Hyrum's first Beaver

Hyrum has been working on catching a beaver for months. He had to take a class, the class isn't offered on a regular basis, only if there is interest. So he had to get enough of his friends to sign up so they would hold it. Then he had to get the trap. They tried to get the beaver earlier, but were unsuccessful. Finally he was completely legal, open season was here and he set the trap. Nothing for a week or so. While I was in Bluff he trapped one. It was near the Jordan River on either Little or Big Cottonwood creeks. He is way excited. He and Kerri skinned it. He'll be tanning the pelt soon. I'm so impressed with all he has done to figure out and accomplish this goal.

Bluff 2010

I took the opportunity to join some online friends for a trip to Bluff. It was an incredible couple of days. The owner of the Cottonwood steakhouse described Bluff as a pinpoint on a map, and it is indeed at least a two horse town. And yet we had people from all over the world converge there. They came from Norway, and Australia, Netherlands, Ohio, Sedona, Colorado, and Utah. Most of us have known each other online for years. I'd been able to meet a couple already, but when the 15 of us all got together in person the euphoria was pretty evident. We connected like we were old friends, which in fact we were. We were joined by our mutual love of travel and the Southern Utah, Northern Arizona area.

One of our group acted as tour guide and took us to 5 different Anasazi site locations in the Bluff area. The weather which had been predicted to be bad was perfect. The hikes were not too long, and were fun and invigorating. The ancient dwellings, left to sit for a thousand years were intriguing and beautiful. There was a special kind of connection that was hard to compare to anything else I've ever experienced. It was truly amazing to share these places with people who were also equally enchanted.

Three of us took the one day river trip. This first part of the river had been a disaster the last time I was on it and so I wanted to redo that portion of the river and see what I had missed. I'm so glad I was able to do it. What I missed were the Anasazi sites and it fit in really well with the rest of the trip. Our tour guide was native to Bluff and to see it from his First American perspective was a real treat.

Our Baseball game for the year

We decided to drive to San Diego, since we had two free nights at a hotel there, and watch the Padres play the Cincinnati Reds. When we made the plans they were both at the top of their divisions and it looked like they could both be in the playoffs. Since then the Padres had been struggling and were in a battle with the Giants for first and the Braves for the wildcard. We were also hoping to catch a glimpse of the new phenom Aroldis Chapman.

So we drove down, stopped in Barstow for what Hyrum said was the best burrito. Then got caught in a traffic jam due to a wildfire and ended up in Old Town late for the night. We ate at a recommended restaurant nearby, Jack and Giulio's. We could walk to it so that helped influence the visit. We enjoyed the warm evening, ate outdoors, and had food left over which we put in our fridge in the room.

The next morning we wandered around Old Town. We had visited it on our last visit to San Diego when we were able to stay at the Marriott. So this was a nice reminder that things don't stay the same. First change was the Mormon Battalion visitors Center which had apparently been completely redone. We didn't take the whole tour, but they said they would muster us in to the battalion and march us to San Diego if we stayed. We moved on to the Presidio Hill and saw the spot where the battalion arrived at Fort Stockton. Then wandered the streets and shops. It was a nice place. I wouldn't mind living in the hacienda. Even on a hot day there was breeze through the breezeway.

Then we joined many others on the special train they have for baseball games and for $5 each ended up at Petco Field. We made our way to the top tier where we always buy our seats and enjoyed a super game. It was notable for the entrance of Aroldis Champman in the 9th inning to keep the 3-3 tie. But he couldn't and the Padres won on a long ball out to left field corner. Very exciting. We cheered and had a great time.

That evening we drove out to Mission Beach and walked along the shore and watched the surfers and the birds and sat in the sand as the sun set. It was a beautiful day's end. We then drove north to La Jolla to see the temple which sits RIGHT on the freeway and lights up like a jewel box. It was closed due to Women's Conference or we might have been able to attend a session. Instead we ate dinner at a nearby pizza place and headed back to the hotel.

In the morning we drove to the Mission de Alcala which is the very first of the many missions Junipera Serra built in Alta California. The building is completely rebuilt and is in use as a parish church. Mass was being held. We wandered the grounds a little bit and listened to a bit of the sermon. The chapel was overflowing. In the beautifully landscaped garden just outside the chapel I felt the spirit. I know that sounds a little weird, but I could feel the goodness there. I could feel the faith of not just Junipera, but also so many other good people throughout the centuries who have believed in Jesus Christ and spread and kept the faith as it was given to them. I'm grateful to them for keeping the faith alive. For preserving the bible and devoting their lives to living the gospel. Maybe along the way mistakes and errors were made, but that cannot block out the truth that there were good people inspired by the life and death of Christ.

It was a long drive back, but there is also something cleansing about driving through the desert even if it is at 70mph.