little while he supervised the dogs.  It was fun to talk about his favorite things to do.  Then in the evening Daevius and I went Geocaching together.  My phone died before we could find the cache but Daevius was patient about it and I met one of his friends - a bonus!

These two sweet girls also have kept me company while I visited.  Mazzie (sp?) and Tippers made sure to keep a close eye on all of my activities.  Even to the point that Mazzie began acting protective of me. I feel so loved

 I had fun "helping" Derek make German Chocolate Cupcakes in honor of his twin's birthday.  It seems that this is one of his favorites.  The bone truth is that aside from giving lots of opinionated advice, I didn't help at all.  The cupcakes were delicious and completely vegan.  I can't wait to make some at home.  Derek's brother and his daughter (and the dog) arrived for a visit.  Dustin is every bit as friendly and welcoming as Derek is.  I think it is their upbringing.  I have met their mother.

 Brenda made spring rolls. They were awesome and I was even able to be a little helpful with those since I make them at home as well.  It was one of the wonderful moments when the mom has a chance to learn some things from her grown up daughter.  I learned a few tips for ingredients I'd never thought of.  Brenda likes sweet potatoes in spring rolls - yum.  And I sincerely hope I can duplicate her peanut sauce recipe.