Bearing Testimony- Lynda

On Christmas Eve a young lady stopped on her way to Cedar City.  She wanted to talk to the Missionaries.  So she came into the MOR (Missionary Observation Room) and said that she was taking the challenge that Elder Anderson had given in General Conference. That challenge was to bear testimony of Jesus Christ more often.  So she wanted to share her testimony of the Savior, to the Missionaries at Cove Fort.  It was such a sweet testimony. She cried and we cried as we felt her spirit and the Spirit of our Heavenly Father.  What a great way to remember the birth and sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ.

 I had another couple stop that day from Delta. They were meeting their son on the bus from Las Vegas.  I took them through the Fort and told them they seemed to be really nice people.  They said that many people would probably not agree with me. I wonder how many times we judge people by their outside appearance and not look deeper into their hearts. They told me, that they really were nice people ,and thanked me.  They accepted an offer for the Missionaries to come and bring them a Book of Mormon.  I know that I am going to change and look at people differently because we are all Heavenly Father's children.  

Another man, a non-member, who was an executive in a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise, came to the Fort recently.  We talked a great deal about the Chruch.  He had a accountant that was a member.  He mentioned that he was very impressed by his friend and had watched the members in his neighborhood in California. He also said that sometimes the members seem to forget their neighbors and leave them out. They seemed to be so caught up on their own activies that they often forgot to include his children or family.  Another lesson for me to remember. I need to befriend all my neighbors and not be so caught up in my own little circle of member friends.  Well enough of the preaching. These are things I need to work on in 2011. 

I hope that all of you blog readers had as wonderful a Christmas and holiday season as I did.  May the Lord bless you in 2011.  I love my Savior and am looking forward to 2011 as "Another Great Year to serve at Cove Fort"!

Festive Cove Fort (Mike)

The days have been going by fast, the weather this winter has been mild for Cove Fort, with temps In the 40’s and even 50’s some days. We have reached our goal of 1,300 referrals and are surpassing it daily. While things are a little slow, the men have been busy making the spinning toys we give away to each family. We work in our shop, and have have made around 20,000 of them from river birch which we cut in the mountains near here. Lynda and I also made toys for the grand kids… Airplanes and Jacobs Ladders.


I have had at least one family each day asking to have the missionaries come by their home to deliver either a Book of Mormon or a video. Some are requesting to be taught by the missionaries; others who request the Book of Mormons probably will be taught also when the missionaries stop by. We are lucky to get one tour a day each with the lower numbers of visitors. The power went out for a couple of days after a heavy snow storm, and the power went out at the gas station on I-15, so they sent their customers here to use restrooms. We have a large diesel generator that keeps us operating. We ended up getting 195 visitors on one day and 150 on the next day. We weren’t even planning to open because of the weather, but it turned out to be some of our best missionary days.

This Christmas season has been fun, with festive decorations all around and much good will. We had bell ringers from Milford come and entertain us. They were great. We also attended the Forgotten Carols in Richfield. We all got together on Christmas Eve for dinner, then again for breakfast Christmas morning. Christmas night, we got together for dinner, and played games. It’s been fun with this great group of missionaries we have here for the winter. They will be forever friends.

Kitty Landon stopped in for a visit today. She had been in St. George area visiting Rod and his family for Christmas. It was good to see her.

We were hoping to reach our goal of 75,000 visitors this year. It looks like we will make it, we only need around 150 more.

I know that Church member daily pray for the missionaries, that they will be led to the honest in heart. That is exactly the people who are prompted to stop here daily. They come and feel of the spirit and want to know more. The gospel net if functioning well at Cove Fort.

Great Day and Snow (Mike)

Today was a good day. We started the morning moving snow. I ran a power snow broom and cleared all of the walkways. We delayed opening the fort until ten.

I went out to start opening up at nine thirty and noticed a couple of young men parked on the far side of the parking lot. I went over and welcomed them and offered a tour. They were from San Diego and both of them were shivering in the cold wind. I waited until they got their warmer coats and walked with them to the movie room. They told me that they were on their way to Colorado to meet some friends and go skiing. They were both college students in San Diego. I showed them the Cove Fort video and took them on the tour. They were both full of questions about the fort and the Church. The tour took a long time and we hadn’t even opened for tours yet, so I had all the time we needed to teach them about the church. Both were very sincere and wanted to learn more. They each filled out a referral card requesting a Book of Mormon and the missionaries to come and teach them.


The day ended with four referral cards and around sixty visitors, mostly members of the church. We have mostly church members stopping in for tours and not so many nonmember tourists since the cold weather started.

We just got back from Richfield grocery shopping and plan to stay home on our P day tomorrow.

The weather forecast for tomorrow night is Blizzard conditions with possible five inches of snow and forty mile per hour winds.....We’ll be moving snow on Wednesday with below zero temperatures. Sounds like fun.......good thing I went and got some good long johns.

Snow (Mike)

We got our first snow storm. It was coming down heavy as I closed the fort last night. I couldn't believe it...just as it started snowing and the sun was going down, people started coming in. We had to conduct tours by flash light. One of my tours yesterday was a minister who gave me a referral to send the missionaries and a Book of Mormon to her house. She has a congregation in Oklahoma.....they are Messiahonic Jews......Jews who believe in Christ, they have a Rabbi who is their leader. As I took she and her husband on the tour, I raised some questions that really made her think.....I taught her about temples and temple work, the restoration, and eternal marriage, maybe something will come of it.

As I finally closed, two cars pulled in looking for a place to stay to get out of the blizzard. One was a girl who was returning from Iron Man competition and the other was a man, a member from Uraguay, who had been here before. We put them up for the night. The girl filled out a referral card for the missionaries to come to her home. It was a wild night. We had only 45 visitors yesterday, but lots of success on referrals....five I think.
Today we had only 15 visitors, but nine referrals.
Sunday, we had 256 visitors, and some neat experiences. most of us had six tours, which kept us running the whole time. We had fun all day.
This mission is the greatest!

Fall Days (Mike)

As we move closer to winter, the numbers of people have been getting smaller. All of the summer missionaries have returned home except those of us who were asked to extend. We only run two shifts now with the nine couples who are still here. The leaves are falling and the days are getting cool, but the weather has been wonderful so far. The forecast is for snow today and the rest of the week.


Even though the numbers of people are dropping off, we have still been getting near one hundred people a day and good member and non member referrals....probably because we can spend more time with them.

Yesterday was especially good we had over two hundred and fifty visitors, mostly members and just a few nonmembers. I had two non member tours and both of them wanted the missionaries to come. Both tours were from California. The first was a man and wife who where of Caribbean Island ancestry. They were neat people, and will make good members some day. They let me know that they were active in their Christian church, but they desired a Book of Mormon and a video.

The other non member was a single lady traveling home to California. She was really interested in the Book of Mormon when I explained what it was, and wanted the missionaries to come and teach her more. She didn’t claim any religion.

I had one member tour where a man and his family of teenagers came through on a tour. At the end the father filled a member referral out for his sister. As he was filling it out, tears started rolling down his cheeks and he said,” I’m going to just call her.” He called her on his cell and said, “Sis, would it be alright if I send you a video, and have the missionaries bring it.” She said, “Yes.” The whole family was excited, because the sister had never allowed any contact from the church.

Each day since my last writing on my birthday on the 22nd, I have had at least one nonmember who requested the missionaries to come and teach them....this is great.

We have been having fun after hours. We had a date night at the twig. Travis Kessler and his family joined us. We just had good food and festive decorations and spent time visiting and laughing like old people enjoy doing.

The other day we took one of the couples out to warm springs and to Kanosh to show them around. We ended up at Cuffs Drive in for good food. We were shopping in Richfield and met up with the Halls at Steve’s Steak house for a great meal. The winter wind is howling around the house, and we are expecting snow today. We are keeping warm and having a great time. This has been a totally fun and spiritual experience and I don’t know when I have enjoyed anything more.

Red Letter Day at the Fort (Mike)

Today was a great day for missionary work. I had a couple from Kentucky that stopped at the fort early this morning. They were a mother and son who had just been to California. He was probably in his forties and she in her seventies. They were country people at heart and really appreciated the artifacts in each of the rooms. They loved everything about the fort including what I told them about the church. They had some family who were members and a new LDS church had been built just down the street from the Mother. The spirit was strong and they wanted to know more about the church and have the missionaries come to their homes plus The Book of Mormon and Together Forever videos. As they left, they told me that the tour of the fort was better than anything they experienced in California.

My next tour was a father and son from Medicine Lodge Montana. They were headed for Flagstaff AZ. They were checking out a job contract there and decided to stop at the fort. They also had some members of the church in their family, but didn’t know much about it. The son played college football in Montana and was quite big guy, but soft spoken and humble. As we went on the tour, they were also touched by the spirit and they told me that the son had just been in a bad accident and come out without injury. They gave credit to God for that. As I told them all about the church, the restoration, temples, families, etc. The father said, “You know, The Lord sent us here” I have heard that so many times. It is neat when people recognize that prompting and where it comes from. I bore testimony of the truth of what they were feeling, and they both filled out a card for the missionaries to come and teach them. Both requested the Book of Mormon and Videos. It’s possible for me to put a trace on these referrals and find out what happens. I’m going to do it in both of these cases. It would be neat to know.

Apple Cider / Surprise Special Guest - Lynda

This is President Leonard and his wife, and Elder Richards of the 2nd Quorum of 70 and his wife. They surprised us and caught us making Apple Juice with the Cove Fort Cider Press.

Making Apple Juice / Special Visitors - Lynda

Today after our shift the morning crew decided to pick the apples before they froze and make Apple Juice. The Elders started the picking of the apples and picked about 10, five gallon buckets of apples. We were going strong so we decided to pick the rest of the apples. Elder Mike shook the trees and the Sisters gathered the apples as they fell on the ground. We picked about 15 more buckets full. So we had plenty of apples. We were in the middle of the final round of pressing the apples when a car pulled up. It was our Mission President, President Leonard his wife and Elder Richards from the 2nd Quorum of 70 and his wife. They were coming from a Zone Conference and decided to stop at Cove Fort. They enjoyed a taste of our apple juice and took some apples and juice home. I was given the task of taking their pictures in front of the Cabin. Well we needed a picture of our Mission President so I excused Elder Richards and told him I didn't need a pic of him alone. Then I realized I had just told a G.A. to take a hike. So I appologized and offered to take their picture also. He just laughed and said they really didn't need their picture taken again anyway. Boy did I feel stupid. It was such a fun day. Check out the pics.

Fence Runner

The other day I had the opportunity to take a fence runner through the Fort. Those that park outside of the parking lot and come by the fence toward the Fort are Fence runners.  Well this fence runner was a truck driver from Florida.  He likes to stop at historic spots as he travels.  He had a thick Polish accent and has been in the country since 1996.  He is a brilliant man. He has two degrees in Mechanical engineering. One in Poland and one here in the States.  He lived in Chicago for quite awhile and that is where he went to college.  Anyway he had had an experience with some company  that was less than honest and so he said he couldn't work for a company that was that way so he quit. Then he moved to Florida and ended up as a truck driver doing long hauls because of the economy and no one hiring in his field. 
He let me know up front that he was Catholic. I told him I like people of all faiths.  He is doing a picture journal and writing a book about all the chapters in his life that have meaning.  He chose to stop that day at Cove Fort. So he took tons of pictures. As we moved from room to room the Spirit got stronger and stronger.  As we got to the Lady Travelers room or "light room" we talked about the Book of Mormon. I asked if I could give him a book and he said sure.  Then as we talked in the "best room" I bore my testimony of Eternal Families and temples.  He just kept asking more and more questions.  I'm not sure I know what I said but when we got to the Book of Mormon display he wanted a copy and a Restoration Video.  He said that God had brought him there today. He couldn't quit thanking me for sharing the feelings and love of the Gospel  with him.  When I gave him the toy he told me he would treasure it as much as the time another person had given him  their Rosery beads. On the white card he even called me an angel.  This was one of the neatest tours I have taken.  The gospel can bring happiness and peace to everyone. 

Tonight I called on another Buff Card that Bryson, my grandson, had given me. The dad gave permission for the  Missionaries to come to bring some videos to their family.  I love my grandkids. They are such great examples of Missionary work to their families.

Beaver Mt. P-Day (Mike)

For my birthday we spent one day fishing on Beaver Mt. and took some beautiful fall pictures after our shift.  The next morning, went to St. George to check out the power steering on the car. They have to order a new pump, so we will have to go back on Tuesday. While we were waiting in St. George we went to The Bear Paw for breakfast, what a feast! Then we did some grocery shopping at Costco and other places.

The next day I had some great tours. In both cases they were non members, and after the tour both young couples requested to have the missionaries come and bring a Book of Mormon and teach them more.

The weather turned nasty today Oct. 24. We are gearing up for snow tomorrow night. Our visitor numbers are holding at just about one hundred a day.
On my birthday, we had a dinner, for the missionaries who are leaving from the last of the summer help. It was a nice time to say good bye to them.

We had thirteen non member referrals that day. The director, Elder Baldwin asked jokingly if we would try real hard to get ten.

Today was rainy and windy but still we had 151 people stop by. I had one nonmember tour with a mom and college age daughter. The mom commented on the strong peaceful feeling she felt in the fort. She let me know that she already knew plenty about the Mormons, Probably a lot of misinformation, and would not take a Book of Mormon or a video. She did take a packet of information. We are having a great time here and enjoying every minute.

Beaver Mt. was beautiful yesterday. The fishing wasn't up to much, but the scenery and fresh mountain air made it a great afternoon.

Fall is Here (Mike)

It looks like the weather is going to keep getting cooler and rainy with a little snow in the higher mountains. This is my kind of weather. As I watch the hunters coming through, it makes me a little itchy to join them.....maybe in another year or so .........

Our Little Cove Fort House (Mike)

This is our little home for the rest of the mission. It's nice and warm and fully furnished. It's great.....we love it here. Today we had some awesome tours with people who want more out of life.....and have just found it, here at Cove Fort......they want the missionaries to come and tell them more. The last few days have been out of this world. We have less visitors now.....less than one hundred a day most days, but people who are searching and finding. We have more time to share what we have.

Great Teachers

Great teachers: Mr. Anderson, AG Nilson, and Mr. Brough

We had a great time at the class of 65 reunion. This is number 45 and don't we look good! Mr. Bough, AG Nielson, and Mr. Anderson, were there. It was good to see them again and remember old times. We graduated with 105 class members. Maybe more will show up for number 50.

Rainy Days and more success (Mike)

A couple of days ago, we awakened to a downpour of rain, I was on the early shift so I put on my hat and long raincoat and started opening the fort and buildings for tours, not expecting to see anyone that morning. As I went around turning on the caution lights, opening the gates and other buildings, a car parked along the fence and a man got out with an umbrella and walked toward me. We met and talked in the rain for a while. It turned out that he was a member who had been to the fort before, and loved the place. I asked him to wait a few minutes while I finished opening up and I would take him on a tour. Also along the fence was a small motor home with a man just coming outside with his umbrella. He explained that he was a newly retired Merchant Marine sea captain, heading for New York, and he would like a tour. We joined the other man and I started them watching the Cove Fort movie  in the theater  while I finished opening. After the movie, I took them on the tour and explained the gospel to Patric, the Sea Captain, who was Roman Catholic. As we finished the tour, Patric requested the Book of Mormon and the Missionaries to come to his home to tell him more. The spirit was strong that cold rainy morning. It rained all day and we only had about 75 visitors.

I had a second tour that day that was quite interesting. It was a member family from Sandy UT who had been at the fort earlier this summer. As we finished the tour, I gave them the usual opportunity to fill out a member referral form for a nonmember friend or relative. The mother said she wanted to fill one out. As she was writing, she said that when they were here earlier this summer, she had filled out a card for a neighbor, and that she had already been taught by the missionaries and had joined the Church. Now she was filling out a card for another neighbor. It's nice to see that our efforts here at Cove Fort are rewarded.


Today we had P day, I took my ten mile bike ride. What a beautiful morning it was! Some of the missionaries have been hearing elk bugle and I saw a big bull a couple of days ago grazing along the road as I was riding my bike. We did the laundry and just worked around the apartment still putting things away. We went to the trailer and got it ready for the winter, then traveled to Beaver for some groceries. When we returned, the Halls joined us at our apartment for dinner.

Trip Home to get ready for Winter (Burr) - Lynda

Well we just got back to Cove Fort from a fun fast trip home to get things to do us for the next year and the Winter. It was fun to see family and friends. The weather was beautiful all week. We have the best friends and family a person could ever have. On the way home we stopped at Burlington Coat Factory in Orem to get me a winter coat. I was able to find two winter coats and a light jacket. Mike also found a light weight

coat to wear bike riding.

Sunday morning we met with friends at Church. We didn't get to talk to all we wanted to but that is because they were busy in their callings. Way to go!!!
Sunday evening all the kids and grandkids came up to see us. It was so fun to have the house full again.

On Monday, after we got our Flu shots, had Mike's Dr. appointment, then got the oil changed on the car. We then took a detour up to Yellowstone. It was a beautiful afternoon. The elk were bugling and rounding up their cows. It was as much fun to watch the rangers trying to keep the elk away from the public. What a fun diversion.

On Tuesday we did the Eye Doctor thing, and helped JoAnn who was at the Hospital for a test.The rest of the day was cleaning around the house and yard. Steve had done a great job with the house and yard. But you know how there are always extras to do to get things ready for fall .We also found ourselves in Shelley doing the car registration thing.

Wednesday was shopping day and more shopping. I was able to have lunch with Linda Krupp, Julie Staley, Marcell Baker, and Michelle Hallam for Linda's Birthay. It was fun to get caught up on what is happening in the Stake and with this amazing women.
Wednesday was also the day for  more details to take care of. I spent part of the evening with Belva and getting stuff for her camping trip. She is such a great friend.

 Thursday more shopping and details to take care of. While at the post office I met up with my friend and ex -co-worker Carolyn Harding so I got caught up on my School Friends. I watched my grandson Tyler at his Karate class. He is very good. It was fun to see him perform. That night Belva had some of our friends over for dinner. It was great to see the Crockets, Escotts, Neitzels, Kitty, and Poulsens. We have such great friends and we all shared some very special spiritual experiences. I love getting with them I always leave feeling sooo good. It's wonderful to have such great friends that are spiritual giants. I'm just sorry the Andrus' couldn't be there. They were in route from their mission in Kirtland and we missed them by one day. They are such great examples to us.

Friday we spent finding a winter hat for Mike, and packing part of the car.  Jo Ann and Andrea and family came up to spend the evening. I will miss my grandkids and love each one of them sooooo much. But I know that this is where my Heavenly Father needs us to be and has blessed our family because of our service.

Saturday morning we drove back to Cove Fort, It was like coming home. As we listened to General Conference and Pres. Monson talked about how there was such a great need for Missionaries and Senior Missionaries, I knew that we are where we need to be at this time. We are loving our Mission and know that our Heavenly Father loves us is watching over us and our family. We sure appreciate our Director for letting us go home for a short time.

When we returned. Dave and Family stopped by again to stay with us again. They had a wonderful trip.

Now it's time to get back to work serving the Lord at Cove Fort.
Today when we finished our shift we made some calls on our member referral cards, one that Dillon, our grandson gave us, turned into a Yes! card. Thanks Dillon for being such a great missionary. Another one that Mike had was also a "Yes".
On Mike's tour today the people had been to Cove Fort earlier this summer. They told him that they had given us a member referral (buff card) on that trip, the person they had referred, to the Missionaries, had been baptized. Those names you give to us, that we send on to the Missionaries, are very important. If you are thinking about them when you are here then you are being prompted to give us their name because they are ready to receive the gospel.
If you come by this way. Stop in and say hello! We miss you all. Thanks for making our short trip home a fun and memorable one.

Some great friends that have stopped by! (Lynda)

We have had some great friends stop by to see us this summer. Here are just a few. I wish I had had my camera to get all of them. My friend Lynette Cowley - She is just one day older than me, stopped by the other day. It was so fun. The Trosper Family came by on their return from their trip to California. It was great to see Kristen, Greg and family. Sorry I didn't get a pic of them. I hope Dave and Jenni will send me a pic of us with them. I already had my camera packed to go home when they came. We did get pics of these friends. This is Olin Barkdull, The Crockets, the Hansen's from Shelley - They brought us some Potatoes !! Yum! and a newly found cousin from Canada. He is related to Sister Johnson and me on the Esplin side, thru the Orville Southerland Cox family. My extended family thinks I am on this mission to get info from all the relatives that stop. It's been amazing how much I have really gotten. This kind of geneology and family history is fun to do. I don't know why part of this is underlined. Oh well I'm still learning about posting.

Testimony Trip / Baptism Trip - Lynda

I've been meaning to share an experience with you. A few weeks ago (Labor Day Weekend) a family stopped and wanted a tour. The girls wanted to change clothes before the tour.  They came out wearing Pioneer clothes.  This was a Baptism Trip for their eight year old before her baptism.  They were from Grand Junction, Colorado. This family takes a testimony trip each year to a Church History site with their family. When one of their children turn eight they take that child and the sibbling just older on a Baptism trip.  This eight year old chose Cove Fort and the sites around St. George.  It was so fun to take her and the family, she had many questions because the family hadn't ever been to Cove Fort.  We had a great time both in the Fort and in the outbuildings.  She got to experience a fun pioneer day.  Their family has been to Nauvoo, Palmara, Kirtland and now Cove Fort.  It was so fun for me to participate in this family event. They took many pics of us doing all the fun things. I wanted to share this idea with all of you, along with a pic of this cute family. It is fun to see families doing what they can to stay close to family and making lasting spiritual memories.

Lots of visitors (Mike)

September 24th, 2010




We are busy moving into our apartment for the winter. It’s a nice little place, and will be comfortable this winter. We will be spending our first night here tonight. Dave and his family are coming here on their way to Disney Land, and will stay in our trailer tonight, and again on their way home. It will be good to see them again. We are heading back to Idaho to get our winter supplies and clothing. We will be back in Cove Fort on the second of October.

Yesterday, we had three hundred kids from Richfield here at the fort. They had a great time. At the end of the day, we counted over 500 visitors.

Wed, I had a grandfather, son, and grandson from Las Vegas, stop at the fort. We were super busy, so I started them in the video and went to help some other visitors, and as it turned out, I was the one who took them on the tour. I taught them about the gospel as we went on the tour. At the end they commented about the spirit they felt and wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon and some videos. They also wanted the Missionaries to come and teach them. The son said that he had lost faith in Christ, and it was time he got it back. The Grandfather said, “The Lord sent us here today.” He went on to say that he had missed the I-70 exit, and that he had made this trip many times and had never missed it before. Because they missed the turn, the fastest way back was by way of Cove Fort, so they stopped for a tour.

Kanab and the Cowboy Coral (Mike)

Saturday 18th, we traveled to Kanab and attended the funeral of Lynda’s aunt Ramona, who was the last of Grandpa Esplin’s family. As it turned out, in her later years, she had married the father in Law of Carol Graff, a girl that I dated in Collage for quite a while. She was one of the speakers in the funeral. It was good to see her again. We took Karl and Sue with us, and had a good time traveling with them.


We returned to Cove Fort just in time to leave again and go to Elsinore for dinner at the cowboy Corral, They serve a steak dinner for ten bucks with live entertainment and dancing. They had such a large crowd that they moved the entertainment onto the sidewalk and the dancing was in a coned off section of the street. It was a fun evening. All of the missionaries went over for the last time. Many of them are heading home today....the summer season is over. We’ll miss them.

As we were finishing our shift yesterday, we took a tour out that consisted of a young couple that had just been to St. George and had been to all of the historic sites there. They had already filled out referral cards there, so my streak of tours with cards ended with fifteen.

After finishing that tour, I saw some people in the parking lot, and went over to talk to them. It turned out to be Mary Kay and Richard Cody, the singers. They had their spouses with them and had just been playing some engagements in California. I had never met Richard....he is my cousin from Heber City. I talked to them about coming to Cove Fort Days next year. They didn’t commit yet, but I told them I would be sending them an invitation.

Twitchell Canyon Fire (Mike)

There is a controlled burn supposedly being watched over by the Forest Service. It has been going on all summer. They were trying to burn out insect killed trees and underbrush. The wind came up yesterday and things got out of control. We are hoping the wind doesn't change and send it our way. They now have many men and pieces of equipment including helicopters, trying to contain it before the wind returns this week end. They had to close I-70 yesterday, and overnight becaust of poor visibility.

We took an excursion out west of Kanosh to see the Warm Springs, and I was surprised to see how things have developed since I was a boy swimming out there fifty plus years ago. We used to ride horses there for a nice swim in the old days, and later in cars. The water is nice and warm in the main spring, and they have even added a diving platform. The other spring has been cleaned up and is good for soaking the joints in good hot water......even though all we can soak now are our feet , these guys in the picture are enjoying it.

 

Tours at the fort are still going great. Ten more couples are heading home this week end. That will leave us a bit short handed for a while until the tourist season drops of for the winter. I still have my string of fifteen tours in a row that produced a referral card.....that's unheard of, I don't suppose the string will last much longer.

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Beaver Mountain (Lynda's Birthday) (Mike)

September 8th, 2010




Had a fun day on the 6th. Started with Laundry! Yuck, Then the road trip began. Up Beaver canyon to Puffers Lake, and Lake Lebaron. I had memories of camping at Lebaron Lake with Dennis, and my mom and dad when I was about seven or eight years old. It is a beautiful place. We tried to fish…. fish weren't biting. A man asked me where we were from, I turned and he saw my missionary badge. He said oh you’re missionaries. I didn’t know missionaries could go fishing. I said oh, we can go fishing, we just aren’t allowed to catch any. The Scenery was spectacular and we saw about twenty head of deer, and many more deer hunter camps. Got to Richfield about 9:30. Wendy's drive in gave us a pretty good hamburger….nothing else was open at that hour. It was a fun day with my best friend. It was her birthday.

I took my ten mile bike ride this morning as the sun was rising. Fall is in the air and the birds are flocking….thousands of swallows are lining the power lines getting ready to go south. I saw a flock of blue jays as they flew and flashed brilliant blue in the rising sun.

Things are slowing down in the fort….only about a hundred people a day now. I noticed that I have gotten at least one referral….. member and non-member.... for my last ten tours in a row. So tours are still as productive as when we having hundreds of people visit. We can spend more time and be more personal with them.