Pioneer Trek 2008

It was amazing!! It was held at Carthage, North Carolina. From the minute we arrived it was the most spiritual experience. There were over 300 people in attendance. Cory wasn't too excited about going, but when it was over he said he "would go again and again." Some of my most favorite memories.....seeing all of the "saints" dressed in pioneer clothes, crossing the ferry, the "women's pull" of handcarts up a rocky incline, sacrament meeting in the woods, and of course the fellowship of the saints! Least favorite memories - 105 degree heat on day 1 (I almost passed out...several people had heat exhaustion), sleeping in the bug infested health lodge with the mice, the 1000's of crickets that poop all over you, and the never ending kitchen duties. To be honest...the kitchen duty was not too bad, just never ending. I did have one 2 hour block where a sister and I with her daughter Shannon, and my son Nicolas floated around a lake. All of the youth were busy on the trek; so it was totally relaxing. Nicolas went as a general helper. Everyone loved my buddy boy! He got to ride with the brethren in the Mules, act as an indian scaring pioneers, and worked in the kitchen without complaint. It was the first time I spent time with just him. I will always treasure that time with Nicolas. One night, we walked down a road in complete darkness. He was scared, but we took the time to look up and see the magnificence of the stars....he had never done that before. We were both amazed by the view of the heavens. Look for more trek stories soon.